STEM Based
Drone racing, RC racing, chess, trading cards, comic creation, and domino engineering packaged as hands-on problem solving kids actually want to do.
Cadet Care · Before & After School
The best part of the school day happens after the bell.
Seeking school partners to launch in St. Louis, Kansas City, Nashville and Medford.
Safe, structured care at your child's own school — with homework time, real enrichment clubs, and sports clinics included. No screens. No sitting around.
Fair family pricing. Revenue for your school.
Included
8 clubs a year
Help launch Cadet Care. We’re seeking our first school partners. Choose your city to share school interest.
FBI fingerprinted
Background checks for every staff member
Education majors
Recruited through local universities
Experienced site lead
One professional in charge at every school
1:15 ratios
CPR & First Aid certified staff
An afternoon in Cadet Care
From the last bell to pickup.
Every afternoon follows the same rhythm, so kids know what's next and parents know what they did.
- Dismissal1
Check-in & fuel up
Attendance, a snack, and a few minutes to decompress after the bell.
- +30 min2
Homework time
A quiet, supervised block so assignments get started before pickup.
- +1 hr3
Enrichment rotation
Drones, archery, domino builds, or a sports clinic — led by a trained facilitator.
- +2 hrs4
Debrief & team games
Kids talk through what worked, then ga ga ball, kickball, or free choice.
- Until 6:005
Secure pickup
Release only to an authorized adult — logged every time.
Swipe to see the whole afternoon →
Before-school mornings (typically 7:30–9:00am) include check-in, free play, a structured activity, and a walk to class.
Included, not upsold
8 enrichment adventures a year. Zero extra cost.
Two clubs or clinics per 6-week session, four sessions a year — included for families enrolled 4–5 days a week and discounted for everyone else.
Drone Racing 101RC Racing 101Domino Mega BuildersChess MastersComic Book MakerTrading Card ClubsFoam-Tipped ArcheryKickball9-Square in the Air
Phys-Ed
Dodgeball, kickball, foam-tipped archery, 9-square, ga ga ball, and Challenge Games that feel like minute-to-win-it fun while building coordination, confidence, and teamwork.
Sports Clinics
Basketball, flag football, and backyard baseball / wiffle ball clinics with real instruction, progression, and game-speed reps.
For families
Not babysitting. Growing.
Every activity ends with a short debrief — what went well, what was hard, what to try tomorrow. That's how kids practice teamwork, patience, and bouncing back.
- At their own school — no extra drop-off
- Pick 1–5 days a week, mornings and afternoons
- Grouped by age, ages 5–14
- First access to school break camps and day-off events
School breaks & days off
School's out. We're not.
Teacher PD days, conference days, winter and spring break — when school closes, Cadet Care keeps running with full-day camps right at your child's school. Same coaches, same activities, no extra stop across town.
See break-day coverage near youPay by the session
Break-day camps are a separate, additional charge on top of regular care — only pay for the coverage you need.
Full-day coverage
School-day hours with drop-off and pickup windows that fit around a workday.
Money back to your school
Break-day enrollments earn your school the same revenue share as regular care.
Our enrichment approach
See the adventures included.
STEM builds, creative wins, active-play stations, and real sports clinic reps throughout the year.
1 / 7
For principals & districts
$25–$45 per child, per month for your school.
School revenue share, subject to final listed pricing.
Fair pricing for families. No cost to your school. We run the program and handle enrollment and billing, while your school earns revenue from the space it provides. School-break and day-off camps are billed separately to families, and your share applies to those enrollments too — no extra coordination from your staff.
Clear financial terms
Family tuition and your school's share are listed in your proposal — including school-break and day-off camp days.
Built around your building
Hours and space planned around your bell schedule.
One point of contact
A Recreation Academy contact for program coordination and school questions.
$17.50/hr + credit
Many staff earn university credit — they show up invested.
Every week, a teaching cycle.
- 1
Plan
Staff submit a lesson plan for the week they lead.
- 2
Facilitate
They run it on their feet — no phone-sitting.
- 3
Debrief
Kids reflect on what worked and how to improve.
- 4
Grow
Social skills build through real participation.
Zero red tape for your district
State licensing shouldn’t slow your school down.
Licensing and approval requirements depend on the state and how the program is operated. Our team would coordinate the filings, inspections and follow-ups with your school, confirming the appropriate route in Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee or Oregon before care opens.
We build a site-specific timeline around the school agreement, staffing and required approvals. Enrichment is not an automatic substitute for licensed care, and we do not promise a day-one opening.
- 01
We file the paperwork
Applications, inspections, and follow-ups handled by our team — not yours.
- 02
We confirm site readiness
Space, staffing and the appropriate state requirements reviewed before launch.
- 03
Full care goes live
Registration opens once the partnership, staffing and required approvals are ready.
Built to fix what parents complain about
Three industry problems. Three straight answers.
Staff quality & turnover
Corporate providers pay minimum wage, churn through staff, and leave schools covering call-outs. We pay fairly, recruit people already working in youth programs, and love hiring teachers from your own school to lead the site — people your students already know and trust.
Enrichment costs extra
Other providers upsell enrichment classes on top of care tuition. Enrichment is included — and kids choose what they participate in. Giving young people a real voice in their afternoon is immeasurably powerful, and it’s built into the price.
Glorified babysitting
“Social-emotional learning” too often means supervised free time with a fancy label. Our staff complete facilitation training — they learn to actively lead experiences and keep kids safe, not just watch the room.
Frequently asked
Got questions? We've got answers.
Don't see your question? Email info@therecreationacademy.com.
Bring Cadet Care to your school.
We’re seeking school partners, not enrolling families yet. Choose your city to learn about the proposed program and share interest in your school.
We’re seeking Cadet Care school partnerships in St. Louis, Kansas City, Nashville and Medford. St. Louis schools: see our St. Louis before & after school care page.