FULL TIME & PART TIME OPTION

Whether you want to enroll, express interest, or provide feedback the place to do it is here.

Because of the ambiguity of how distance learning will happen on a daily basis, there are some limits to informing you about out day to day schedules. We also want to be responsive to how kids are managing as the school year begins.

Please take some time to get to know what our Homebase Distance Learning Daycare will likely look like. 

 

Who We Can Serve

• We want the families who enroll in our daycare program to commit to distance learning at least through to winter break even if the district offers phase in options to return to school. Families have the option to not join any on-site instruction for the whole year. Even though we could feasibly have 3 week sessions, a longer commitment is beneficial for several reasons:

• It reduces the health risk for staff and students if the 12 enrolled are consistent
• Continuity is important for kids to develop meaningful relationships with adults and peers
• We want to support student’s academic growth and that is easier if we maintain history with the same children as we help them with their distant learning

Our Bare Minimum Commitments

• A safe environment including: consistent, minimal staff for each group, mask requirements when social distancing is not possible*, adequate ventilation, sterilization with medical grade UVC light units and surface cleaning  throughout the day, hand washing or sterilizing when transitioning to different activities, limited persons allowed in the facility, temperature checks and daily screenings, and separation of groups.  Our health and safety protocols can be found on our website here.  We can also provided you with a copy of our Site Specific Covid Response Plan, required by all business in Alameda county.

 • We will have internet capacity, technical support, and learning centers to allow students to bring devices for their Zoom instruction with teachers.

• Qualified staff will be present during Zoom instruction to help students stay focused and to support their understanding of assignments

• If time is needed outside of instructional hours for students to complete homework, we will build that into the schedule with staff guidance and support.

• Parents will be informed on a daily basis how their child is managing during Zoom instruction and independent work time. We will highlight areas of academic difficulty as we get to know each child’s skill level and will also bring positive achievements to your attention.

• An attempt to make a schedule that balances school work, social time, and physical activity

• Weekly craft projects as always, time in the gym room and the outside play structure (masks on and hands sanitized before and after), a physical education period 2 x a week one time of which could be dance, a daily read-aloud with discussion and/or silent reading period, and, of course, our attentive & caring staff

Other Possible Options

 • 1-2 40 minute periods per week of Math and/or Language Arts instruction.  We need to see how burnt out kids are from zoom lessons and homework before phasing this in. Also, we need to see if we have age groups/skill levels that will make this feasible

• 1-2 field trips per week to Redwood Park for field games and hikes. Transportation provided with masks, windows open and 2 vehicles when possible.

• Half-day enrollment possibility with the option to have kids attend during Zoom instructional time (so you don’t have to deal with the resistance and we can provide structure) or when they are not in instructional time. This may be challenging to figure out logistically, but we want to open it up as a possibility.

Cost

Full Time Option: 9:00-5:00 $369/week*

Part Time Option: 9:00-1:00  or 1:30 -5:00    $184.50/wk*

Extended Care Option:*         8:30-6:00 (half hour increments $10/hr)

* Extended care: We hope to be able to offer this if we have a minimum and staffing allows.  It is not guaranteed, at this time

* A note about cost: We recognize what a tremendous burden this added cost has on families. The cost involved allows us to hire staff qualified to support your child academically, compensate them adequately during this stressful time, helps us cover upgrades required for adequate internet service and technical support, and pays for extra staff and supplies to maintain our strict health and safety standards.

Also, of note, our daycare program will be the primary source of income to keep Onstage- Kids 'N Dance 'N Theater Arts afloat. We hope that the quality service we provide will make the financial burden easier to bear.

We do know that for some of you, however, the financial burden is just not feasible.  For this reason we are offering two spots at reduced rates for families that have been a part of our after school program and have financial need especially because of reduced work due to Covid.  Please email me directly to tell me about your situation and we can discuss a sliding scale.

Next Steps: 

Whether you want to enroll, express interest, or provide feedback the place to do it is here.

Parent Handbook

 

Take a look at an Oaklandside article about OUSD Fall Plan HERE

Here is a summary of our “take-aways” from OUSD's Monday night 7/13/20 live stream meeting to help families make informed decisions about the new school year.

Please keep in mind that this is my interpretation of what I heard and what I see on the charts.  I don’t claim to be an authority and encourage you to double check for yourself and cross-reference with others who attended the meeting. Also, it is important to remember that the unions have not agreed to these plans yet so everything might change anyway.

• Most students will be in distance learning for the first two phases. Phase 1 is just for 10% of high need students. Those that struggle with distance learning due to limited access to the internet, home support, English Language Learners, etc.

• Phase 1 – is just a check in and check out once or twice a week. Like a homeroom connection period, picking up materials and dropping of completed work, meeting with teacher “if needed”. This would not be for a full day and the goal is not  instruction but for connection, exchanging materials, and fielding questions. High needs kids would get small group learning instruction. Distance learning is still the main mode of instruction.

• Phase 2 – is a full day once a week with instruction for each child. Distance learning is still the main mode of instruction.

• Phase 3 – has 2 options: attending every other week or two days a week for instruction. Distance learning is still the main mode of instruction.

• Evaluations for phase-changes occurs every 4-6 weeks. So optimistically, Phase 3 could happen by mid-November.

• The district is required now by law (AB77) to have at least 3 hours of instruction with the teacher daily.  This means zooming on days not with the teacher during phase-ins.  Again, distance learning is still the main mode of instruction no matter which way you look at it.

• The district claims to be prepared for all aspects of the phase-in except for Phase 3 – cleaning and sanitizing. (SEE CHART 3)

• Teachers are suppose to be better trained for distance learning instruction, but given that they have not had any in-services yet, I gather that this will be a learn as they go starting August 10^th.

• Teachers will have a steep learning curve adjusting to distance learning models, integrating on site students, and learning how to adjust to safety protocols

• Families can opt to do distance learning for the entire year and this is not effected by the phase ins.

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My two cents:

 

Even if you plan to go along with district’s phase-in plan, it is extremely likely that your child will be primarily learning through zoom instruction through the fall and early winter.  Families need to prepare for this reality.

I have taught zoom writing classes since SIP first occurred and found that it can be a useful teaching medium small groups a students (up to 12) with a lot of planning and creativity: materials sent out well in advance, varied learning styles taken into consideration, and use of break-out groups with accountability built in.  Even with this commitment to make it accessible, some students just couldn’t stay connected or simply get distracted. It only becomes worse with the large class sizes teachers have to deal with.  I’m sure you saw your kids experience this in the spring.

For distance learning to work students are going to need a high level of parent/adult involvement. As a parent that homeschooled and a former middle school public school teacher, I learned that it does not take a lot of instructional time to convey new concepts as long as it is high quality instructional time.  My goal for our daycare academic support is for our staff to focus on essential concepts that need to be learned by looking at assignments and checking for understanding and re-teaching as needed.  We want to be a part of your child's educational team, help them feel successful, and give them a community to engage with -everything missing when not able to attend school.