No matter how wonderful (or not so great) the regular school day is, going on right into another program after school can be really tough - many kids need a true break, not just a change of who's in charge
Our area has a lot of organizations that run after-school vans to take students to their place of business for after-school care, things like karate, gymnastics, etc - if there's something like that where you are that your ds is interested in it might be worth trying.
Is there a college near you? We've had friends hire college students for after-school rides and care - their schedules tend to be a little more flexible and open than high school students. Another option might be a neighbor or an older friend or a friend with same-age children who doesn't work?
I'd also consider with the current after-care, it might be the activities etc that your ds doesn't like... But it also might be the people in charge. We had a serious issue going on with how a caretakers treated one of my dd's when she was yng, and it went on for some time simply because our dd didn't tell us details -she was coming home upset, but we never thought to ask specifics in a way that would have revealed what was going on. It's possible that simply changing out to a different group providing the same type of after-care experience is all that's needed -mthe caretakers can make a huge difference!
polarbear
