Taking the lead from Pinellas County Schools, our Centers for Early Learning closed on March 16 until further notice. Still, the mission continues. We've moved online in the form of live bedtime stories, parent-to-parent collaborating, and resource sharing on our Center Facebook groups. Offline, we've created Learning-At-Home packets picked up via drive-thru at each Center and are connecting families to emergency services and additional resources to stay afloat.
But our work is more than crayons and Facebook. In an effort to regularly check-in, teachers are calling every parent. After initial health updates, conversations are turning to "How do I manage three children at once?" "How do I establish a routine?" and "How do I teach my child?". We are equipping our families with the "How do I...?".
The Centers may be closed, but our teachers are on the front lines, coaching parents into healthy bonding, nurturing, and stress management. It's what we do every day - even in a pandemic.
Read from our staff about "Why Trauma Informed Care Matters More Than Ever"