BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — This school year, multiple schools across our area have shared with KNWA/FOX24 that they’re struggling to find enough staff.

Bentonville Schools had a waitlist of kids wanting to get into its after-school program, but since the district made the decision to partner with Mobius, an after-school care business, each kid now has a spot.

The new program provided by Mobius is titled ‘Discovery’ and offered at Vaughn Elementary. Discovery focuses on safety and STEAM-related activities and cares for around 40 students.

After-school care at other schools in the district is part of its ‘Adventure Club’ program, which cares for around 400 students.

The Discovery program costs $65 a week, which is the same price as Adventure Club, but unlike Adventure Club, the Discovery program doesn’t currently accept vouchers from the Department of Human Services, which can help parents afford the care. Bentonville Schools’ Leslee Wright said Mobius is currently in the process of making sure its new program at Vaughn Elementary can accept those vouchers as well.

In the meantime, Mobius owners, Katie and Nick Bartelt, said they are glad they could help eliminate stress for parents by giving parents a place to put their kids.

“It was actually really exciting to be able to open up the waitlist positions and fill those. We still have capacity, so a lot of the parents that we reached out to were very appreciative and thankful,” said Nik Bartelt.

Bartlet said the need for after-school care continues to grow because more parents are being sent back to work in person, meaning they can no longer be home with their kids for that extra couple of hours before and after school.

The Bartelts would like to continue the partnership with Bentonville Schools beyond the 2022/2023 school year and keep helping the district with its staffing needs.

You can enroll your kids in the Discovery program by talking with Vaughn Elementary School.