MA Coronavirus: Daycares, Early Education Centers To Close

All early education centers and daycares in Massachusetts will close starting Monday, March 23, Gov. Charlie Baker said. The state will start identifying sectors, such as health care, where emergency child care may be provided.

Early education was one of the last facets of daily life in Massachusetts left unrestricted as officials tried to limit public gatherings. Still, some parents, like Jan Heng, didn't take any chances.

The Medford resident kept her 18-month-old daughter home from daycare this week after Baker closed public K-12 schools and limited gatherings to 25 people. The governor's executive order issued over the weekend did not cover daycare and child care centers.

"We have seen parents in the medical profession in and out of our building," Heng said. "We just want to be extra careful. [We have] nothing against the medical profession, but you never know."

Heng's child care center, a local branch of the nationwide KinderCare network, has been open this week.

"We've been working closely with your local health department, tracking CDC updates and consulting with medical advisers to ensure we're following their latest guidance," KinderCare CEO Tom Wyatt wrote in a letter to families. "In many communities it also means temporarily closing our doors and, where we are still open, adapting how we operate."

According to KinderCare's closures page, the only center in Massachusetts closed as of Wednesday was its location in Needham. Wyatt said that parents who kept their children home will not be charged for their decision.

"Our family's thought was we'd rather keep [our daughter] home with us than have something happen and we regret it later," Heng said.

Heng acknowledged her family's situation is unique, as she and her husband both have jobs with the flexibility to work from home. They've developed a system for at-home child care, alternating taking turns with their daughter for an hour at a time and getting work done during their off hours.

"Not every parent can stay at home," Heng said.

The KinderCare centers that remained open took additional precautions, which Wyatt outlined in his letter. Those included not gathering children at the beginning and end of day; staggering time outdoors; adjusting pick up and drop off to common areas to reduce classroom traffic; limiting classroom visitors; and strictly enforcing hygiene, cleaning and stay-at-home policies.

Some felt additional safety measures at daycare centers weren't enough. A Change.org petition calling on the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care to close child care centers received more than 26,000 signatures.

"You are putting the 200,000 teachers at potential risk of infection," Daniel Gonzalez, who started the petition, wrote. "While it is true that the risk to children is low, it is equally true that they can be carriers. This places our workforce at an increased risk of exposure."

Some daycares erred on the side of caution this week. Little Sprouts, which has 27 locations across Massachusetts and New Hampshire, closed all of its centers for two weeks after officials in both states put restrictions on public gatherings.

But shutting down posed another challenge – in a letter to families Sunday, Little Sprouts CEO Sarah Schroeder said the company would continue to collect tuition during the closure to stay in business, despite not providing any services.

"With tuition as our only source of income to pay teachers and vendors, the approach is about remaining operational so we can weather the storm together," Schroeder wrote. Patch reached out to Little Sprouts to see if the tuition policy has changed in light of the governor's order and has not yet heard back.

One parent told Patch her family spends a little over $4,000 a month to send their two children to Little Sprouts and will have to eat the $2,000 cost over the next two weeks. If they decide to pull their kids out of daycare, the company's withdrawal policy requires at least four weeks notice and tuition payment over that period.

In a follow-up letter to families on Tuesday, Schroeder said Little Sprouts would continue to adhere to the withdrawal policy but would review reduced tuition or postponed payment plans for families in need.

According to Schroeder, government assistance would not cover the entirety of teachers' wages, and the school staff, who are hourly employees, would not be given a livable wage on unemployment. National relief packages would apply to those who tested positive for COVID-19, had to remain out of work to take care of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or had to remain out of work to take care of their children during school closures, Schroeder said.

"While this last circumstance would NOT cover lost wages for our teachers, it could very likely support enrolled families' claims," Schroeder wrote. She called the decision to close "socially responsible," given the effectiveness of social distancing and self-quarantine.

Little Sprouts will waive parent fees for subsidy families and explore alternative tuition options starting Wednesday, director of Marketing and Communications Amanda Goodwin told Patch. She said the company's profit margins are in the single digits under normal circumstances.

"What we're focused on right now is trying to pay our staff as much as we can for as long as we can," Goodwin said. "Absolutely, this is not about making a profit."

Phone calls to families flagged by the company as being in need of assistance will start late Wednesday.

"We don't want to inflict any more hardship on people who are also being impacted by this," Goodwin said.