Letter from our Executive Director to Parents
March 16, 2020 Dear Parents:
We are diligently monitoring the global spread of the Covid-19 virus and its potential impact on our children and employees. During this time, there are several precautions that we are implementing to provide a safer environment for all of us. We will also follow all state and federal safety guidelines and recommendations as they are issued.
Precautions and Plan of Action 1) A staff member that your child knows will meet you at the door of the center with your child and take your child to his/her classroom. This will limit the number of people entering the center and therefore the potential to spread germs is greatly minimized. 2) When you pick up your child, someone will bring him/her to you at the door of the center. 3) Teachers and staff are asked to stay at the center for their lunch hour so as not to bring in outside germs another time of the day. 4) We will take the temperature every morning for all children and staff that enter the building. Any child or staff with a temperature will need to go home. 5) Any staff or children exhibiting any symptoms will not be allowed to stay in the center. 6) The center attendance policy will be waived. If you can keep your child with you at home if you are going to work from home, I would recommend that you do that. 7) We currently sanitize many times daily but will increase our efforts in that area. High traffic areas for entry will be sanitized hourly as children arrive and leave. 8) Sanitizer will be available for you to use at the entry. 9) Teachers will wash their hands before they enter the classroom. Children will wash their hands as soon as they enter the classroom. Hand washing will happen many times a day, more than usual. 10) All toys in the classrooms will be sanitized daily, and more often for infants and if needed.
11) Any outside orders (food orders) will be placed in the lobby and opened with gloves and put away immediately. 12) Teachers will plate the children’s food with gloved hands as opposed to the family style dining that we typically practice. 13) We will not be interviewing or hiring additional staff to limit the number of new people in the center. 14) All trainings, meetings, and orientations have been cancelled until further notice. 15) Any travel or home visits or monitoring of programs has been postponed until further notice. 16) If anyone in your family or our staff’s family has traveled outside of the state or out of the country, please self-report that to the Director. Depending on the location and the potential threat of contamination, you may need to be excluded from the center for 14 days.
The center will only close if a child or staff member tests positive for Covid-19, if the state or federal government orders closure of all centers, or if we have enough staff out sick that we cannot maintain staff to teacher ratios. Please have a back-up for child care.
What you can do: Wash your hands, sanitize your phone. Limit your activities. Stay home with the same group of individuals you stay with regularly. Ensure your child washes his/her hands. Drink plenty of water.
But most of all: Play board games, read together, sing together, play hide and seek, build forts, cook together, eat meals together. If you make it a fun time, your child will remember the fun! They will not remember the anxiety and stress that comes from a situation like this.
Please feel free to talk to your director or send me an email at srackliff@delawarechild.org.
Sincerely, Sherry Rackliff Executive Director 918.914.1121
