Kids First supports students during pandemic
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With full-time, in-person school on hold, students are largely isolated from their peers and some parents have reported their children's grades have slipped as a result of the non-traditional learning model.
Kids First Child Development Center, a local child care organization, has sought to mitigate these problems, serving Altoona Area School District students amid the uncertainty and chaos of a pandemic's stranglehold on normalcy.
"They've consistently partnered with AASD and families to ensure that children have an environment conducive to learning, the materials necessary to participate, and strong support systems at their facilities," said Haley Fleegle, Altoona Area School District director of Federal Programs, Gifted and Instructional Coaching. She said the child care group has done "an amazing job" supporting students throughout virtual learning.
When schools shut down due to the pandemic, Kids First's staff took steps to support its students in the transition from face-to-face to virtual learning, upgrading the facilities' WiFi, installing charging stations and ordering new furniture to improve students' workspace. Students have access to these resources daily for $25 for a full day, the cheapest rate among Kids First's programs, which also include infant and toddler care and preschool. Kids First serves Altoona Area School District elementary students during the academic year, and a mix of students from Altoona and Hollidaysburg during summer.
The organization is the largest of its kind in Altoona by measure of facility count, according to Fleegle. Kids First's 11 centers serve children ranging from infancy to 12 years.
The organization is headquartered at 4 Sheraton Drive and has nine sites at Altoona Area schools.
"AASD is very fortunate to have a partnership with Kids First," Fleegle said. "We work very well together to ensure that children and families are at the forefront of all decisions and programs implemented within the district."
Tricia Hollabaugh, a single mother of a kindergartner and fourth-grader, is grateful for the organization's support as she juggles a full-time work schedule during the pandemic, working on the frontlines in the health-care field.
"It means so much," Hollabaugh said. "I work at a doctors' office. I (haven't been) off of work, so, therefore, I've always had the security of having (Kids First) for my children."
Hollabaugh said Kids First has done beautifully in its support of the district. "Wherever the school left off, the day care was there to pick up and they never skipped a beat."
Fleegle said the pandemic has highlighted the importance of Kids First's services.
"COVID has certainly exasperated the needs for full-time care throughout the day in lieu of school," Fleegle said. "Kids First has consistently adjusted its models and programming to meet the needs of our children and families."
Kids First has remained open throughout the pandemic save for a brief window of time when Gov. Tom Wolf implemented his shutdown order in March.
In May, once the Commonwealth reached its "yellow" phase of reopening, Kids First reopened, but it wasn't easy.
"It was a pretty heroic effort to try to figure out how to reopen safely," Kids First owner and CEO Jackie Clouser said. "A lot of consultation with the Department of Health, a lot of reading, a lot of consultation with people that we know who run other medical organizations, surveying our staff, surveying our families."
Clouser added that the organization "implemented a lot of changes," requiring masking, conducting health screenings upon entering facilities and increasing sanitation protocols.
Another step, Clouser said, was opening an additional child care site at the junior high school, which the organization was able to do quickly.
"We worked with the Department of Human Services to get that turned around in a matter of days, which was just wonderful collaboration and support we've received." Clouser said.
Collaboration has come from within, too, according to Jeannette Price, a Kids First teacher who works with each age group that the organization serves. Kids First's staff has made sacrifices, she said, to keep the operation running.
"The challenges that we have all faced and the sacrifices that everybody has made throughout this pandemic, it can be so disheartening, and I know so many people, myself included, have given up vacation and have given up lost income and just so many different things, given up seeing family. All of us have been making sacrifices for so long."
Price said these sacrifices have been worth it though, and that as a result, her students will be ready for the future.
"It's just amazing really to see that these kids can flourish in this environment," Price said. "It gives me hope that these kids, throughout their future, if they're going to higher education and they're doing some of those courses online, they're going to be ready to do that. They already have the format down, so I find it very hopeful."
Price and the other teachers keep track of students' progress with virtual learning, logging their schoolwork completion on individual daily activity sheets, which are given to parents at the end of each day.
Alongside the teachers, Clouser and administration have been supportive leaders during these times, Price said.
"They give us the time that we need if we need to go to be tested," Price said. "They're very supportive of that. If you need time off, they're supportive of that. Anytime that it seems like we have a moment, or we're just dealing with a frustrating issue, their doors are always open.
"You can always go to them and say 'listen, I'm having a problem with this' or 'this is not working for me, what can we do about it?' And they're always willing to listen and try to do what's best for staff and teachers," Price said.
Mirror Staff Writer Andrew Mollenauer is at 814-946-7428.