On most California calendars, winter break is about six weeks away. If your Expanded Learning Opportunities Program plan counts those days toward your 30 nonschool days, the decisions that determine whether camp works are being made right now.
This is the checklist we would want on the wall of an expanded learning office in early November. It starts six weeks out and ends on opening morning.
This post is for you if
- You run or oversee ELO-P at a district or charter and need winter days on the calendar
- Your site staff are off over break, or you do not yet know who is working
- You want a full-day camp that holds up at audit and that kids want to attend
01 / What a winter camp day has to be
A winter day counts as one of your 30 only if it meets the nonschool-day standard. Education Code §46120(b)(4)(B)(i) requires “no fewer than nine hours of in-person expanded learning opportunities per day” on at least 30 nonschooldays.
That is a different test from a regular school day. On a school day, instruction, recess and meals count toward the nine hours. On a nonschool day, the program has to run the full nine hours itself. Programs in a frontier designated location have an eight-hour standard under §46120(b)(4)(C).
Ratios follow you into break. Section 46120(b)(5)(D) applies §8483.4’s limit of 20 pupils per staff member, with no more than 10 to 1 for transitional kindergarten and kindergarten.
The cost of falling short is written into the statute. Under §46120(c)(3)(A), a district that misses the day or hour requirements loses 0.0048 times its apportionment for each day. On a $2 million apportionment, that is $9,600 per day.
02 / The six-week checklist
| Weeks out | What needs to be done | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Lock dates, sites and hours. Confirm the days count in your 30-day plan. | ELO-P lead |
| 6 | Request rooms, custodial coverage, heat and restroom access for break. | Facilities |
| 5 | Open staff sign-ups or confirm your vendor’s roster, site by site. | HR or vendor |
| 5 | Ask nutrition services whether meals run over break and what the cutoff is. | Nutrition |
| 4 | Open family registration in every language your sites use. | Site leads |
| 4 | Confirm every adult’s clearances are current for that site. | HR |
| 3 | Set rosters by grade band and calculate staffing at 10:1 and 20:1. | ELO-P lead |
| 3 | Order or confirm materials for each day and site. | Vendor or site |
| 2 | Send families the daily schedule, drop-off rules and pickup list form. | Site leads |
| 2 | Build the sign-in sheet and name who collects it each day. | ELO-P lead |
| 1 | Reconfirm headcount, walk each site and name a backup for every adult. | Site leads |
| 0 | Open the doors on time and record the actual start and end times. | Site leads |
03 / A nine-hour day kids will come back for
Nine hours is a long time for a seven-year-old. Winter camps go flat when the day is a string of unrelated activities, so build each day around one project with a visible finish.
- 8:00 Arrival, breakfast, sign-in
- 8:30 Studio block one: introduce the day’s build
- 10:00 Snack and outdoor play
- 10:30 Studio block two: make and test
- 12:00 Lunch and recess
- 1:00 Movement or team games
- 2:00 Studio block three: revise and finish
- 3:30 Snack and quiet choice time
- 4:00 Showcase for the group
- 4:30 Free choice and supervised pickup until 5:00
Keep the whole day supervised from door to door, and write your real start and end times on the sign-in sheet. For theme ideas, see our list of 12 ELO-P intersession camp themes.
04 / Three places winter camps break
Registration does not equal attendance. Families sign up early, then travel. Reconfirm headcount during the final week, and staff to the number you confirmed, while keeping enough adults to stay inside your ratios if everyone comes.
The staffing plan assumes people who are on vacation. School-year aides may not want to work over break. Ask early and get a yes by name, site and date.
The nine hours quietly shrink. A 9:00 start and a 5:00 finish is eight hours. Do the math before you print the flyer.
05 / If you cannot make winter work
Do not run a shorter day and count it. Move those days to spring break or summer and keep your total at 30. Our guide to mapping the 30 nonschool days shows how to rebalance a calendar in the middle of the year.
Frequently asked questions
Do winter break days count toward the ELO-P 30 days?
They can. Section 46120(g)(4) defines nonschooldays as days that are not regular school days, so a winter break day can count if the program runs in person for at least nine hours and is part of your plan.
Can we run camp at only one or two sites?
Consolidating can make staffing easier, but your offer and access duties under §46120(b)(2) and (b)(3) still apply. Plan transportation or nearby hub sites so that eligible families can actually attend, and confirm your approach with your CDE contact.
Can a vendor run our winter camp?
Yes, many LEAs work with outside partners. The statute refers to LEAs that contract with third-party providers and encourages collaboration with community-based organizations in §46120(b)(9). Your district still owns compliance, so put the hours, ratios and attendance records in the contract.
Need camp staffed for break?
Kodely runs full-day intersession camps with cleared staff and materials included, planned around your calendar. See how we run expanded learning, or tell us your sites and dates and we will tell you honestly whether winter is still doable.
Give us 20 minutes. On a call. That is it. Book a time here.