Dear Parents of Toddler Town Daycare –
Finally, we can say that we will be opening our centers again as of Wednesday, July 1, 2020. We have spent the last few weeks preparing and writing our reopening plans and guidelines required by DCFS. We apologize in advance that you have not received this information sooner from us. The reason for the delay is because DCFS and local and state Departments have updated the requirements 3 times since the start of June. In an effort to protect and keep everyone safe we wanted to wait as long as possible before sending out information to you that could potentially change, with that being said here is what to look out for over the next few days –
1) Email from Toddler Town Daycare which will contain our reopening plan and how we will be handling the new changes and procedures.
2) Over the next couple of days, families will be receiving phone calls and emails from staff letting them know that they can return to the center on July 1, 2020. As stated in previous emails and our Facebook live event, we stated that Essential Workers/ First Responders would be first and everyone else would follow in line by the timestamp of when you completed the survey. We are only allowed to open with a limited amount of capacity in each classroom. Therefore, if you receive a phone call over the next few days and pass on your spot, there is no guarantee on when you will receive the next phone call for a space. I ask that you strongly consider if you are returning or not returning to the center. If you plan to wait and see what happens and how things go which is completely understandable your name will be added to a waitlist and you will be called when your name comes up again.
If you are deciding not to return to the center at all we are asking that you complete the following form at https://www.toddlertownchicago.com/cancellation-of-services/
3) Change in hours for the time being until we are able to move into Phase 5 – the new hours of operation will be 8 am to 5 pm / Monday to Friday – This will allow for extra cleaning and sanitation time by staff as required by the new guidelines. Arrival time to the center for morning drop off will be limited to 8 am to 9 am and pickup will be limited to 4 pm to 5 pm. (Further and detailed explanation to come in the next few days)
4) On Wednesday, July 1, 2020, when we reopen – please allow for additional time when dropping off and picking up as new procedures will be in place. (Further and detailed explanation to come in the next few days)
5) Please plan on sending your child to the center with 2 face masks each day. All children will be encouraged to wear masks daily except when outside, napping, and eating.
6) On Monday or Tuesday, a bullet point email will be sent to all families letting them know what to expect on the day of opening along with a Facebook live event at 6 pm on Monday, June 29, 2020, in the Evening from our Toddler Town Daycare Facebook Page.
Over the next days, weeks maybe even months, things may look and or feel different to your child, you, and us, this is where I ask that we all work together as a “FAMILY”. While the staff has been home, besides working with you and the children through Google classrooms and Facebook postings they have also all taken extensive training classes on reopening safely, we have been training and reading plans on what to do and how to do things to keep everyone safe and creating protocols. You yourselves have been reading the information, seeing information and hearing information as well, therefore I ask of you for your patience and understanding as we go through this new chapter together.
If you see something or do not understand something please don’t get upset, annoyed or mad or even scared, I ask of you that you please call me, ask the teachers for clarification, ask to speak to someone, offer suggestions so that we can all understand the situation much better and figure out the best approach possible. Please keep in mind that this is new for all of us and as you know, we all still do not have all the answers to what is going on and or what to expect. There are going to be changes that will make us happy and or might upset us, but if we all take the time to understand why these changes are in place we will be able to work together because we are doing this for the most precious people “Our Children”
Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday, July 1, 2020