GREENVILLE – Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, one organization has managed to keep its services open – Children’s Corner, as schools, businesses, government offices and other elements of society have had to close, adjust, reopen and possibly close again.

Walnut Hills Elementary School’s kindergarten teacher Caiden Gibson, 6, receives distance learning assistance from Jessica Atwood, a child carer from the Children’s Corner, as she attends daycare on the final day of school, December 18, 2020. – DN Photo | Cory Smith

As of June 1, the Greenville Public Schools licensed childcare program for elementary school children ages 3 to 12 has continued to provide daycare services as other elements of the school district have moved to virtual forms of education.

Be it staff shortages due to quarantines or rising COVID-19 cases, the school district was one of many aspects of the Greenville community that at one point or another had to temporarily suspend personal activities.

But not the children’s corner.

According to Venus Cox, director of the children’s corner, the program’s services are far too important.

“Many of our families are home to frontline workers, so childcare facilities were asked if they could stay open to them,” she said. “The superintendent and I had this discussion, particularly with the city hospital, and many of our parents who work on the front lines have chosen to stay open.”

When the school district returned to distance learning in late November, Cox said she teamed up with her staff to see if it was possible to keep the daycare open.

“I pulled my team and asked them, ‘Can we do this again?’” She said.

The answer was a resounding “yes”.

Walnut Hills Elementary School’s kindergarten teacher Ezra Ostrowski, 5, is taking a short break from his distance learning session to flash a peace sign into the camera as she attends daycare in Children’s Corner on the final day of school, December 18, 2020. – DN Photo | Cory Smith

“It’s been long days for everyone, long hours for everyone, but we believe this is our way of giving back to a school district and community that support us,” said Cox. “It’s tough, but what we do for families and this community is much more important.”

Since it was founded a few years ago, the number of kindergartens in the day-care center has tripled. This makes it one of the largest, if not the largest, licensed daycare in the district, with centers at all four primary schools in the district.

As the pandemic took complicated measures, the locations have been adjusted to two schools this year – Walnut Hills and Lincoln Heights – but enrollment remains higher than ever.

“There are approximately 250 children enrolled for the entire district,” she said. “Of course not everyone is here on the same day, but we have up to 85 to 90 children here in Walnut and another 40 to 50 in Lincoln Heights.”

While Children’s Corner is open from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and distance learning is initiated, Cox has also allowed students to attend from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to complete their distance learning course at Children’s Corner with the assistance of staff.

“That way, when they go home, they hope to have very little work,” said Cox. “I think it was successful.”

When the last day of school for 2020 ended on December 18, Cox sent the kids home with a smile on their two-week winter break, knowing they were in a place that could provide safe care.

In seven months with dozens of staff and hundreds of children, the day care program has only encountered one positive case of COVID-19 (an employee who signed him by her husband).

“We’ve been really successful when it comes to COVID,” said Cox. “We had a case and it wasn’t from here but from an external source. There have been a lot of closings here and we were very lucky that we didn’t have to do that. ”

Cox attributes only one reported case to the program as it has implemented all of the state-mandated security protocols – and a few more.

Second grade students at Walnut Hills Elementary School, Sophia Flores, 7, left and Vada Helias, 7, are taking a break from distance learning to play with each other while attending daycare in Kinderecke on the final day of school in December 2020 18. – DN photo | Cory Smith

“I started the mandate to wear masks long before they were supposed to be officially worn – I thought that was the best protection,” she said. “Even before we went back to school in August, they had masks. I felt that if they got used to it, it would be easier for them and the teachers. “

While students are allowed to take off the masks for “mask breaks” throughout the day, according to Cox, many students now simply wear the masks all day without a single complaint.

“Honestly, the kids do a lot better than the adults,” she said. “Especially now that we’ve been doing it for so long, it’s their new normal. You are good with it. “

With no lack of hand washing, hand sanitizer, and wearing masks, Cox believes she has created as safe an environment as possible. She directly credits the staff at Greenville Public Schools for helping to create this environment.

“I think Children’s Corner, my co-workers, we’ve worked very hard – para-pros, midday ladies, custodians, bus drivers – all just trying to do their best,” she said. “It’s definitely a challenge for us, but everyone just rose and did everything. I think it was very successful and I’m glad that we can help the community. ”

This includes Children’s Corner employees like Jessica Atwood, who did not hesitate to keep working to make sure children have a safe place to watch and teach while parents keep working.

“Honestly, I think it’s great and I think it’s great that the kids can still see some of their friends and get the help they need too,” she said. “Not all parents can do that – I have four children of my own – and two of them come here, so this is definitely a need. There are many parents who have to work so this must continue. “

Aside from the occasional need to remind a child to pull the mask over their nose, Atwood said there were next to no issues with enforcing the COVID-19 protocols.

Walnut Hills Elementary School’s kindergarten teacher Eric Decker, 6, attends a distance learning session on the final day of school, December 18, 2020 while attending the daycare in the Children’s Corner. – DN Photo | Cory Smith

“Once the kids know what our daily routine is going to be and the expectations that are expected of them, things will go great,” she said. “This is a great group of kids to work with on a daily basis and I have great employees with me and Venus is a great boss – I cannot say enough about everyone.”

With $ 24 per day per child and discounts for households with multiple children, Cox doesn’t think daycare is unreasonably priced.

However, amid the pandemic of high unemployment and many families struggling to get through, she admits that she has had many conversations with worried parents who are financially troubled.

“You have to ask, do you work to support your families or do you stay home to take distance education with your children?” She said. “Some families in this middle-class income bracket, with no government funding, have problems, especially when their working hours have been cut.”

Hollie Stephenson, a French teacher at Greenville High School, knew the need was growing and decided to do something about it.

Shortly before Thanksgiving, Stephenson started Operation COVID Care and asked anyone who was able to donate to their cause to provide scholarships for children to continue participating in the Children’s Corner.

At $ 120 per week per child, Stephenson said she knew there would be families to sit on the table between childcare or eating.

“I decided to email some friends and post a Facebook post to see if there was any interest in raising money specifically for families who need care but cannot afford it,” said she. “I set a goal of $ 1,000 and kept my fingers crossed.”

Just weeks later, the support Stephenson received was overwhelming.

To date, she has raised $ 8,935 from 38 donors.

Cedar Crest Paraprofessional Elementary School Cassandra Rathbun reads a story to children attending daycare at Walnut Hills Elementary School on the final day of school, December 18, 2020. – DN Photo | Cory Smith

“The pieces just fit,” said Stephenson. “There were resources at school and people in the community who wanted to help families access those resources. In particular, when the school closed, I knew that parents would face difficult decisions on how to balance their work with the need to care for their children. I knew that the children’s corner was open and had space. ”

After Cox prepared to potentially turn away children whose parents couldn’t afford to send them to daycare for longer, Cox had conversations filled with tears of joy instead.

“Those parents I offered it to were in tears – they are so grateful,” she said. “I applied for grants this year, but this process is slow due to COVID. What Hollie did is a great opportunity for our children. “

GPS Superintendent Linda Van Houten said while it was no surprise that the Greenville ward would show up at a time of need to see the action of one of their own teachers made the effort all the more heartwarming.

“We tried every possible way to accommodate our parents during this distance learning period,” she said. “We know how incredibly difficult it is for our parents to manage their students at home and also to work and manage their households. It always has something financial to offer, but one of our employees, Hollie Stephenson, has strengthened her position. She wanted to find a way how we could find financial support for our families who are having trouble finding the finances to use the children’s corner. All of these fundraisers are based on generous donations from our community – we just have an amazing community. ”

With the school year resuming in 2021, Cox now expects to continue providing a safe environment for any GPS child who needs it.

“The kids were just so resilient and that impresses me,” she said. “I’m curious to see how your future will look, how you have held out. In making this place available to them, I will attribute it to the guidelines that we have put in place and go beyond those guidelines. That and the support from the staff and all the support we have received from the school administration, parents and carers do everything possible to protect us. “