Oakland Family Services Children's Learning Centers are committed to protecting the health of our children, families, staff, and community while at the same time ensuring that children are experiencing developmentally appropriate and positive social interactions in our preschool program.

As we prepare for a delayed start to the school year, we are taking stringent safety measures to limit the potential spread of COVID-19. Plans include robust cleaning, disinfecting procedures, and minimizing opportunities for person-to-person exposure.

All children 4 years and older in child-care centers must wear a mask while in any indoor common space, such as hallways, bathrooms or other areas, where they may be in contact with children from other classrooms, according to an Executive Order issued by the governor. While outside, during times of transition, non-strenuous activity and when social distancing is difficult, children will wear masks. All staff also are required to wear face coverings at all times on-site.

“Our Children’s Learning Centers opened this summer for a small camp program to gain experience and knowledge surrounding the new safety precautions required and recommended by childcare licensing and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Kris Kasperski, director of Early Childhood Services at Oakland Family Services. “We have instituted extensive new cleaning and safety protocols. We also have had smaller class sizes and reduced the number of teaching staff in each classroom to minimize exposure and contact to many children and staff. We will be continuing that practice in the fall.”

Here’s a look at some of the changes we are making at the Children’s Learning Centers to help keep everyone safe.

Changes to physical spaces

• Rearrange classroom areas to seat children as far apart as reasonably possible and limiting the number of children sitting together.

• Limit or eliminate use of common spaces where possible. When common spaces must be used, we will rotate use of the space and clean between groups.

• Use touchless trash cans to provide a hands-free way to dispose of tissues and contaminants.

• Limit the number of children in each play area of the classroom.

Toys and classroom materials

• Remove toys and objects which cannot be easily cleaned or sanitized between use.

• Remove cloth toys from classrooms.

• Suspend temporarily use of water and sensory tables.

• Wash and sanitize toys before being moved from one group of children to another.

Mealtimes

• Space seating as far apart as possible (ideally 6 feet apart) by limiting the number of children sitting together and rearranging seating.

• Have staff and children wash hands before and immediately after children have eaten.

• Modify our family-style meal service and have staff plate each child's meal so that multiple children are not using the same serving utensils.

Naptime

• Space out children’s naptime mats or cots as much as possible, ideally 6 feet apart.

• Place children head-to-toe (one child with their head at the top of the mat, the next child over with their head at the bottom of the mat) when possible.

• ·Wash bedding/blankets daily.

• Store each child's bedding in individually labeled bins, cubbies, or bags.

• Label each child's cot or mat.

Daily temperature checks

• Check each child's temperature upon daily arrival to the building.

• Re-check children's temperatures throughout the day if they appear ill.

• Staff will take their own temperatures upon arrival to work.

If a child, staff member, family member, or visitor to our program shows COVID-19 symptoms or tests positive for the virus, we will consult with our local health department and licensing consultant to determine if we need to close individual classrooms or the facility and other next steps that need to occur.

Oakland Family Services intends to offer families a plan for the fall that allows for maximum flexibility with different learning options, such as in-person classes, 100% virtual, and a hybrid learning environment.

“We will be providing in-home learning materials for all students along with individual student bins of high-use materials, such as crayons, markers and glue sticks, for use in the classroom,” Kasperski said. “All take-home learning materials will have a lesson plan and corresponding activities to support a child's learning while at home. We are also planning on food distribution for qualifying families for when they are not at school.”

To learn more about our preschool program and to find out if you are eligible for free preschool at our Children's Learning Centers in Pontiac or Walled Lake, contact Oakland Family Services at http://bit.ly/ofsfreepreschool.