Frequently Asked Questions

Beyond the Bell is a program offered by Metro Parks Tacoma that offers after-school activities for students in kindergarten through 5th grade. Activities include sports, STEM and arts focuses and provide out of school learning time for participants.

Childcare programming is provided through certified childcare sites and provides before-school and after-school childcare.

Yes. Children can be enrolled in both programs. Children who are enrolled in both programs would be signed out of childcare, and then signed into Beyond the Bell and then returned to childcare programming.

Beyond the Bell is subsidized by local and state funding as well as donations to greatly reduce the cost of participation for everyone. The program includes flexible spending that provides additional financial assistance to families who need the extra support to ensure that all students can participate.

The cost of Beyond the Bell to families is $96 per activity per child. Flexible pricing can reduce that cost for families by 50-100 percent.

The actual cost to operate the program is more than $320 per activity per child. We greatly appreciate the investment our partners have made to allow us to provide this program at a reduced price to our participants.

Beyond the Bell programs run from 3:30-6 p.m., Monday-Friday, in four separate sessions throughout the school year.

Yes. Families can pick their students up early. Communication with site lead as early as possible to ensure a smooth pick-up process.

Transportation is available at a selected number of elementary schools right now. We hope to increase transportation to all elementary schools in the future. Schools provided with transportation now include Arlington, Boze, Bryant, Delong, Edna Travis, Fawcett, Larchmont, Mary Lyon, Manitou Park, Reed, Sheridan, Whitman, and Whittier. Families at those schools can register for transportation on Compass while registering for programming.

Field trips are typically scheduled for snow make-up days and days when school is not in session. Field trips are scheduled for a longer duration (such as 9 a.m.-3 p.m.) to educational sites such as the zoo, museums, and more.

Information is sent by Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks Tacoma. Families can register for fields trips on the TPS Compass app.

No, however, Metro Parks Tacoma does offer summer day camps, specialty camps, family outdoor adventure hikes, golf opportunities, free summer playground and lunches, and open outdoor/indoor swimming options.

Club B programs are free, thanks to a host of community funding partners including Tacoma Creates, City of Tacoma, Pierce County, Greentrike, Metro Parks Tacoma, Tacoma Public Schools, and private philanthropy.

Club B programs run from 2:45-5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, in four separate sessions throughout the school year.

Transportation is available for all middle school locations. Students may ride the after-school-activities bus. No registration is needed. Each middle school coordinates their activity bus schedule.

Tacoma Public Schools will use a new student ridership program this fall. Student bus route and stop information is available on our new transportation tool, Ride 360.

The free Ride 360 app allows families to access their secure data for bus stop location, route, and pickup time from their phone. 

Learn more about transportation

Yes. families can pick their students up early. Communication with site lead as early as possible to ensure a smooth pick-up process.

Field trips are typically scheduled for snow make-up days and days when school is not in session. Field trips are scheduled for a longer duration (such as 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) to educational sites such as the zoo, museums, and more.

Information is sent by Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks Tacoma. Families can register for fields trips on the TPS Compass app.

No, however, Metro Parks Tacoma does offer summer day camps, specialty camps, family outdoor adventure hikes, golf opportunities, free summer playground and lunches, and open outdoor/indoor swimming options.