The last month has been challenging and confusing for everyone. First and foremost, if you are reading this, we hope that you’re holding up alright. No matter where you are or what you’re going through right now, staying safe is the top priority and you are not alone in this.
In the light of center closures, mass layoffs, the shift towards remote work, and the tough decisions made to navigate this uncertain time, coming together as a community is more important now, than ever before.
We’re writing this article to help childcare providers establish a “new normal” with families in the coming months. In our conversations with providers, many have indicated that they were already or planning to implement some sort of remote learning program to maintain connection with the children and families that they work with.
Know And Highlight The Value Of Early Education
The fact that families are not physically coming into the center every day does not change the impact of quality early education on young children. Although things seem uncertain right now, the reality is that the COVID-19 pandemic will not last forever and that your families will come back to your center after things are back to normal.
What this means is that you have to think about offering the same value in a different way. The service early educators are providing is still crucial to children’s futures. Have confidence in this and communicate it clearly to your families. The email template below will help you do this.
Keep Open Lines of Communication
In order to get through the coming months with your community, it’s really important to take the lead in communication. Reach out regularly and be honest about how the center is doing. It’s alright to talk about having to lay off some people during this time. But you can also get creative about how to keep providing value to your families.
Many parents are adjusting to changes themselves. It can be overwhelming to be at home with one (or a few!) young children on top of managing other responsibilities. Regular check-ins with parents will strengthen the relationships that you already have with them and show that you want to be a part of their “new normal” during this time.
Do this by text, email or even by giving them a phone call. Creating a space that parents can come to when they need some help and support when working with their kids at home will reinforce your value as childcare professionals. Connecting on a human level will also build two-way trust.
Email Template For Child Care COVID-19 Updates
Now that we’ve covered the mindset and value that you have to offer, let’s get to the practical part. This is an email template that you can send to your families to show them why it’s important for them to keep paying full (or partial) fees to your center during this time. You can use this as a guide and add your own personality to it:
Title: COVID-19 Check-In & Status Update
Hi [NAME],
As the COVID-19 virus continues to spread, we are all facing uncertainty and change at a level that we have never experienced before. These are challenging times for everyone and we hope that this finds you safe and healthy!
Right now, we are doing everything we can to remain connected and adapt to a new normal together. Our commitment to you is to keep providing quality early education to the little ones we miss so much.
In this tough time, it’s important that we count our blessings, and a big one is that we have technology that we can use to keep connected during this time. Our teachers have come together to provide you with routine and activity ideas, as well as remote learning options. In this process, we are open to feedback on how to serve and support all families that we work with.
Just like any business (and household) at this time, we still have costs to finance. We have done everything possible to adapt quickly to our changing reality. Now, more than ever our community needs us. And we need you to ensure that we have a center to come back to after this is all over. This is why we have adapted our payment plan to [insert your payment plan here: sliding scale, per-class packages, reduced fees based on number of lesson plans, a pay what you can option].
We are deeply grateful to all of you who have reached out to us and want to thank you for being part of this community. We will get through this together and see you when we open!
Stay safe and well,
[YOUR NAME]
We hope that this article will help you connect with the families that you work with during this tough time. How have you been managing through the COVID-19 crisis? Let us know in the comments!
