Suwon Cheoncheon Elementary Lets Students Pick Next Year's After-School Courses First

Suwon Cheoncheon Elementary School gave students an advance look at the after-school courses it plans to open next year to gauge their response.

The idea is to insert candidate programs slated for launch in the 2027 school year alongside currently running courses, observe which classes draw the most children, and decide next year's lineup accordingly.

According to Suwon Cheoncheon Elementary School on the 11th, the school held the "2026 School Year Fee-Based After-School Free Trial" from the 3rd to the 7th, with 156 students in grades 1 through 6 taking part.

Yerim Youth Arts Promotion Institute, the school's after-school contractor, joined the effort. The two sides covered the full tuition costs, including instructor fees, materials and teaching aids, and operating expenses.

There were nine programs. Total Miniature, Picture Book Gardening Class, Korean History Class, Computer Class, Creative Cube, Violin, Badminton, Creative Cooking, and Basketball each ran for one hour a day.

The classes emphasized making and moving. Students shaped summer fruits out of clay to fill bingsu bowls, worked their way from the top face of a 2×2×2 pocket cube, and made their own croissant sandwiches to pack in cases and take home.

The response was already evident at the application stage. Total Miniature, Korean History Class, and Creative Cooking filled their full capacity of 22, and Picture Book Gardening Class also filled all 8 spots. Violin drew 12 of a 13-student capacity, and Creative Cube drew 9 of a 10-student capacity.

Safety management was also addressed. In the cooking and gardening classes, plastic sheets were laid over the desks to keep the practice environment tidy, while the badminton and basketball classes included warm-up exercises and control of spacing in formation. Not a single accident occurred over the five days.

The school plans to continue cooperating with the contractor, the local community, and professional institutions in the second semester to raise the quality of its after-school programs.

Principal Jeong Eun-yeong said, "It was a meaningful time in which the school and the contractor cooperated wholeheartedly to provide students with valuable learning opportunities and to earn strong trust from parents regarding after-school programs," adding, "We will continue to spare no effort in offering multifaceted support to build an educational community where learning is enjoyable and teaching is a joy."