BERNARDSTON — Due to an inability to meet certification and licensing requirements through the state Department of Early Education and Care, the proposed “Homework Club,” intended to be a potential solution for a lack of after-school care, will not move forward at Bernardston Elementary School.

Jennifer Stennes, who leads the Bernardston Recreation Department and proposed this potential solution, told the Selectboard last week that she spoke to a representative from the Department of Early Education and Care who provided her with information on what would be required for a Homework Club to happen.

“If they were only to do homework and nothing else, you don’t need the EEC. If we offer other activities, then you need the EEC to back it up, and you’ve got to get licensed,” Stennes said of the requirements. The “tricky part,” she said, would be providing accommodations for students who finish their homework before the end of the after-school session, with other activities requiring licensure.

When asked about the feasibility of the program by Selectboard Chair Ken Bordewieck, Stennes said she is unsure how to go about getting the program set up within the child care program parameters outlined by the Department of Early Education and Care. Stennes noted the licensing process would likely take two to three months.

Selectboard members signaled their support for a Homework Club during an Aug. 21 meeting, following the elimination of the before-school and after-school programs that were available at Bernardston Elementary School. Pioneer Valley Regional School District Superintendent Patricia Kinsella had announced the change during a June newsletter.

According to Kinsella, low enrollment numbers at Bernardston Elementary School — eight children in the before-school program and 10 children in the after-school program — coupled with the loss of COVID-19 subsidies from the state for child care heading into fiscal year 2025 made the programs unfeasible. Attendees of an Aug. 7 Selectboard meeting, however, contested these enrollment numbers, stating that participation numbers were not properly counted. The program was contracted out through the Northampton-based Collaborative for Educational Services.

Although the Recreation Department, in a Facebook comment, noted the “hiccup” in providing after-school care, the department reports it is “trying hard to make an afternoon program.”

“The program is just dead in the water,” Bordewieck said in a phone interview after last week’s meeting.

Bordewieck expressed his appreciation for the work Stennes has done in trying to find a solution to the lack of after-school programming at the school. He noted that the Pioneer school district told the Selectboard that it will “do everything [it] can to get it started again next year.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.