Woodstock child care ‘hub’ approved

The second floor of The Community Campus offers a stunning view of Mount Tom. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

A new Woodstock nonprofit has become one of 23 child care "hubs" approved in Vermont, as part of the state’s effort to help families needing child care for school-aged children on remote learning days.

This state program is expected to serve at least 6,000 children after more locations get the green light this month. Using funding approved by the Legislature, each child care hub receives assistance with start-up costs. 

The newly approved Woodstock hub is The Community Campus (TCC), a nonprofit located on Route 12 at the base of Mount Tom. TCC, serving children in grades K-7, provides academic support and creative enrichment opportunities on remote learning days and after school. Its first day of operation was Sept. 8. TCC shares a building with the Rainbow Playschool. The two operate in separate parts of the building, and a few spaces are shared, though used at different times.

Vermont’s child care hub program has grown in recent weeks as the state has pushed to approve more sites. Earlier this month, Human Services Secretary Mike Smith said his team is paying particular attention to regions that need these services most, including southern Bennington County, Windham County and portions of central Vermont. 

"I'm pretty happy with the roll out, based on what we've done in a fairly short time," Smith said on Sept. 11. "I can't stress enough how much people have worked tremendously to get this system up and running." 

— Gareth Henderson

The Community Campus debuts

The Community Campus team is shown in Woodstock, Vermont. At left (bottom to top) are Kate Kardashian, Tesha Buss, Kristiana Ploss and Carolyn Shaw, and at right are Izzy Jenne and (top) Heather Todd-Perham. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

A new venture in Woodstock, Vermont, is providing working parents with some much-needed support for children during remote learning days. 

That need led to the formation of The Community Campus (TCC),  a new nonprofit providing academic support and creative enrichment opportunities on remote learning days and after school. It shares a building with the Rainbow Playschool at the foot of Mount Tom on Route 12 and serves children in grades K-7. Rainbow and TCC operate in separate parts of the building, and a few spaces are shared, though used at different times.

The impetus for the TCC concept formed when Kate Kardashian, a special education teacher in the local Windsor Central Supervisory Union, went through the difficult experience that so many parents did this spring, when the pandemic hit and suddenly remote learning was the new reality. Kardashian knew working parents would need help this school year, including those who could not get essential worker status.  

"We needed to do something for families and kids," she said.   

A view from the second-floor back steps of The Community Campus offers this scenic view of Mount Tom. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

She spoke with her friend, Tesha Buss, then-president of the Rainbow Playschool Board. Buss had anticipated remote learning would be a struggle again for her staff, and she suggested Rainbow's building as a possible option, and the process began from there. 

Collaboration with the school district is centrally important to this effort. Kristiana Ploss, the educational director for TCC, said the program is designed to be a help to the district and teachers. 

"We're supporting the school district and their remote menus of learning," Ploss said. 

There are different schedule options, and the cost is $50 per day for the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. program option, and $20 per day for 3-5 p.m. after-school care. There are options for tuition assistance, including through the Woodstock Area Relief Fund. Buss, the TCC business manager, said the main focus for TCC is the current need in the community.

"What the (long-term) looks like, that's not fully determined," Buss said, adding the nonprofit is working on start-up costs. It recently received its state license as a school-aged child care center. "Right now, we're just doing what we have to do." 

Kardashian, whose TCC role is on a volunteer basis, remains working for the local school district and felt the need to get this project off the ground to help the community.   

"It's really a grassroots effort that's meeting an immediate need," she said.   

The classroom for grades 6 and 7 is shown at The Community Campus. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

TCC began its year on Tuesday, when all Vermont public schools reopened. As of Monday, 35 kids were enrolled and more spots were available.

In the morning, TCC staff help the students get through their remote assignments and projects, Ploss said. In the afternoon, students get to experience "genius work," inspired by Google's "genius hour" concept, believing that better results come from letting workers pursue projects they’re passionate about. At TCC, students can choose a project they're interested in, make a plan, and tackle it, involving a topic relevant to school studies. It's a chance to "build on their school work" using a subject which interests them, Ploss explained. The campus at the base of Mount Tom provides plenty of ways to involve the outdoors in these projects.

"We really want them to make it their own," she said.

TCC also partners with local entities. The staff will regularly pick up books from the Norman Williams Public Library for the students. Also, the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park plans to collaborate on some learning programs. 

Additionally, TCC has applied to become a child care hub, under a new state program trying to address the needs around school-aged child care and remote learning. If approved, the program would help with TCC's start-up costs. That application is pending. 

— Gareth Henderson

Child care concern spurs state action

A scenic view from North Bridgewater Road in Bridgewater, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Vermont is moving to increase child care capacity in anticipation of great need for those services once schools reopen Sept. 8.

In remarks to the media on Tuesday, Gov. Phil Scott acknowledged the challenges faced by parents having to grapple with different school schedules. Most schools are implementing hybrid plans for remote and in-person learning amid the pandemic. A key concern: child care for young school-aged children on remote-learning days.

“We know we need more child care capacity, and we need it quickly,” Scott said. 

With an executive order Tuesday, the governor allowed home-based providers to be reimbursed by the state for more than 4 hours of care per day for school-aged children (that is usually capped at 4 hours). Scott said that rule change is expected to add more than 3,000 child care slots in Vermont. Officials also announced a new effort to create 73 local child care hubs for school-aged children during remote-learning days. That effort is expected to add up to 7,000 slots.

Over the next month, the Department for Children and Families (DCF) will work with community partners to create those child care hubs. Pending legislative approval, the state is allocating $12 million in federal relief money to expand child care options, with $7 million of that total going to the hubs.

Child care hub locations have not been determined. Scott said the state and its partners will consider “appropriate business and municipal spaces” for those new sites, which will follow the existing COVID guidance required of summer camps. The state is also taking steps to expedite the application process to create the hubs, while making sure all health and safety requirements are followed, according to Mike Smith, the state’s secretary of human services.

This was a crucial development for Vermont, as concerns have been building quickly over child-care needs throughout the state. At Tuesday’s presser, Smith unveiled an alarming statistic based on a recent analysis by DCF: If 25 percent of K-6 students require child care during remote learning days, that is the equivalent to 10,300 new child care slots. That number clearly shows it was time to take action.

As with all plans during the pandemic, this one will require constant review and attention to ensure the best outcomes, and more support will likely be needed. But the child care sector is critical for the sustainability of our communities and the economy, and Tuesday’s announcement was an important step forward. 

— Gareth Henderson