Dear SLCC Parents,
As you know, DHS has implemented new COVID requirements in all daycares. The most important (and inconvenient) new reg is the “one teacher, one class, whenever possible” rule. In order to comply with this, our hours changed to 8:00am – 5:00pm. This has strained many family’s work situations, and we have been trying ever since to figure out how to lengthen our day. We have some good news for the Fall.
Beginning on July 27, 2020, our hours of operation for our 2 pre-school programs will increase from 7:30am – 5:30pm (a 10-hour day, up from 9). Teachers have agreed to work longer hours (be sure to thank them), to better serve families, so this schedule will still keep your child’s classroom isolated from other classrooms. The safety of your children and our staff is our highest priority, and we can/will only make changes that continue to keep everyone safe. So we don’t think we’ll be increasing hours further until the COVID crisis has passed. Our strategy is to “build a firewall” around each classroom so that our children/teachers are only exposed to a single-classroom’s sized viral load, instead of the entire school population. We have essentially become 16 smaller, independent daycares (classrooms) to protect against this virus.
For parents with children in our School Age Program (SAP) there are a few additional changes: Beginning Monday 8/10, we will re-open our normal Before-School Care and Transportation Program, with its normal hours of 6am – 8am. The after-school transportation and care program will resume then as well, with hours of 2:30pm – 5:30pm. Important note: There is a dilemma we were not able to solve that affects families with both pre-school and school-age children. Drop offs before 7:30 am WILL NOT include preschoolers (as there will not be preschool staff available until 7:30). It’s just not possible to do this and keep the firewall up.
Also, to minimize risk on transportation routes, we are temporarily combining the North & Main SAP programs, (closing the north SAP program) effective August 10, 2020. This provides significantly reduced times in vehicles, and far less exposure. North SAP kids will need to transfer to our Main location prior to August 10th. If parents of these affected school age children also have preschool children, and would like all children to be at one location, you will need to contact Enrollment ASAP. Our spaces are limited, and we will try to accommodate. But we are unable to guarantee that every child can be transferred.
We will continue our “School Day-Off Program.” (We provide full-day care on any day the school district is closed for weather or other reasons). Additionally, the Health Department has warned that this fall may have a large COVID spike, and that re-closing of schools (as we saw in the Spring) remains a possibility. If, at any point, your child’s school closes due to this reason, we will be able to expand the Day-Out Program into a “Full-Time SAP” Program with hours that match our pre-school program (7:30am – 5:30pm). We will provide structured study time, and Wi-Fi access, and we will try to offer some direct tutoring/study help. It is possible/likely that we will limit this program only to families already in care at time of closing. So don’t wait to register. To access this online, click here (Notice of Intention to Enroll).
To register for Transportation for the Before and After School Program, you MUST fill out a Transportation Request Form by going to our website (childcare.springsoflife.org, School Age Programs, Transportation and click on the Transportation Request Form button). To access this form online, click here. If you have any questions, feel free to contact any of the following SLCC Program Directors or departments:
North Center Pre-School Charlene McQueen (719.550.1700, ext 3) cmcqueen@springsoflife.org
Main Center Pre-School Diana Miller (719.550-1700, ext 2) dmiller@springsoflife.org
Enrollment Sandy Wheeler (719.287.1500, ext 1) swheeler@springsoflife.org
Thanks again for the incredible devotion you show to your kids! Crazy times, and you’re all still making it work!
Pastor Dan
SLCC Board President
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