BlueSkies for Children and COVID-19

On March 13, 2020, the administration of BlueSkies for Children decided to close the school in response to growing concerns about community spread of COVID-19. Through a PPP loan and the generous support of our parent community we were able to keep our hard-working teachers and staff on payroll and health benefits through the closure.

Our parent community expressed overwhelming support for our reopening. After many weeks of careful planning, tracking of state and local guidance, and training staff on new health and safety protocols, we reopened on June 24, 2020 with an enrollment of nearly 50 children. As it became clear that in-person elementary school would not open in the fall, we applied for an emergency child care waiver to allow us to utilize our adult classroom as a pop-up kindergarten program for working parents during this time. As of September 1st, 2020, we have 74 children enrolled in 7 class groups for 40 hours/week.

With guidance from the CDC, local health agencies, and our COVID-19 Advisory Committee, BlueSkies developed our COVID-19 Response Plan as a road map for navigating these challenging times. This is a working document, updated frequently as new guidance is available. A summary of the plan is available here.

You can find more information about the CDC Guidelines for Childcare Centers here.