School system to provide child care for staff

Schools across Macon County are scheduled to begin the Fall 2020 session next week. The majority of students will be beginning the school year with a hybrid instruction option, rotating between in-person instruction and remote learning at home.

With the hybrid Plan B option putting students in the classroom two days per week, with three days remote, the Macon County School System elected to offer child care options for employees to ensure teachers and staff are able to work this Fall.

“We will be providing child care for staff,” said Macon County Superintendent Dr. Chris Baldwin. “One of the qualifiers for FMLA is a loss of child care. If a few of our staff are unable to return due to a loss of child care and then take part in the FMLA, our school system would be forced into Plan C.”

For the school system who elect to take advantage of the child care option, their children will be permitted to attend classes four days a week rather than be assigned a cohort group for rotating days, and will be permitted to be in the building on Fridays as needed as well.

“Children of staff will attend their school, not the school of their parent,” said Dr. Baldwin. “This is to prevent the cross-contamination that could occur if the child care were provided at the parent’s school.  Each school will handle this with the space and staffing that they have available. It will be handled differently at each school.”

Many teachers and staff polled said that their children will be attending school every day for the four days of in-person learning while their parents work for the school system.

Parents who are not employed by the school system have additional private options for child care this Fall ranging from Summer Camps such as New Visions Gymnastics who have extended their programs to include remote Fall learning camps to churches such as Holly Springs Baptist Church who have developed a Fall learning camp specifically for parents needing assistance with the school schedule.

For a list of Fall child care options, click here.