Fort Myers Florida Weekly

Reopening child care centers critical element to restart economy

GUEST COMMENTARY



 

When children are out of school, many parents are out of work.

Summer breaks and school holidays introduce logistical challenges for working parents. Who is going to watch their children? Will they need to take vacation days or unpaid time off? Can they afford a babysitter?

When COVID-19 forced schools to close in mid-March, many child care centers followed suit. Child Care of Southwest Florida closed its accredited learning centers on March 27. It was an inconvenience to parents, but undoubtedly the right choice to protect the health of children and staff.

With a typical school closure, there is an end in sight, a fixed date on the calendar when students will return. COVID-19 was different. Days turned into weeks. A return date was unknown.

Businesses began announcing plans to reopen in May, but few child care centers followed suit this time.

It became a cyclical chicken-and-egg debate. The economy could not restart until its workforce returned, but parents could not return to work until they could secure child care, and child care centers could not reopen until they resolved safety concerns and recruited enough teachers to comply with new lower student-to-teacher class size ratios.

HANSEN

HANSEN

The Florida Department of Children and Families maintains a database showing 413 registered child care providers in the five-county region. Many of these centers can accommodate 100 or more children, so for every center that had not yet reopened, 100 or more parents could not get back to work, even if their respective places of employment had reopened.

Child Care of Southwest Florida acknowledges the role that early learning centers, as well as public and private schools, play in our region’s economy.

While our centers were closed, administrators and staff deep cleaned classrooms and common spaces, sanitizing every toy, book, desk, table, chair, doorknob and touchpoint in each building.

Our team began developing new policies and procedures, like ensuring that all children and staff undergo daily temperature checks and health screenings. Everyone ages 3 and older must wear a protective face mask. Parents and visitors are not allowed inside hallways or classrooms.

— Chris Hansen is CEO of Child Care of Southwest Florida, a nonprofit early childhood education provider with accredited learning centers in Lee and Hendry counties. For more information, see www.CCSWFL. org or call 23 9- 278- 1002.

— Chris Hansen is CEO of Child Care of Southwest Florida, a nonprofit early childhood education provider with accredited learning centers in Lee and Hendry counties. For more information, see www.CCSWFL. org or call 23 9- 278- 1002.

With those plans in place, Child Care of Southwest Florida was among the first providers to reopen, starting May 18 with The Community Children’s Center in Lehigh Acres and Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center in Fort Myers. Two weeks later, on June 1, the P.A. Geraci Child Development Center and The Children’s Learning Center, both in Fort Myers, reopened to students. The Children’s Garden of LaBelle opened June 29.

The reaction from parents was one of immense relief. Their lives could not return to “normal” until the centers reopened.

Although they appreciated one-on-one time at home with their children, they aren’t teachers and recognize the best setting for learning comes at school. Academics is like weightlifting — you must continue training the brain, or your muscles, for them to continue growing. And on the opposite side, taking a week or month off sets back your progress.

Child Care of Southwest Florida is accepting new student registrations. Capacity is limited, so we are encouraging prospective families to consider their child care options sooner rather than later.

We are back to work, so you can get back to work, so our economy can get back to work and our children can get back to work. Child care truly is the ignition switch that lights our economy. ¦

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