When Columbia parents need to go to work during a snow storm, their child care options are slim. Columbia Public Schools has created a snow-day child care program which will operate on snow days when the city’s main roads are snow-free.
By Scott Malone (Columbia, Mo.)
Public School Superintendent Chris Belcher said Derby Ridge, Mill Creek and West Boulevard elementary schools will host the program this year. Belcher said the program was created with working parents in mind.
“And so we had a discussion one day when I said surely we can find three schools that we can open up and have available for kids at almost a cost recovery model because there’s probably not enough day care in town to take care of things on such short notice. ”
Assistant Superintendent Peter Stiepelman said the price of just fifteen dollars per child has spurred parents to apply for the program. Stiepelman said waiting lists are already forming, and school officials are thinking about expanding the program.
“We have to look at our capacity. We have to still get our district ready for school. So to prioritize three schools is a lot easier than to start continuing to open more snow clubs and then not be ready for the next day.”
The program will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.