Enrolled families get a free week of tuition for referring a new family to TDC
Executive Director: davidgeorge@learnplaygrow.org
FORMERLY TOPEKA DAY CARE. Serving local children and families since 1963.
FORMERLY TOPEKA DAY CARE. Serving local children and families since 1963.
FORMERLY TOPEKA DAY CARE. Serving local children and families since 1963.FORMERLY TOPEKA DAY CARE. Serving local children and families since 1963.
TUITION & FEES UPDATE
Since we don’t have a Disaster/Pandemic Provision in place, many decisions about policy are being made by our Board of Directors concerning staff pay and parent tuition.
We are considering how to protect our operations and services if we stay open or if we are forced to close at some point. This is a difficult and confusing proposition because we must have paying customers while open, but we can’t charge for care that’s not provided if closed.
Your questions about tuition and slots cannot be answered completely at the present time. I’ve been telling other parents that all is fine for now. All families should keep balances as close to zero as possible. All families have up to two weeks in a calendar year (per signed contract) that are tuition free. However, by doing that now, there may not be options for a late summer trip without payments or unpaid time during winter break. We also have plans to add children of doctors, nurses, and emergency workers in vacated slots as time passes, but we are unsure how that will look long-term.
We will have better answers for our TDC families in the coming days and weeks. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Please keep looking for important updates on our main Facebook page and through our KidReports App.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE
You may be aware that all Shawnee County School Districts have been ordered to suspend classroom and extracurricular activities for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.
During a recent news conference, Dr. Pezzino stated that childcare centers were excluded because they don't observe spring breaks and, by not being at the same level of risk, can remain open. After discussions with the TDC Board of Directors, we have decided to keep all TDC sites open, with heightened awareness, vigilant sterilization and curtailed visitation.
Despite additional restrictions for businesses and citizens over the past week, the Governor as reiterated the importance of childcare sites and that licensed facilities should remain open until further notice. The need to serve the children of first-responders, and people that must continue working, is paramount during this crises.
It is obviously a parent's choice on whether to utilize our services that we hope offer some sense of normalcy. We do ask that you notify us if, and when, you will not have a child attend on any given day. Also, please understand that sick children may be turned away at drop off or a child with various symptoms will need to get picked up immediately per our standard operating procedure.
This is an unprecedented situation that seems to change moment to moment as the impact and information about COVID-19 is rapidly evolving. The TDC Leadership team will closely monitor the situation and we will remain in contact with the Shawnee County Health Department, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Child Care Aware. Further details about the virus and protective measures, or a change in our mode of operation, will be provided as it becomes necessary.
Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads easily person-to-person; however, the biggest threat for contamination is to those who travel in heavily infected areas. The greatest risk for individuals is to gather in larger groups of 250 people or more. The highest incidence of serious outcomes is for the elderly with preexisting health issues.
Please remember that KDHE has advised that any student or parents who traveled out of the country over the past week to 10 days should contact the Shawnee County Health Department at 785.806.6297 for guidance. Additionally, if you or anyone in your home feels sick and has symptoms, please call your doctor or health care provider prior to going to the doctor’s office/emergency room.
INFORMATION ABOUT WEATHER DELAYS OR CLOSINGS
TDC’s Inclement Weather Policy is intended to accommodate the needs of both families and employees. The main goal with every major weather event is to keep everyone out of harm’s way.
TDC Learning Centers may follow USD 501 from time to time, but independent choices may be reached by the Executive Director based on snow amounts, ice potential, timing of precipitation, when plows may be available and/or extreme temperature patterns.
Parents and staff members should not contact Center Directors or Main Office regarding decisions that may or may not be made. All announcements pertaining to late starts, early releases or closings will be made by 5:30am on the day affected and notices will be posted on KSNT, WIBW, Facebook, Twitter, learnplaygrow.org, eblast, group text and KidReports.
Please understand that we take many factors (besides weather conditions) into consideration to determine if we can/should open late, close early or close completely. We apologize for any inconvenience.
PARENTS NIGHT OUT/KIDS NIGHT IN
PARENT'S NIGHT OUT
Saturday, February 15th
This is offered to families that pre-registered and pre-paid BEFORE February 7th.
Care will be provided, with appropriate staffing, from 6-9pm at TDC's Little Explorers Learning Center. The address is 4746 SW 21st St.
Stay tuned for information about future events. Below are the likely times this will occur in any given year:
Around Valentine's Day (February)
Summer (Probably June)
Start of School (After Labor Day)
Around Holidays for Shopping (2nd Saturday in December)
TUITION INCREASE ANNOUNCEMENT
This applies to families with children at Crestview and Little Explorers only. Adventures has a corporate care agreement with locked rates, and Highland Park will keep the same price structure with scholarship offerings, teen mom subsidy and teacher discounts.
As of August 5, 2019...
Infants: $220
Toddler 1: $200 (12 months to 18 months)
Toddler 2: $190 (18 months to 2.5 years)
Preschool: $180 (2.5 years to age 4)
Pre-K: $170 (4 years and older)
IMPORTANT: Billing will change when a child hits the age milestones shown above, not when he/she moves to a new classroom.
Another hike will not be considered until August 2021, so you are guaranteed the same rates for a two-year period.
Thank you for letting us teach and care for your child!
PARENTS CONNECT GROUP
Become More Involved
If you would like to participate in a committee that meets during lunch once a month, please contact your Center Director.
We want strong parent involvement at each of our five locations, and we would appreciate more volunteers for our larger company fundraisers.
