Mantua Township Public Schools Child Care Program Parent Policy Manual 2014-2015 Revised 8/2014 Program Overview The Mantua Township Board of Education offers a Before & After School Child Care Program to residents of Mantua Township with elementary school-aged children, 5 years of age and older. The program is monitored by the Mantua Township Board of Education. We do not discriminate against any race, creed, religion, sex, or national origin. The program operates during the regular school year at Centre City, J. Mason Tomlin and Sewell schools. The Mantua Township Board of Education also offers a Summer Child Care Program to residents of Mantua Township with school-age children. The program operates Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., from mid-June until approximately the last week in August. The location is determined on a year-to-year basis. J. Mason Tomlin 468-0818 ext. 4422 [email protected] Laurie Mulch – Site Leader Diane Valora Lucille Tyas Sewell School 468-0626 ext. 3519 [email protected] Desiree Senteneri – Site Leader Denise Wolk Mike Wolk Mike McCarty Centre City School 468-2100 ext. 2219 [email protected] Kathy McCarty – Site Leader Shirley Leaverton Alicia Umbra Dianne Keen Admissions Criteria and Procedures The following items need to be completed and submitted to the school, prior to admission. Registration forms may be obtained at each site or on the district website. • • • Registration form must be completed and signed by parent or guardian. Non-refundable annual $40.00 per family registration fee. Total fees for the first week including registration fee. Weekly Calendar Schedules Parents are expected to complete a weekly calendar indicating what days the child will attend and submit with payment. Weekly schedules are available at each site and on the district website. Due dates are printed on each schedule and are required to be returned to the Site Leaders by the date stated. Submission of calendars is the sole responsibility of the parent. Additionally, parents are responsible for submitting a calendar for each child if they attend different sites; late charges will be applied for a late schedule per site. Child Care Site Leaders and Providers cannot be held responsible if a parent has not submitted a weekly calendar. Schedules that are called in by the parent will be accepted for that day but a written calendar is still expected from the parent. Additionally, the appropriate late fee will be added to your account. Please note that on all half days, parents are expected to provide a bagged lunch for their child. The Child Care Program does not provide lunches. Check In/Out Procedures At some of our sites, we are now using a computerized check in/out system called Attendance Tracker. Attendance Tracker acts as an information hub simplifying communication with families and staff by sending messages and allowing access to account balances. Each family member and emergency pick up is assigned an ID code using the primary parents cell phone number or home phone number. Parents are never to give out their ID code to someone else to pick up their child. When checking in and out, remember to always check any messages posted. If you forget your ID code, please see a Site Leader Fees and Billing Procedures The primary or custodial parent is responsible for all fees due. In the event that there is a court ordered division of fees we will create the appropriate accounts with proof of the order. If no such order exists the primary or custodial parent will be held responsible for all fees due. Parents are billed for the number of child care sessions they note on the weekly calendar schedules. Fees are determined by multiplying the number of sessions requested by the amount charged for each session. Checks should be made payable to the MTCCP. The Mantua Township Board of Education Child Care Program reserves the right to terminate care in the event parents cannot fulfill the financial obligation as agreed. Tuition Express Tuition Express, part of our ProCare Software management system, will allow us to process tuition and fee payments safely, quickly and efficiently. Once enrolled in Tuition Express, your tuition and fee payments will be paid automatically and on a schedule that we both agree upon. Your personal account information is safe with Tuition Express – safer, in fact, then paying by check. Automated payments have proven safer than writing checks and eliminate potential check fraud or identity theft. By completing the enclosed Tuition Express enrollment form, you will help us take a gigantic step forward in our payment processing – a step that will allow us to spend more time with your children and less time processing payments and making trips to the bank. School Year Sessions and Fees Session Time AM 7:00 – PM1 3:15 – PM2 3:15 – Extended * 1:00 – Drop In AM ** 7:00 – Drop In PM ** 3:15 – Drop In Extended 1:00 – Returned Check/Declined CC Fee Late Calendar Fee (per site) 4:30 Late Charge 6:00 Late Charge 8:00 4:30 6:00 3:15 8:00 6:00 3:15 1st Child $7.50 $10.00 $12.00 $7.50 $10.00 per child $17.00 per child $10.00 per child $25.00 $5.00 per site $2.00 per child $15.00 per site Add’l Children $6.50 $9.00 $11.00 $6.50 * Extended time offered on 1:00 dismissal days only. ** If a child attends the program and the Site Leader has not received a schedule, the parent will be charged a drop-in rate of $17.00 per child for the PM session and $10.00 for the extended and AM sessions. Late Policy Late pick-ups after 6:00 pm will automatically be charged $15.00 per site. Please note that you are considered late at 6:01 pm by the clock in the CCP room. Late fees will be included in the next week’s fees. After three instances of being late, the child may be removed from the program. If you are going to be late or think you may be late: • You must notify the child care site immediately. • We will try to contact parents first, then emergency contacts, and then other contacts. • If we cannot make contact by 6:15, the police, building principal, and Superintendent will be notified. Credit Policy Credit for all absences or changes in your child’s schedule will be issued at the end of each month. You will receive notification of your credit balance from the Site Leader. • • • Full credit will be given when a phone call is made prior to 8:00 am on the day the change is to be made. (During summer camp calls are to be made prior to 7:00 am) Half credit will be given if a change is made after 8:01 am but before 2:30 pm (12:30 pm on extended days) either by approved note or phone call to the main office. No credit will be issued for changes made after 2:30 pm. Please note you will not receive credit if you pick your child up in the office without prior notice. It is very important that we are notified of schedule changes. If a parent circles a day on the calendar schedule, we expect the child to attend that day unless we have written notification. If a parent/guardian has already paid for a day on which the program is closed due to inclement weather, credit will be given at the end of each month. Parent Drop Off / Pick Up Procedures The following guidelines are the responsibility of the parent: Drop Off • Children must be escorted into the building by the parent or guardian and checked in. Pick Up • • • Come into our building to pick up your child. A child may be released only to the child’s custodial parent(s) or person(s) authorized by the custodial parent(s) to take the child from the program and to assume responsibility for the child in an emergency if the custodial parent(s) can not be reached. These authorized persons are to be listed on the child’s Registration Form. Authorized persons must be 18 years of age or older. If the person is unfamiliar to the staff member, identification will be required. If a non-custodial parent has been denied access, or granted limited access, to the child by a court order, the Site Leaders must have a copy of the court order to document this fact to maintain on file. Homework The completion of homework is a service that we provide. Children will be expected to work on their homework in the afternoon unless the parent notifies the Site Leader in writing that the child will complete the work at home. It is expected that parents will go over their child’s homework and sign homework books as needed. Please note that we will do our very best to help your child with his/her homework, however, we are not private tutors. School Closings and Delayed Openings In the event that school is closed due to inclement weather or any other emergency, Child Care will not be provided. Therefore, parents are reminded to have stand-by plans for such an event. Global Connect is the phone system used by the schools to notify you of school closings due to inclement weather or other emergencies. Any fees paid for canceled time will be applied to the following week’s fees. You can also find closing or delayed-opening information on the local news stations and on the district website. (The school closing number is 1099.) In the event of a delayed opening, Child Care will be provided for ANY child registered for the program. Parents will be charged the designated fee for each hour that additional services are provided. The delayed opening rate is $7.50 for the first hour the child attends and $3.00 for each additional hour per child. For example, if there is a 2 hour delayed opening, school begins at 10:30 ~ If your child arrives at 7:45, you will be charged $7.50 until 8:30, $3.00 from 8:30 – 9:30, and $3.00 from 9:30 – 10:30. Accident, Illness, and Medications Accidents: The Site Leaders/Providers will do all that they can to ensure your child is safe, however, children fall and accidents happen. Our staff is trained in proper first aid for minor cuts, bumps, and bruises. All injuries will be recorded on an Accident and Injury Record form. Should an injury require professional medical attention, every effort will be made to contact the parent or guardian of the child. In the event of any emergency, the following emergency procedures are put into effect: • First-aid administered (staff members certified in CPR) • Ambulance called • Parent called • Administrative office contacted • Staff member will accompany the child in emergency vehicle • An accident report will be filed with our office Illness: The sites are not staffed to provide care for sick children. We urge you to keep your child at home if they are ill. No child who has displayed illness during the school day will be admitted to the program. Please refer to the district Parent Handbook for heath guidelines. If a child already admitted to the site exhibits any of the above symptoms he/she shall be removed from a group of well children to a separate area until the child’s parent or legal guardian is contacted. Medication: No medications whatsoever will be dispensed by the child care staff. Please arrange to have medication handled through the school nurse during their hours. Asthma inhalers may be used only if the child has a self-medicate order by their doctor and approved by the school nurse’s office. Discipline Policy Appropriate discipline is necessary to ensure a safe and enjoyable environment for every child enrolled in the program. The Child Care Program will continue the efforts of the schools in curtailing inappropriate behavior. All discipline will be handled by the building principal according to the guidelines established by the board of education as outlined in the discipline policy (see Handbook for Parents and Students). It is important that students understand that there are the same expectations for student behavior in the child care program that exist during the regular school day. Food Policy The Child Care Program provides breakfast and snack during the regular school year. Below are guidelines of a weekly menu observed at each site. Occasionally your child will have the opportunity to cook or otherwise prepare special foods for snack. All children will wash their hands prior to eating. Daily AM Menu Monday Tuesday Cereal Warm Entrée Wednesday Cereal Thursday Warm Entrée Friday Cereal Other General Information Please label all of your child’s personal belongings and check the lost and found daily. We do not permit the children to bring toys and electronics from home (i.e. cell phones or IPods), unless it is a specified activity day. *Cell phones must be turned off and kept in your child’s backpack. Child Care Program (CCP) respects the right of each family to privacy and confidentiality regarding all health, behavioral and developmental records, and information concerning their child. Questions or clarification regarding any of the above should be brought to the attention of the Director immediately.