HONOLULU(KHON2) — The school year is winding down but parents are already thinking about after-school care for the fall. Registration for the popular “A Plus” program kicked-off online Monday morning, but the rush to get a spot caused one of the websites to crash.
“It was crazy,” said Kristie, a parent who attempted to register online.
Like thousands of other parents, she said she hopped online at 8 a.m. sharp to ensure her kids would get a coveted spot in the A Plus after school program.
“Clicking on the link and it said it already reached the maximum. We couldn’t get on it,” she said.
After trying to call the YMCA A Plus program directly and getting nowhere, she decided to drive down, to do it in person.
“So you literally left work to have to do this?” KHON asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I was like, ‘I need to leave please.’”
And Kristie wasn’t alone.
“It wasn’t only me,” she explained. “There was a lot of angry parents there today.”
Many parents were left scrambling when the YMCA, A Plus website crashed Monday.
Lisa Ontai, the vice president of marketing for YMCA of Honolulu, said their system could only handle 2,000 applicants at once, but she said she thinks families had multiple people trying to get in for a single child.
“What we saw happening this morning was there was such a huge influx,” Ontai said. “We get it, we know how important it is for families, but what it did is, it tied up a lot of spots.”
By late Monday afternoon, Ontai said they addressed the issue. She said they worked with the Department of Education and decided to redirect those trying to register via the YMCA , A Plus site directly to the DOE A Plus registration site.
For parents like Kristie, it was a little too late.
“It shouldn’t have been this hard,” she said.
Ontai said the YMCA of Honolulu is looking at streamlining things so it doesn’t happen again next year and added that all Monday registrations will be honored.
“The most important thing is that we are time-stamping those applications,” Ontai said. “Whether they’re coming in online or in person, so that we will be able to sort everything out very fairly.”
The forms should also note whether the person got a spot or if they are waitlisted.
Space for the A Plus program is limited and determined by staffing according to Ontai. She said they need at least one adult for every 20 kids, and they are hiring.
“We are always looking for employees, especially for youth leaders and site coordinators.”
Next Monday, May 13, the City summer fun program will begin its online open enrollment at 5 p.m. according to Nate Serota, spokesperson for the City Department of Parks & Recreation.
But he said their online registration process is staggered.
“We break it down by geographic park district, cause we know there’s such a demand for these programs,” Serota added. “It’s so popular that we don’t want the parents to flood the system at one time and have it crash.”
They are also hiring.
“We certainly are,” he said. “So every season we have to find about 500 staff to accommodate about 10,000 kids in the program.”
To register for the A Plus program or apply for a position click here.
For more information about the City Parks summer fun registration or to apply for a job in the program, log on here.