Kid City Academy in Franklin has had to deal with a depleted teaching staff, a pandemic and financial hardship this year, but its owners have found a way to keep the preschool open.
At 140 students, Kid City Academy is one of the largest early childhood centers in Johnson County, but it was actually down 40 students this fall. The preschool still hasn’t filled those spots, hoping it can use the decrease to create space for the children who still attend instead of asking parents to withdraw their children, said Jonella Salyers, director and co-owner.
“We only closed for two weeks during the pandemic, but we lost many students to families working from home or they were afraid to bring them in and we didn’t fill those spots,” Salyers said. “We are holding off because it gives students more safety. You can’t expect two-year-olds to stay six feet apart.”
The preschool, which now has about 12 teachers, had 20 before the coronavirus pandemic. It likely won’t fill all those spots until it’s safe to add more students, she said.
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“We lost four who were afraid to work during COVID,” Salyers said. “It’s hard to get new employees. We’re managing because we’re smaller (in terms of students), but it’s impacted us because we’re not getting qualified candidates applying.”
Kid City Academy workers have taken numerous precautions to try and prevent the spread of COVID-19, including bringing children outside as long as it’s warmer than 32 degrees, having indoor recess separated by classroom for contact tracing purposes, sending students home if they have an elevated temperature or have been exposed to COVID-19, and investing in a $4,000 air filtration system, she said.
Staff members have put in extra effort to make sure they follow sanitary guidelines, Salyers said.
“It’s a lot of time cleaning and trying to figure out how to do things,” Salyers said. “They’re spaced apart during meals; before, it was a whole row of students. It takes a lot longer to get meals done. We spend hours cleaning. After students touch something, we set it to the side and clean it with bleach water.”
The preschool also invested in Clorox 360, which covers surfaces with sanitizing spray, she said.
Other preschools in Johnson County work with just a handful of children, but are still taking precautions to make sure they can continue their operations.
Toddler Town is a go-to for parents who are teachers and first responders. Right now, there are three children at the daycare, a decrease from the usual five. Closed for two months earlier in the pandemic, Toddler Town did not replace the two available spots after reopening, said Lyndsey Gilley, the daycare’s owner.
Toddler Town hasn’t had any COVID-19 cases, and Gilley is taking extra precautions to make sure it doesn’t have to shut down, she said.
“We don’t have any visitation or meet and greets so the children aren’t exposed,” Gilley said. “We don’t take any toys from outside. They come in, they wash their hands and they take their shoes off. We sanitize everything daily. We have a super firm illness policy as well, and I think that holds up.”
The daycare now uses disposable plates and eating utensils, with each child getting their own color-coded cup. Children have their temperatures taken midway and they are spending more time outside, she said.
“We have been spending more time outside to be ventilated,” Gilley said. “We’ve had lunches outside, weather permitting. I have eliminated spots. I don’t want to bring new kids and expose my current kids I have.”
Thomas Family Daycare, also in Franklin, has similarly downsized. Before the pandemic, three families brought their children to the daycare, but now just one does, said Carrie Thomas, the daycare’s owner.
“I had a couple of families go; they went to other daycares,” Thomas said. “I have a three-year-old of my own and I had to let a couple of families go. I wanted to make sure my personal family was safe.”
Sanitary measures are something that Thomas took very seriously, even before the pandemic, she said.
“I’m a very OCD person to begin with,” Thomas said. “Before COVID, I had my family change out of their clothes after going to facilities and public places.”
With the one family the daycare does provide for, mask wearing, temperature checking and cleaning toys have become a part of their daily routine, she said.
“If they have a runny nose, they can’t come,” Thomas said. “We haven’t had any sickness, (not) even the flu and cold.”
