M & M Extra Care Registration and Schedule Change Update
M & M Extra Care
To our M & M Families
We are so grateful for your patience and understanding while we “remained silent” between communication. I did not want to disclose information that was not yet finalized. I have been informed that the communication from your school leaders may have come or will be coming over the next few days. I can finally confirm that for the families who do not select a full virtual option, they will be returning in-person two days a week – this is called a Hybrid Model. There will be two cohorts (M/T and Th/F, with the other three days in virtual learning).
As you determine which scenario will work best for your family, you will need to be made aware of our response and availability within the Hybrid structure.
· Adjusting Schedules – many of our clients who have registered, have requested M-F (full-time). We know now that students who elect to attend school will only be present two days a week (either M & T or Th & F). For this reason, you will need to update your schedule HERE. You will also use this link to remove the need for care if that is your decision.
· Before and After Care will only be available on the days that your students attend. Yes, that means if your child attends every Monday and Tuesday in-person, those are the only days they will be able to attend M & M. Because it is important that we limit the contact of the students, we cannot mix the students from one cohort (M/T or TH/F) to another.
· No drop-in care will be available – this is because we will have strict limitations on class sizes and ratios. Only contracted spots can be saved. Clients may only select every M & T or every Th & F. If your family only needs one day a week, you will still need to contract and pay for two days. We have applied for and will be utilizing grants to help pay for the costs to provide a program with greatly reduced class sizes and ratios. Because of this, we are currently not raising our rates, but we also must have strict registration requirements that will guarantee a paid space for every student in care. We cannot save a spot for a student to attend less than two days every week.
· Masks will be mandatory for all ages. Yes, you read that right and I am sorry, especially for the kinders. Because we will have to group students from different classrooms in each grade it is imperative that all students and staff be masked while in care. So, if this is a deal-breaker for you, we completely understand. We wanted to give you enough time to make other childcare arrangements or to start getting your children used to wearing a mask for 2-3 hours at a time (or longer for the older students).
If you have already registered for this upcoming school year:
· We have adopted a new program management system called Brightwheel. After registering, you should receive an email request to create a Brightwheel account. If you have not responded to our email request, please do so now. It is important that 100% of our families have the Brightwheel App downloaded to their devices. We will be using Brightwheel for a contact-free check-in and out. Additionally, all billing, communication and health-checks will all be handled using the app.
· Please adjust your schedule as soon as you know your cohort assignment – The schedule change form can be found HERE. You will also use this link to remove the need for care if that is your decision.
If you have not yet registered, please click REGISTER as soon as you know which two days you will need. After you register, you will receive an invitation to join Brightwheel within 1 business day. Please respond and create your account as soon as possible.
Other Important Information:
· Training our team – We started training this past week for all staff. There is required training that must occur before we will return, in addition to other important time sensitive issues such as racial equity training and developing lesson plans that will work within our new structure. We are getting an early start so that we can train, prepare, and practice the new systems so that we are ready when school resumes.
· Jena is back to work! Our lovely Customer Care Representative has also been called back to work. So, if you give us a call or send an email, you should receive a response within one business day. We genuinely appreciate your patience over the past several months. I know we have not always been available.
· This email group will be expiring – Once the school year begins, we will only be communicating to our 2020-21 Registered Clients through a new Google email group and through the new Brightwheel App. You received this email because your student(s) attended M & M during the 2019-20 School Year. There is no need to be removed from this list because it will be obsolete in about 30 days.
Thank you again for your patience and support. Please continue to stay well and stay safe!
Sincerely,
Madonna Mrocca