• Avoca Central School District is working in partnership with our county's Child Care Resources & Referral (CCR&R) agency, which has updated information about available child care during school closings related to COVID-19. The CCR&Rs will provide information on child care providers to any parent seeking it and will provide enhance referrals for health care workers and first responders. Enhanced referrals will include facilitating the process of finding an available slot so that parents in these crucial service professionals have less leg work to do. To access this service, please contact the CRR&R from the list below that serves the county where you live.

     

    Tips for Creating a Parent Care Pod

     Are you interested in sharing supervision with other families during virtual learning?

    If a small group of families with students in the same school come together, they can share supervision during offsite learning days. This allows working parents to reduce the amount of time they need to provide direct supervision. IMPORTANT: In order to stay within legal guidelines for child care, the group size must include only two non-related children for more than three hours.

    Tips

    • The adults providing supervision are not in a teaching role. Each student is engaged in offsite learning via a device and materials provided by their school and teachers. The adult in charge is providing supervision and technical help to support virtual learning.
    • Any host home needs Wi-Fi strong enough to support multiple devices simultaneously
    • Make sure devices can be charged and students have enough work space to be successful.
    • Consider breaking up the day with periods of physical learning or playing outside while following the school's schedule, and not when students are expected to be in attendance at virtual classes
    • If you rotate to different homes, determine health and sanitation ground rules ahead of time.

    For more information regarding Parent Care Pods and health and sanitation recommendations, please visit coronavirus.health.ny.gov and
    nysed.gov/postsecondary-services/covid-19-resources-families-and-communities

    Health & Sanitation Tips 

    TEMP CHECKS AND COVID SCREENING

    Parents in your pod should screen their children for Covid symptoms prior to sending them to your home. Consider using an online Google form to document that screenings were done

    EXPOSURE RISK

    All students/adult supervisors should self-quarantine after exposure or if they are exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19

    HAND-WASHING

    Make it an essential habit. Everyone in a Pod should wash their hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water:

    • When first entering the Pod location
    • Before and after eating
      After using the bathroom

    SHOES

    Remove shoes before entering Pod location to reduce cross-contamination between homes (and when returning home)

    GELS AND PPE

    Ask each family/student to provide a bottle of hand sanitizer/gel, disinfecting wipes and a package of disposable masks for use throughout the day.

    MOVEMENT

    Stay in designated areas of the Pod

    FOOD AND DRINK

    Don’t share food and drinks. Each Pod member should bring their own snack(s)

    Health & Safety Considerations graphic

    When caring for other people’s children in your home, there are certain health and safety considerations you should keep in mind. The following is a list of questions to consider.  

    • Do you have a copy of everyone’s emergency contact information in a single, accessible place?
    • Do you have an exit plan and outdoor meeting place in case of a fire or other emergency requiring evacuation from the home?
    • How will you handle an emergency where a child needs immediate medical attention?
    • Do you have fire extinguishers and operating smoke detectors/carbon monoxide detectors in your home?Do you have a well-stocked first aid kit
      in your home? By law, only parents and immediate relatives may administer medication to children.
    • How will you handle a request from another parent to control allergens?
    • Do you have barriers in place to keep children from unsafe areas indoors & outside? (pools, coal stoves, drainage ditches, fireplaces, etc.)