The Long Beach Unified School District will change the operators of many of its before- and after-school programs in the upcoming school year, shifting from district employees to outside agencies in an effort to stabilize staffing.
The district’s elementary and K-8 schools offer free programming before and/or after school, run by LBUSD staff at some sites and outside agencies at others. In July, the district informed parents of contractions to the district-run program, called Kids’ Club, which has offered programming and childcare to LBUSD families for decades and currently serves nearly 3,000 students.
The notices raised concerns for some parents, who told the Long Beach Post they had questions about what the changes mean for their kids and why they were happening now.
Starting in 2026-27, Kids’ Club is set to end at four sites — Bixby, Cubberley, Fremont and Newcomb — as outside contractors take over programming, according to two Kids’ Club employees who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. At seven other sites, contractors will take over morning Kids’ Club programming, though district staff will still run after-school programs, the employees said.
The district declined to answer the Post’s questions about how many campuses were affected and why the changes were being made. In an internal fact sheet, it attributed them to a lack of Kids’ Club staffing.
“At this time, we have not been able to hire and maintain the staffing levels needed to operate all LBUSD programs safely, consistently, and at the capacity our families need,” according to the fact sheet, which was shared with Kids’ Club employees and reviewed by the Long Beach Post. “As a result, we have had waitlists, limited access, and concerns related to supervision and program quality.”
By preserving Kids’ Club programming in the afternoon and concentrating staffing there, the district said it can address the greatest student need and shrink waitlists.
These changes come on the heels of other recent disruptions to after-school programming. The district had to select new operators at seven sites: Burbank, Edison, Garfield, Grant, Herrera, King and Lafayette, after the city announced it would stop operating the long-running WRAP program there. With new contractors on board, students will continue to receive programming that meets the district’s standards for “quality, safety and student enrichment,” said LBUSD spokesperson Elvia Cano.
Some parents said they felt left out of the decision and had little time to consider other childcare options just weeks before school begins.
Linda Palacios attended a recent school board meeting after learning that her daughter’s morning Kids’ Club program at Emerson Academy will now be operated by the nonprofit Action Youth America. She expressed confusion about the change, which she learned about over email, and asked the board and district “why the parents were not consulted,” a move that undermined transparency, she said.
Many working parents utilize the district’s childcare programs, she told the Post. “It’s kind of hard when you’re away from your kid for like nine, 10 hours,” she said. Being able to count on the Kids’ Club staff, a “second family” for Palacios, matters, she said.
Some parents said that Kids’ Club staff members have invaluable knowledge about the district and take tremendous care for the children in their program — even making them birthday crowns and attending school theater productions, parents said.
Charles Turner’s son, a first grader at Emerson Academy, has grown attached to Kids’ Club staff members, Turner said. He likes that his son sees the same Kids’ Club staff before and after school and worries about having to adjust to new staff and programming. “The consistency isn’t there. Kids kind of need consistency,” he said.
Parents and Kids’ Club staff worried the changes will be especially difficult for students with IEPs, who have additional needs that Kids’ Club staff take care to accommodate.
As a result of the changes, Kids’ Club staff will not be laid off, but rather reassigned to different hours and sites, said two Kids’ Club employees. Yet some staff members balance other jobs and can’t change hours. “If they are unable to move to afternoon programming, then they are out of a job,” one employee said.
The district said families can direct questions to 562-627-1022 or email [email protected].