Extended School Day
RISE extends the school day with recreation, inclusion, social engagement, and family support before and after regular school hours across all A-FITS campuses.
What This Means for Your Child
- Support for working families
- Recreation and creative activities
- Natural social opportunities
- Familiar routines and staff
RISE is A-FITS’s Extended School Day program, designed to give students a familiar, supportive place to begin and end their school day while providing families with greater flexibility around work and transportation schedules.
RISE is intentionally different from the academic portion of the day. It gives students time to settle in, decompress, play, explore interests, spend time with peers, and simply enjoy being part of their school community.
Before School
Morning RISE offers students a comfortable transition into the school day.
Some students benefit from having time to arrive, regulate, connect with familiar staff, and ease into the campus environment before academics begin.
Morning activities may include quiet leisure choices, sensory activities, games, drawing, movement, free play, or time with peers.
For many students, beginning the day in a calm and familiar environment helps them enter the classroom feeling more comfortable, regulated, and ready to learn.
After School
When the academic day ends, RISE shifts toward recreation, enrichment, and student choice.
Students may participate in arts and crafts, board and card games, playground activities, music and movement, sensory activities, technology, building activities, group games, student-interest activities, and quiet leisure choices.
After spending the day learning, communicating, transitioning, and meeting expectations, students also need opportunities to relax, have fun, and choose activities they genuinely enjoy.
Connection & Belonging
Some of the best opportunities for social development happen naturally.
A shared game can create conversation. An art project can bring students together. Playground time can lead to friendship. A common interest can help students connect without the pressure of a formal social-skills lesson.
RISE gives students opportunities to practice communication, cooperation, flexibility, problem-solving, leisure skills, and friendship in a more relaxed environment.
Staff are there to support those interactions when needed, while still allowing students the freedom to simply play, connect, and belong.
A Familiar Place With People Who Understand
RISE keeps students within the A-FITS environment with familiar routines, familiar spaces, and staff who understand that students with autism may communicate, regulate, socialize, and decompress differently.
That continuity can make extended care more comfortable for students and more reassuring for families.
Supporting Working Families
RISE also serves an important practical purpose.
Family work schedules do not always align perfectly with the school day, especially with half-day Fridays and varying campus schedules.
RISE provides participating families with additional before- and after-school flexibility while keeping students in a setting they already know.
Hours and availability vary by campus and should be confirmed directly with the school.