Tackle Staffing Shortages with Strategic Outsourcing in Expanded Learning

Welcome back for Part 2 of our recap from the 2025 ACSA Superintendents’ Symposium! Dr. Michele Bowers (Superintendent emeritus Lancaster USD) and Dr. Helen Wang (CEO & co-founder of 6crickets) led a panel featuring Superintendent Darren Knowles and Alan Pantanini (Pomona USD), Superintendent Kirk Shrum and Michele Reid (Visalia USD), and Interim Superintendent Heather Golly (Bonsall USD). If you missed Part 1, don’t worry—we won’t quiz you on it (but if we did, we’d totally let you use your notes).

This time, we’re tackling challenges that keep expanded learning leaders up at night—staffing shortages, strategic outsourcing, and cross-department collaboration.

“Finding and retaining enough high-quality staff to truly engage and inspire students continues to be a pressing issue, particularly in the current labor climate”, shared Michele Reid, Expanded Learning Director at Visalia USD. Many districts are turning to community partners, local businesses, and nonprofits to help fill these gaps.

Pomona USD has taken this approach head-on. “We can't do it alone,” emphasized Alan Pantanini, Expanded Learning Director. His district relies on external partnerships to supplement program staffing, ensuring students receive enriching experiences without overburdening school personnel.

For Bonsall USD, Superintendent Dr. Heather Golly highlighted the success of their partnership with the local Boys & Girls Club, which now oversees intersessional days. “Families in BUSD are thrilled with this collaboration,” she shared. “Working parents now have reliable child care options, even in the summer months when school is out.” The district has also prioritized offering diverse enrichment opportunities, keeping students engaged in topics that matter to them.

At Visalia USD, staffing challenges were particularly complex due to the district’s size. While smaller districts saw success hiring from within, Visalia struggled with logistical hurdles. After assessing their approach, they made a pivotal decision: requiring all partners to provide their own staffing for afterschool programs. Outsourcing staffing to partners significantly alleviated the administrative burden on the ELOP department, allowing the team to focus on program quality and student outcomes instead of recruitment and scheduling challenges. “It’s a huge win for our community, city, and county,” Reid added.

Beyond staffing, district leaders emphasized that ELOP success depends on collaboration across departments. “I’ve spoken to a lot of districts across California, and one common challenge is the small staff allocated to ELOP departments compared to the huge job ahead of them,” said Michele Reid. “When you truly think about it, ELOP implementation is like launching multiple small schools across the district, plus full programs during intersessions. No ELOP department can do it alone.”

To tackle this, VUSD integrated expertise from other district departments. Wanting to implement a full sports program at the elementary level, Reid tapped the district’s athletic director. Now, the athletic department plays a key role in developing sports programs and organizing district-wide elementary sports tournaments. Safety coordination was another major area of focus. Now, they conduct monthly safety training with partners and have aligned afterschool safety expectations with the regular school day.“The key takeaway here is this: Don’t isolate your ELOP team. Success requires collaboration, and that starts with a culture of support from district administration,” Reid emphasized.

That’s where 6crickets has been a game-changer. “The flexibility that districts have with 6crickets allows us to develop an ELOP plan that meets the needs of our students while supporting staff,” Dr. Golly explained.?

Beyond program coordination, 6crickets also eases the administrative burden. “Our business services department has been thrilled with the customized invoices and reports from 6crickets,” Dr. Golly noted. The platform eliminates outdated processes like paper form collection, making it easier for parents to register their children from anywhere in the world.

Every district on the panel approached their ELO-P implementation like a startup—building from the ground up, iterating as they learned, and leveraging every available resource to create something sustainable. By embracing innovation, strategic outsourcing, and cross-department collaboration, they turned challenges into opportunities and developed programs that truly serve their students and communities. Their success shows that with the right mindset, flexibility, and the right tools—districts can build thriving expanded learning programs that continue to grow and evolve.

How are you tackling staffing shortages in your district? What are you outsourcing? We would love to learn more about your efforts at info@6crickets.com!

Yours in Education,

6crickets Team