Chaparral after-school program rejuvenated

Chaparral Elementary School, which canceled its after-school program because of unsustainable costs, has granted the Boys & Girls Clubs of Conejo & Las Virgenes permission to launch "Club Chaparral" in its place.

The program will offer sports and games, homework help, various enrichment classes, arts and crafts, music, dance and drama for grades K through five.

Four options which will be available at Club Chaparral: Monday through Friday after-school until 6 p.m. for $300 per month, a daily pass for $20, a Wednesday enrichment class for $40 per month, and a session which straddles the gap between younger and older students' release times so that parents can pick up both simultaneously for $80 per month.

Chaparral's afterschool program, launched by teacher Mark Walpole in 1978, had become a fixture at the school, but the $4 per day fee was not adequate enough to cover insurance and administrative costs. The program, called "Walpoles," was disbanded, to the consternation of many school parents.

The club is looking to hire an experienced and educated fulltime director to run Club Chaparral. Teachers who may have been laid off due to budget cuts are encouraged to apply.

For more information or to apply for the director position, call (818) 706-0905 or go to www.bgcconejo.org.