Families anxiously await the announcement on Thursday from the governor and school districts about what public schools will look like in the fall. We know the options: 1) 100% back to school, 2) a hybrid model where children learn at school for two days of the week and complete distance learning for the remaining three, or 3) 100% Distance Learning. None of these serve the needs of all families. Many parents face a difficult if not impossible conundrum: how does one keep working, even remotely, while attending to the needs of young children? A large number of families do not feel comfortable sending their children back to school buildings with hundreds of others, and teachers share these trepidations. What to do?
Options. Families need good options, whether for at-school or at-home learning. Our nonprofit board resolved to provide a good option for those families who need care. We committed to prioritizing safety, limiting enrollment to no more than 10 children, and implementing measures recommended by the Minnesota Department of Health.
Our first year of operation will look much different than we anticipated. Staff will wear masks, drop-off and pick-up will occur outside, and children will have their own individual tables. We will say farewell at the end of each day with a wave and a smile instead of a high-five or hug.
We look forward to welcoming our first class of children on September 8th. It will be different. But it will still be wonderful.
For more information about enrolling, click here or email julia@monarchmn.org.
