By Marcia Montgomery
Associate Editor
With schools opening all around the nation, the number of COVID-19 cases have risen. So how are our local Jewish preschools keeping little ones safe during the pandemic?
Apparently, there are as many ways as there are opinions. However, Judy Jacks Berman, director of Beth Shalom’s Rose Family Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC), has found a way to please just about everyone.
She said after talking to doctors and following their recommendations of when it’s safe to open, she decided to wait until the number of coronavirus cases goes down.
“I came to realize that basically in this age of pandemic, people kind of followed three general groups,” she told The Chronicle. “There is a group that is ready to get back into school no matter what; they just want their kid in school. There’s a group that wants their kid to be around other kids, but they’re not ready for them to be in school as school is. And then there’s a third group of people that are not really comfortable going past their bubble.”
Jacks Berman has come up with three options. Her first program is for those ready to put their children in school. As soon as the doctors tell her it’s safe, she will start with two classes — a pre-K class (18 months to age 2) and a 3- to 5-year-old class, limiting it to 10 kids in each class and they will not be interacting at all with each other. When in the playroom, they will be alone with their teachers. After leaving the playroom, the room will be disinfected before the other group comes in, and the same for the playground — it too will be disinfected before the next group.
She said children 18 months to those turning 3 are still very oral and experts are discovering that much of the virus can live in the mucus of kids.
“I’m not ready for little people who are putting everything in their mouths to return to school. I just don’t think it’s safe. That’s my own opinion,” Jacks Berman said. “I’ve been in this field now for over 40 years and I think I have a different assessment than someone who is much younger or somebody with less experience.”
For the parents who want their kids to get to play and see other kids, but are not ready for inside time, she said they will be forming pods of four for an hour and a half a day three times a week for pre-K and 3- to 5-year-olds. They will be outside either on the playground, in the organic garden or on Beth Shalom’s 20-acre field, except to go to the bathroom or wash their hands.
Jacks Berman said they can put picnic tables on the field where children can have group time, story time and activities. “So for an hour and a half they’ll be outside only with just groups of four with one teacher. And those pods will never change; the same four kids will always be together.”
If it’s stormy or extremely cold, they won’t have class.
The third option is for people who are not ready to step out of their bubble. Three times a week, there will be some activities on the field that parents have to RSVP for and bring a blanket. The family stays on the blanket. This is for all children, 18 months to 5 years.
When children are inside, they’ll be masked; when outside, they do not need masks. However, teachers will be wearing their masks outside and any time they’re near kids or adults. All adults will be masked.
“I really tried to meet people where they are. This is so unprecedented and everybody’s coping differently with it. Nobody’s right and nobody’s wrong,” Jacks Berman said. “Every parent has to make a decision that is best for their family and that they consider the safest, healthiest for their kids. I don’t want anybody to be pressured to do one thing or the other.”
Parents have been very positive about these options, she said, because they’re able to choose what’s best for their family. “And that was my goal.”
Child Development Center at The J
Machaela Whelan, director of the Child Development Center (CDC) at the Jewish Community Center (The J), said they have been open all during the pandemic. They are taking their lead from the Johnson County Health Department, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and The National Association for the Education of Young Children where they get their accreditation, following their guidance and making updates as necessary.
Whelan said they have made quite a few programmatic changes as far as how parents enter and exit the CDC. “Mask wearing was a big change. All our employees wear masks all the time, indoors and outdoors. Parents wear masks in public spaces.”
In addition, there’s a lot of cleaning. Whelan said working in early childhood requires a pretty rigorous cleaning schedule anyway, but they have upped that and now do nightly electrostatic cleaning, which is an EPA approved coronavirus killer.
The J’s CDC does not clean the playground after every class, Whelan said. They have separated the playground out so there’s only one class at a time, and the children wash their hands before and after going to the playground. The teachers use sanitizer provided by The J.
Whelan said they practice extra hand washing and they’re washing any toys immediately that have been in a child’s mouth, or if a child sneezes they make sure those toys go into a cleaning bin right away.
Whelan said The J does not require children to wear masks in the classrooms. She reiterated they take their lead from the Johnson County Department of Health.
“Their epidemiology team has released statements about this age group, 1-5, (saying) that the transmission rate is almost non-existent and because of that they don’t feel like it’s appropriate to have kids this age wear masks all the time,” she said. “If a parent wants us to have a child wear a mask, we’re fine with supporting and facilitating that.”
The Johnson County Health Department encourages children 2 years and over to wear masks only in public spaces. “So (The J’s) policy is that children 2 and over are encouraged to wear masks when they’re coming to be dropped off in the morning, which all happens at our front desk,” Whelan said.
At the end of the day when parents pick up their child, teachers escort kids to the front desk and they wear their masks during that exchange because they’re in public spaces.
Whelan said they check all the children’s temperatures every day before they take them from their parents. And they take staff temperatures every morning as they arrive for work.
She pointed out that The J’s CDC has policies and procedures in place regarding quarantine if a child or an adult — parent or teacher — were to test positive.
“I do want to point out that we have had zero cases of positive children even though we’ve been open the whole time and so I think that reinforces what the epidemiology team is saying… that in this age group we’re not seeing much spread,” said Whelan. “We’re doing everything humanly possible in following all of the guidelines that the county considers valuable and important for childcare centers and keeping families safe. That’s our top priority; it has to be.”
While Congregation B’nai Jehudah has its own preschool, those children are being sent to The J while B’nai Jehudah is closed.
Jan Pfefer Gan Chabad Preschool
Gan Chabad Preschool just reopened last week, according to Assistant Director Esty Perman, “under the guidance of a medical advisory team and a parent committee.”
Perman said the transition back to school has been seamless, “and the joy of the children to be back in their classrooms with their friends, teachers and favorite toys is indescribable.” Students and staff have their temperatures taken at the door before starting the day, and parents remain outside the building during drop off and pick up.
Gan Chabad staff wear masks throughout the day, following the guidelines and recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and the Kansas Department of Health & Environment.
“To help mitigate the disconnect of the masks, our school ordered special clear masks that allow the children to see their teachers’ faces completely,” said Perman. “Especially in the preschool stage, these clear masks are crucial to social and emotional development and connection, as well as healthy language development.”
Prior to school starting, Gan Chabad sent all the parents a video portraying what the new drop off protocol would look like to help familiarize the children and prepare them for the changes.
“Handwashing and sanitizing have always been a regular part of our routine, but with COVID in the air we have been extra careful in those areas,” Perman said. “We hope and pray that the precautions we take will keep our students and staff healthy, and we look forward to a wonderful year of learning and fun.”