The island’s only childcare center has been on hiatus since December 1st. If you’ve been wondering what’s going on over there, or what it looks like inside, or who works there, or how the board intends to make the organization financially solvent, then stop by the Open House today (Sunday, March 1st) from 1 – 3pm to learn all that and more.
The board and staff of OCC are optimistic that the center is coming back stronger than ever.
“I really believed we’ve turned the corner,” said OCC”s director, Chaeli Moyer, in a recent interview. “We’re ready to take organization to the next level. I believe this community can find ways to make it happen.”
The best way the community can help OCC right now is through cash (it always fits!) or by providing affordable housing for summer and year-round staff.
“We’re getting a great response from our posting about ‘touch the future’,” Chaeli said about OCC’s recent Help Wanted ad. “Some folks with great education and experience have contacted us. We’d love to have them, but they need affordable housing. We don’t need much space for the teachers-in-training who are coming for the summer – they’d be happy to rent rooms, but we need longterm rentals for teachers who are willing to re-locate to work at OCC.”
One such teacher just flew in from Malibu. Patricia Sanchez is moving to Ocracoke and will work fulltime at OCC.
“Patricia has a gentle and loving spirit and true passion for the care of young children,” said OCC board member Teresa O’Neal. “She is most certainly an asset to any center and community.”
Teresa would know. She and OCC teacher Juju Baker used to work with Patricia at Malibu Methodist Nursery School.
“Patricia is bi-lingual and has tremendous experience with young children,” Chaeli said. “Teresa and Juju are both so happy to have Patricia here.”
They also must have told Patricia great things about OCC and Ocracoke (all true?). She’s actually willing to move across the country from one beach town to another into temporary housing; her husband plans to join her on our coast soon.
OCC’s returning teachers, Juju Baker, Jetta Brown, Karla Ortiz, and Mary Fulcher, will welcome Patricia and another new colleague, Jessica Caldwell. The center also needs to hire more teachers before the busy season kicks in.
Donations and fundraising will help OCC pay the staff a living wage. “We need to be competitive with other employers,” Chaeli said.
“It’s important to hire some teachers with good experience and education so we can keep our star rating,” said OCC board president Amy Johnson. She was referring to the Environmental Rating Scale Assessment assigned by the state, which grades daycare centers on a scale of 1 – 5 stars. OCC currently has 4 stars, a downgrade from the 5 stars it once had. The only room for improvement at OCC is with teacher education levels.
“We’re working to maintain our four stars, and we hope to achieve five again,” Amy said.
One good reason to have the highest possible star rating is that the Purchase of Care reimbursement increases with each star level. (75% of OCC children have their daycare subsidized by “Purchase of Care,” a federal program administered by Hyde County. The program requires that parents prove that they are working while their kid's at daycare. Low-income families who qualify pay for childcare on a sliding scale of fees and POC pays the rest.)
OCC closed for three months because the low enrollment in the winter means that the center loses money in the off-season. Like most island businesses, it can’t afford to operate outside of the peak season. Offering year-round childcare is the ultimate goal, but OCC will have to earn extra this summer to tide them over in the lean times. That’s a scenario that most people are Ocracoke are familiar with.
Chaeli said that OCC received “lots of support during our closed time.”
During the three-month hiatus, the center was busy with improvement projects. Painting, cleaning, rearranging… there was plenty to keep Chaeli and volunteers busy.
“It’s all babies, babies, babies,” said OCC’s director, Chaeli Moyer. Over the break, the center’s interior space has been reconfigured to accommodate more babies. Fourteen infants are enrolled so far, out of 24 children altogether, though not all will start right away. The enrollment will grow at the season progresses.
To meet that need, OCC has created a 2nd baby room where there once was a storage and laundry room. (The laundry room is now beyond the kitchen.) They plan to build cabinets to store art supplies and extra toys in the classrooms. (Another giving opportunity: OCC could use donations of cabinets or shelving.)
Chaeli and the board want to express huge thanks to all the tradesmen and helpers: Bob Despo, Andy Todd, Jake Johnson, David Johnson, Mike Johnson, Fidel Rosales, Mark Sloan, Nathan Spencer, and Newt Sharber.
“They worked really fast, and came right when I needed them so we could get the new baby room completed,” Chaeli said.
Besides coordinating all those handymen, Chaeli has stayed busy re-organizing the rooms, working on finances, establishing a fundraising committee, writing grant proposals, assigning different committees, dealing with government inspections (health, building, fire), and working with a licensing consultant to make sure OCC is compliant with all the state licensing requirements. She’s also working with the Beaufort-Hyde Partnership for Children and the NC Babies First program, learning ways to “strengthen OCC’s program.”
She also had playground safety training (the playground had to stay just as the children left it in December until after the training program.) Chaeli said that the next step to move OCC forward is a new playground.
“We need to create an outdoor learning environment,” she said. “We’re hoping to get a grant to re-do the playground.”
“And we’ll need a building committee and a group of people who can work on playground planning,” added Amy.
Serving on the playground building committee is one way that parents can fulfill the 30 volunteer hours per year that the center is now requiring of each family. The volunteer hours will “support fundraising efforts and offset building and playground maintenance costs” according to an email sent to parents on Friday. Parents might also be needed in the classrooms, or could take on one of the many odd jobs around the center. Any “un-given” hours at the end of the year will be added to the daycare bill at $10/hour as a surcharge.
“All the parents that I’ve talked to in person have been supportive of the volunteer hours,” Chaeli said.
Other changes in OCC policies include a $5/day increase at all age levels (families will now be paying between $4.10 and $4.40 per hour for childcare) and no longer providing snacks (parents will need to send them, and lunch, too.)
OCC also plans to extend their childcare offerings to older children once school is out and to stay open on evenings and weekends to accommodate the island’s summer workforce needs.
“We’re anticipating starting extra hours after Memorial Day,” Chaeli said. “And we’ll have a summer camp program for school-age kids, including visitors’ children so they can experience Ocracoke through a child’s eye including history, flora and fauna, ocean life – with the best teachers in the whole, wide world!”
Mark your calendars for the Little School Clam Chowder Cook-off on Saturday, April 4th. This family-friendly event starts at 11:30am (right after the Methodist Church Easter Egg Hunt!) and lasts until 2:30pm at the Community Center. The food is sure to be delicious – and there will be entertainment provided by OCC kids. Later that same evening will be a grown-ups dance with the Ocracoke Rockers! Volunteers are needed. Please contact fundraising committee members Ruth Toth (588-2226) or Connie Leinbach (928-1811) to find out how you can help!
Willing to rent a room or house to a daycare teacher? Have other skills to share? Contact Chaeli Moyer at admin@ocracokechildcare.org or call 252-928-4131 for information on how you can help The Little School with your services.