Here is our summary:
Masks- There was a mask ordinance instated on Saturday June 20th. This does not apply to private places, and children under the age of 5. In our group there are a mix of centers who have asked children to wear masks and children not to have masks. Most centers in our group have teachers wearing masks.
AZTOOL Kit- The AZTool Kit has some great resources and examples in regards to policies and procedures.
SAZAEYC Training- SAZAEYC is doing a training on Children’s Literature: A #BLM Sensitive Discussion,” on Thursday, July 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Check it out here.
SAZAEYC Survey- Please take a moment to complete this survey for SAZAEYC by June 30th.
- English Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ChildCareChallenges
- Spanish link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/desafiosencuidadoinfantil
PPP Updates- If you received PPP money make sure to read these updates and this document from NAEYC. It should be noted that one of our centers JUST got PPP money to come through. Remain persistent if you are still waiting.
Grants- Michelle Saint Hilarie reported that the City of Tucson is setting aside money for grants for those who did not receive PPP. More information to come.
Linking Leaders- Kathy Steele shared about Linking Leaders. They are looking to start a new cohort in July. For more information contact them at kathy@azecdg.org; teresa@azecdg.org.
Childcare Centers with Positive Cases- For information on childcare centers in Pima County with positive cases you check it out here and click on the ‘Congregate care with positive COVID91 Cases’ button.
Bleach Mixing formula- Emily Rebro from the Pima County Health Department provided information about bleach mixing formula.
Bleach comes in different concentrations. Typical concentrations are between 5.25% – 8.25%. There is no one generic mixing formula for all bleaches.
Recommendation during Covid-19: Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for sanitizing and disinfecting.
Note: The CDC has recommendations for disinfection with bleach concentrations of 5-6%. The mixing formula listed creates a 0.1% solution, or 1000 ppm. You may choose to follow this mixing formula for disinfection (check that your bleach is 5-6%) or follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Study on Child Transmission of COVID-19- Recently there was an interesting study released on children and their transmission of COVID-19. Read the results here.
See-through Masks- Risa from the Sandbox shared that they had see-through masks made so children can see the teacher’s mouths as they speak. I found some online as well but I have not ordered so I cannot speak to their quality.
Electrostatic Sprayers- We discussed the used of elctrostatic sprayers for disinfecting the air in the room. We do not have data or science on this but know of a few centers that have been doing this with a bleach solution at the end of each day.
Coronavirus Action Plan- Northminster shared their Coronavirus Action Plan that was created with their leadership team which helps to determine what criteria they are using for remaining opening, cautiously looking at closing, and closing.
Protocols- It was emphasized how helpful protocols and policies are as we continue to problem solve each day. We have learned that protocols are needed around: drop off, pick up, temperature checks, asking about the health of the household daily, cleaning procedures, group size, sign in and out procedures, food preparation, a teacher or child becoming sick, a teacher or child getting COVID, a parent or someone living with the child who gets COVID, what constitute closure for your center, how long closure will be, will you close just the classroom effected or the whole center, teacher pay if closure happens, teacher pay if they have COVID, if the Family First Coronavirus Response Act applies to your center and if putting it into your policies, whether or not you will have tours on campus or others on campus, if you close if you will refund parents, if you will offer online zoom classes if you close, how parent communication will happen around COVID-19 changes. This list is not exhaustive, but is what we have learned so far.
Parent Alerts- We discussed how it i required for centers to alert all parents if there is a case of COVID in the center.
That was our conversation for this week! Thanks everyone. It was a great dialogue with so many people participating. See you in two weeks!