Frequently Asked Questions about WCCC Reopening Plan
Who will my child’s teachers be when we return?
Will children who have shared child care supports over the last few months be grouped together?
How will my child meet the new teachers?
Class Groupings
We are returning in our fall teams and groupings to eliminate a quick, double transition for the children. This also allows us to build teams and prepare spaces/ classes once, avoiding closing the center again to change classes soon after we reopen. We spent a lot of time considering this decision. We recognize returning to familiar teachers, even after being apart for 4 months, could offer some comfort to children. Fortunately, we had already planned for many teachers to move-on, or “loop” with their children. Many groups will be returning to a familiar teacher already. We are also fortunate that one of our youngest groups, the Oak classroom, will have the support of their familiar teachers, Ann and Cate, to help them settle into their new groups when they return. (This is possible because Cate and Ann are the new Chestnut teachers, and that class is opening in January for our youngest infants.) We will do all we can to support the children with familiar teachers as they return to care. As with each decision we are making about our reopening, our focus is not only just to open, but to do it well and provide as close to the same experiences for the children as possible.
We plan to stay with the fall groupings as much as possible. We understand some families may be sharing child care support, or have created “pods” during the pandemic, and that other families have siblings attending the center. Where families are in the same age groupings (infants, toddler, preschoolers) we will consider keeping families in the same classes. However, our hope is to return to one group and remain there for the entire year. There is much change for children already, and we wish to create stable groups when we reopen. Keeping with our original fall groups helps us do this.
The state has released new class size requirements to support physical distancing and this may lead us to make changes to our original enrollment projections. If this is the case, we will contact individual families as soon as we can to discuss options.
We are currently brainstorming ways we can have some sort of “meet the teachers” or “visit days” to build relationships between the children and their new teachers, and to introduce new teachers to families. We know this is important and have been having many conversations trying to create a safe way we can do this before children enroll. We will keep working to solve this so we can offer a way for you all to meet your new teachers. Please feel welcome to share any ideas about how this could happen! This is a wish we hope to realize soon.
My child is not enrolled for the fall since they are or will be school aged. Will they be able to return this summer?
Will my child be able to say good-bye to teachers and friends or have closure in some way since they are not returning to the center?
School Age and Children going to Kindergarten
I cannot say enough how sad this experience has been knowing that some of our children will not be returning to the center, and we will not be able to say goodbye and good luck in our normal ways. For those children who are going to kindergarten, since we are reopening in our fall teams this summer, they are not able to return at all. Many of our Willow children are moving to kindergarten, and we wanted to celebrate that. This is the last year we will have our school age program, and we wanted to celebrate that.
This has been another area we have been brainstorming about how we can say goodbye and good luck to all of these children. We have some good ideas and are continuing to think about how to celebrate and give a space for goodbyes for the children leaving us. Many have been with us since infants, and we feel the importance of having a time to say goodbye together. We will do all we can to find a way to do this.
If I am uncomfortable with a return and wish to delay enrolling will there be flexibility with my contract?
Making Decisions about Enrolling Your Child
While we are creating plans to meet our new requirements, we know families are trying to decide and plan for what works best for each of you. We will share our reopening plans and answer any questions we can to help you make your own decisions about when your child returns to care. We appreciate that while we are eager to have child care and to return to a more-normal work day, there are also many concerns about safety for our children. We are committed to being as flexible as we can as you each make that individual decision. Please know our doors are open if you would like to talk about your child’s enrollment and a possible delayed return. We are here to help everyone make this transition back.
Will we still receive activity and learning ideas from the teachers while we await our return to care?
Supporting Families while Awaiting Your Return to Care
We want to continue supporting all families during the summer, and while waiting our return to full capacity. We will continue to support families with a weekly blog entry from each classroom offering ideas for activities, outings, or other ways to engage with your children. We will also continue sending weekly emails to families in each individual class from their teachers, including videos of songs and stories, pictures, and other ways to build relationships while apart. We hope this connection is helpful as we wait to be back together.
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