Saturday, September 16, 2006

Afterschooling as an amenity

Some very savvy apartment managers have realized that the amenities they provide apartment dwellers can include more than a laundry room and pool. They've added 'afterschooling' to the mix and are reaping the financial rewards of providing what their tenants appreciate.

Mr. Killinger, who grew up in rural Nebraska, was particularly dismayed by the plight of Baldwin Village children, who spent their afternoons behind locked doors [for safety].

Now, in two of their buildings, the partners operate resource centers where the children do their homework and play educational games. The centers are operated by teachers who arrive at 3:30 p.m. and stay until 6 p.m. each weekday.

(snip)

In a neighborhood where vacancy rates average about 5 percent, the partners said, the vacancy rate in their five buildings, which have a total of 104 units, is about 1 percent. They have a particularly easy time renting two- and three-bedroom apartments, because “parents see this as an opportunity for their children to get ahead,” said Mr. Pino,...

(snip)

If Mr. Pino and Mr. Killinger have their way, resource centers will become commonplace in low- and middle-income neighborhoods. To help make that happen, they are willing to license their manuals and methods to other building owners. “We’ve learned a lot since we began,” Mr. Pino said. New York Times

And I would think the other apartment dwellers appreciate that the children are occupied and not tempted to do mischief.

Mr. Pino and Mr. Killinger have created Education Advantage Foundation if anyone wants more information to replicate something similar in Nashville.

The headline of this article uses the words "home schooling" but it's more accurately called afterschooling.

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