How will low income status be determined?
Provide any documentation to show your income is under the 200% or less range in the poverty guidelines chart, or show that you are living in section 8 housing, or qualify as priority 1 at your school because of low income status.
What happens after the 4 pilots are formed?
We are attempting to organize anywhere we can to bring this to a larger scale. If anyone has connections to do this or suggestions, please visit our submission/contact page. We are in need of more distance learning coordinators, more host families and donations of resources.
If I have already found other families/distance learning coordinators to partner with can I use this program to bring in the certain individuals my circle is lacking?
Yes. Use the contact page for this or put this information in your application.
What is the purpose of the application process?
To match everyone based on personalized standards of need and household dynamics.
How will my child’s distance learning schedule factor into this?
When you find out your child’s distance learning plan for the fall or formulate a schedule that works for you family, speak to your distance learning coordinator to incorporate that in to your child’s routine. If you’re given a schedule that you think is unreasonable for your circumstances, self advocacy is encouraged. Speaking to your school administration demanding more options be given during this time is essential to making sure your needs are met.
When would this be expected to begin?
I am aiming for a “start of the school year” goal but I realize that for everyone this will look different, and we can personalize this accordingly based on need.
Why does this start at kindergarten and not pre-k or before?
It would be optimal for every child to be included in this design or one of a similar concept but I had to choose where I could simplify the guidelines we would need to clear that might put us as at risk of not meeting the early childhood education standards necessary to care for younger kids when school is not mandatory. Removing that age group gave us less hurdles to clear since children within this program will be enrolled in school to meet their necessary standards of education. This is meant to serve as a supplement to distance learning that focuses on our child’s social and emotional development during this pandemic and not as a childcare service.
What safety precautions will be the standard expected?
Use masks when we can’t be 6 ft from someone outside of our circle/household. Washing hands before and after going into public spaces or for walks. Planning indoor activities at home when being in nature is not an option. Being outside is encouraged daily however your circle is comfortable practicing that.
Where is my money coming from if I am a learning coordinator or where is it going if I am a paying family?
The only person making a profit will be the person providing care/learning aids to the children. Coordinators will be responsible for setting up a payment system with the families using the pay structure provided in this program. I am working on finding outside funding to make this more equitable on a much larger scale, and hopefully free for every parent. I, as the creator of this program, am not currently taking any money or responsible for the exchange of money between families and coordinators. Any income I make will come from famlies I provide care for within this same structure.
Who can apply?
I am hoping this model attracts coordinators to fill the positions that will see this as an increase in their overall success during this time in however they decide that looks for them. It is a new lane to step into for many different people, and we can shape who this empowers and how it empowers us.
For the families that are attracted to this structure for themselves and their children, they should understand the ways the pod programs we see popping up could play out to be harmful to families that can't pay for private childcare costs. We should also understand there were and are families thriving in systems differently than what is happening in primarily white or financially privileged households, and we should be open to letting those ways guide different aspects of how this plays out for everyone.