Early Childhood Learning Center Program Changes

Changes to our programs during the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Child drop off/pick up is limited to the front doors, lobby or classroom door, depending on the facility, allowing for minimal traffic through the facility and classrooms. 
• Children and team members go through daily screenings, including temperature checks and a series of screening questions prior to entering the program at the start of their day. Anyone with a fever is excluded from programming and sent home. A fever is considered to be a temp of anything equal to or greater than 100.4 degrees F.
• Children and team members wash hands before going to their classrooms and maintain frequent handwashing throughout the day.
• Teachers work with the children to try to maintain as much physical distance between them as possible.  When children sit for activities or meal & snack, children are spaced out around the table (leaving open seats) and/or rotated through as appropriate. Tables are cleaned/sanitized between each use.
• Classrooms use toys and materials that are easily cleaned/sanitized between uses and work to have only one child play with one set of anything (Legos, markers, play-food, and easily launder-able soft toys). 
• The YMCA of the North continues to monitor and follow health and safety guidelines as recommended by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control.  
• The Y follows guidelines for child to teacher ratios.  (Infants 4:1, Toddlers 7:1, Preschool 10:1)
• Classroom capacities have not changed.  Children will be divided into groups, maximum of 10 kids with one team member, and rotate through activities with their group’s teacher/assistant teacher/teacher’s aide.
• Children will have little interaction with children outside their classroom. Though they will interact with the other groups in their classroom.
• Combined times and interactions with other classrooms will be limited.  Classes will have scheduled times for the use of shared spaces, with appropriate cleaning and sanitizing taking place between groups.
• Where possible and applicable, our Early Childhood Learning Center programs will use additional spaces throughout our YMCA facilities.
• We continue with our regular practice of frequent and regular handwashing as well as cleaning and sanitizing tables prior to, after use, and before using for the next activity. 
• Custodial services continue. Rooms, bathrooms, etc. are serviced daily.  
• We are following more stringent exclusion policies for children or team members that are exhibiting symptoms of illness, as recommended by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and Minnesota Department of Health. 
• Team members are wearing cloth face coverings whenever possible to help keep from spreading germs to others. We are asking parents wear a mask whenever you enter the YMCA and to please speak with their children about masks. We have social stories for classroom and home use about masks and about COVID-19 (Please see your program’s director if you would like a copy of either/both).

**Please note, all policies are subject to change at any time, based on information from the state, health department and/or the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). 

The YMCA of the North utilizes the most updated exclusion guidance decision tree and screening questions from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to make decisions about exclusion for illness. Please see your director if you would like a copy. 

We continue to monitor and align our YMCA policy with MDH and CDC guidelines. We recognize that things can change and will continue to update you as they do.