Reopening after quarantine can be overwhelming. In this webinar, we host Missy Knechel, early education adjunct professor and Director of Victory Early Learning Academy, to walk through her reopening plan. This content-focused session covers everything you need to get ready to have kids at your center again!
🎤 Our Special Guest
Missy is a professor in the early childhood department at Eastern University and director of Victory Early Learning Academy, a childcare center that she started ten years ago. Prior to that, she taught Kindergarten and second grade for a total of 10 years. She has been married to her best friend, Jason, for 15 years, and together they have four beautiful children ages 5, 7, 9 and 11 in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA.
In her spare time, Missy loves to bake, read historical fiction, sing karaoke, and travel to Central America on short-term missions.
🧪 Key Learning Outcomes
- Get organized – Figuring out what is a guideline and what is a requirement is a good way to prioritize your planning. Understand your non-negotiables (licensing requirements like ratios) and gather input from your teachers on things that you can make decisions on as a team!
- Connect with your community – Join local parent and ECE groups on Facebook to get a sense of what people are concerned about when sending their children back to childcare and how other providers are getting creative. Survey your parents too. This information will be helpfull to inform your policies and procedures when reopening.
- Drop-off & pick up – Missy has created a strict drop-off and pickup schedule for the families sending their kids back to childcare. Following a schedule avoids bottlenecks and helps everyone social distance safely.
- Classrooms as families – At Missy’s center, children wear masks only in the common areas and transitions from one space to another. When a group of children are in their classroom, they can take their masks off like they are in a “family” space. Her teacher stores the masks in a plastic accordion file to keep things organized!
✨Key Resources
- Childcare Reopening Checklist
- Parent Handbook Template (editable) based on Victory Early Learning Academy Parent Handbook
- Parent Survey Template
- Victory Early Learning Academy School Supplies List (Summer 2020)
Superstar comments from our audience
Helen Mead
You’re still a good teacher even if you’re scared of going back to work and choose to stay home to stay safe
Kacie Chesnick
we had weekly zoom meetings, and we also did newsletters once a week, and posted on our facebook page to stay in touch with families
🖥️Watch Recording
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The HiMama child care app helps to streamline your digital parent communications. Book a consultation with us today to learn how we can support your child care center during this time.
