State: Solid progress on child care 'hubs'
A view from Rabeck Mountain Road off Route 4 in Killington, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
In just over four weeks, the state of Vermont and its partners have established 35 child care "hubs" including 87 locations, in an effort to support school-aged students and their families during remote learning days.
Some of the hubs include multiple sites in one town. The current child care hub network serves over 5,000 children from 107 towns and 132 schools.
While the state Agency of Human Services partnered with the nonprofit Vermont Afterschool to lead this project, it has been a multi-agency effort from the start, according to Holly Morehouse, executive director of Vermont Afterschool. Morehouse said a number of the organizations who became hubs were those who pivoted to caring for the children of essential workers in March, when the pandemic hit Vermont. She said the leaders of the hub effort worked with many existing community partners who already had important connections with local schools and other groups.
On Friday at a state press conference, Morehouse unveiled an interactive map which contains details about the different hub sites, represented by dots.
"Behind every one of these dots is a local story of innovation, determination, flexibility and caring in Vermont's communities," she said.
During his remarks, Gov. Phil Scott thanked the educational community and state education officials for their work in getting kids back to school. Many school districts in Vermont have implemented hybrid learning plans involving in-person and remote education.
Scott also gave a special thanks to the state's child care partners for their efforts in supporting students' remote learning needs. So far, the governor said the work of the educational and child care communities seems to have paid off. However, he noted that this success was made possible by Vermonters' adherence to public health guidelines, which has kept COVID-19 case numbers low.
He said people need to continue following the state's guidelines, including mask-wearing, social distancing, hand-washing and travel restrictions.
"It's more important than ever that we keep this up, for our kids and families, as well as our communities and our economy," Scott said. "If we stay vigilant and continue to suppress the virus, we'll continue taking steps forward, not back, and we'll get through this stronger than we were before."
Throughout its history, Vermont has thrived on collective, positive community efforts that pave the way for progress. That unity has never been more important, and the child care hub program shows what can be accomplished through determined community efforts. To be sure, there is more work to do on this and many other fronts. But the strength the Vermont community has shown in recent months has been inspiring, and it gives us hope that more progress awaits.
— Gareth Henderson
