Consistent Caring
What a year 2020 has been! This year has been full of ups and downs for our entire Church family. Our daycare hasn't been exempt from the effects of COVID, but I do believe we have weathered the storm in a way that Chattanooga Valley Baptist Church can be proud of.
First, I wanted to give you a "status update" on where we stand after a year of operating under COVID. The Daycare currently has 17 employees. Nine of those employees have been with us for 1 year or more. Fortunately, our employee turnover rate has dropped significantly than in previous years. We were forced to close due to Covid-19 the entire month of April 2020 due to an ordinance passed by the Walker County Commissioner. We have had to close twice due to positive COVID cases in the Daycare. In June, we were closed for two weeks and most recently in February of 2021. In each of these closures, we were still able to pay our employees at least half of their weekly salary. In 2020, we were able to give ALL employees a Christmas bonus based on tenure.
In spite of the ongoing pandemic, the Daycare is still providing a much-needed ministry to our community. We currently have 6 rooms plus a school-age group that meets in the gym. We currently have a total enrollment of 73 children. All of our rooms are currently operating on a waitlist, except for Pre-K and the after-school program. As long as things continue to be successful and we continue to move in this direction, we will open a second 2/3-year-old room in August 2021. We were able to purchase the Abeka curriculum for our Pre-k program in 2020 and hope to purchase it for the entire daycare over the next few years.
We continue to be in good standing from our regulatory agency, Bright From the Start. This is the highest standing they give. The only plan of improvement they have given us is to add more mulch to all playgrounds. Of course, this is a constant battle we fight with the amount of rain we receive. We are also in the process of becoming a Quality Rated childcare facility. In the typical situation, this would mean we submit a portfolio followed up with a site visit from BFTS. Under their current COVID operating procedures, this has been much more challenging. BFTS representatives aren’t allowed to physically come out to the daycare. That means the portfolio is our only way of showing the level of care we provide. The quality rated scale is based on a 1, 2, or 3-star rating, but because of COVID, they are only allowing a temporary 1-star rating based on your portfolio and they will offer a higher rating when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. We hope to secure our Quality Rated star by May 1, 2021.
Of course, if the Daycare is only a Daycare, then we're missing our greatest calling. We believe it is essential that we provide Gospel ministry to our community. Recently, we've been able to provide the love of Christ in a very tangible way to one of our families. Without giving too many details, we have a family that recently came across some very trying times and the child truly did not know where she would get her next meal. Her mother expressed she could no longer afford to pay for daycare. As you can imagine, we were all concerned for the health and safety of this child. After speaking to Pastor Brian, as well as the daycare committee, we were able to offer this family financial assistance, ensuring that she is being taken care of and is receiving at least two nutritious meals a day. Most of all, she knows that she is loved by our Daycare team and the church as a whole. We hope that our ministry to this family will help to point each one to the saving knowledge of Jesus.
Thank you for the ongoing privilege of serving as the Director of our Daycare. This has certainly been a challenging season, but the Lord has taught us much as we have weathered the storm.
Megan O'Mary, Director
Chattanooga Valley Baptist Daycare