Dear Westfield Families,
The health and safety of our community remains our highest priority. The uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus is a challenge for all of us and we appreciate your patience and support as we navigate through this difficult situation.
At this point, we have made the decision to remain closed tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18. Our goal is to reopen the center on Thursday, March 19, for parents that are first responders and those who are REQUIRED to report to work ONLY. We are currently working on a comprehensive plan that will allow us to remain open during this unpresented event. This plan will require adherence to strict guidelines including the following:
- We will only provide care to families that are considered essential workers and those that are required to report to work.
- Only children and staff will be permitted to enter the building. Parents must call Westfield prior to arrival and a member of our staff will meet them at their car.
- We will conduct a health assessment of each child at drop-off, including taking their temperature. Any child with a fever of 99.5 or higher will be excluded from attending until they are fever-free without medication for 72 hours.
- Children will not be permitted to be dropped off at Westfield if they, or a member of their family, are sick or were sick in the previous 72 hours.
- The center will be open from 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM to allow extra time for cleaning and disinfecting and to make staffing manageable.
- We WILL NOT provide transportation for the remainder of this week.
We know questions about tuition payments and parent fees are also weighing heavily on your minds. We are working with our administrative team and our board of directors to address these concerns. Additional guidance on this, and our health and safety policies, will be distributed tomorrow by 6:00 PM. We understand these guidelines may be disruptive to many families and we are deeply sorry for this.
Please know that we will continue to monitor this evolving situation and will notify you immediately if the guidance from the federal, state, or community authorities changes. In the meantime, please visit our website for resources relating to Covid-19 (Coronavirus).
Sincerely,
Westfield Child Center Administration
Letter to Families: March 17, 2020