LEDP News and Information:
June 11, 2020
Hi LEDP kids and parents,
With the recent protests due to the murder of George Floyd and countless others:
Ahmaud Arbery of Glynn County, GA on February 23, Breonna Taylor of Louisville, KY on March 13, George Floyd of Minneapolis, MN on May 25, Tony McDade of Tallahassee, FL on May 27 and so many other, we’re reminded that not everywhere is quite as special and accepting of people who may appear different than us. It’s been tough, sorting through different emotions. Anger, at the loss of additional innocent lives and families who are forced to mourn. Sadness at all the pain and confusion of another senseless act of violence that should have been prevented. Scared because this has happened too many times before.
In LEDP, we know it’s okay to experience different feelings and emotions, it’s part of what makes us human. We also know it helps when we talk about them. Even if it’s uncomfortable at first.
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
- Fredrick Douglas
This is one of the first quotes I remember sticking with me as a kidand I feel like it’s very relevant to the times we’re in today. I’m not pretending to have any of the answers,. but, I know that I want to live in a world that’s much more like LEDP. A place where we celebrate each other's differences rather than fear them. A place that’s safe, no matter what a person looks like. Talking about race, culture, and the things that make us different is not always easy. But in these moments, there’s opportunity., We stand to learn from one another, including all the things that we share in common.
As we all know, kids are curious and more than capable of having these conversations. I can imagine many questions have been asked, talks already taking place. I’ve added a few clips below, that I found especially helpful. I urge you to watch and discuss as a family. Share with others, continue the conversation. As the saying goes , “children are the future...” even in the darkest moments, they provide a hope that is brighter that any light. Be safe, be kind. Sending love and light to everyone.
June 1, 2020
Hi Families
April 20, 2020
Re-enrollment
April 16, 2020
Dear LEDP Families,
It is hard to believe, but it is time to re-enroll your child(ren) for the 2020-2021 school year. This year, due to the unprecedented times with Covid-19 so present in our lives, we will complete our re-enrollment process a bit differently. At this time, we will not be collecting the re-enrollment fee of $50, but will collect that fee in the future when life resumes as “back to normal”.
At this time, I will ask each and every family to EMAIL ME BACK with the following information to secure your child’s place in LEDP for the 20-21 schoolyear:
1. Child’s name:
2. Child’s grade (20-21):
3. Number of days for the 20-21 school year – 2, 3,4,5
4. Specific days- M- T-W-Th-F
5. Please let me know if you would like a Tuition Assistance Form sent to you
****** It is very important that I account for each and every family- so if you are not returning to LEDP, please email me with that information as well.
Once I hear back from all of my current LEDP families about their schedules, I will then be able to fill any space with families on our waitlist.
This information is due back by next Thursday, April 23. After that, I will be offering space to our wait list families. Please do not miss out.
As always, if you have any questions- please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you for prompt responses.
We are Missing all of our kids and families so very much during these trying times in life. L
Mary
April 10, 2020
Share with your kids
March 30, 2020
A message from the LEDP board.
Dear LEDP Families,
A message from the Director.
Hi LEDP Families-
Message from LEDP
Hi LEDP friends-
March 19, 2020
Message from the LEDP board.
Dear LEDP Families,
This is a challenging and uncertain time as we navigate the impact of COVID-19 on our school, work, and family lives. We have been thinking about all of you and your children. In the midst of all this, we do feel very fortunate to be a part of the Lawrence and LEDP communities, and hope you feel the support we all can provide each other, even while remaining at home.
We are writing to update you about LEDP and our invaluable LEDP teachers who are not salaried employees and are worried, as you all are, about what will happen during the Brookline school closure through early April. As a reminder, LEDP is a non-profit childcare center. We on the LEDP Parent Board believe it is crucial to continue paying our LEDP teachers and staff wages and health benefits during this three week closure. As you can appreciate, maintaining an income in this time of great uncertainty is critical to our teachers and so we believe that this is the right decision. We have consulted with the other Brookline Extended Day programs throughout the Town and they are doing the same. Unlike salaried employees or full-time teachers who may have access to PTO funds or other forms of support to help in emergencies such as this, LEDP teachers do not have this luxury. Since our date of return is not entirely clear, we also want to ensure that things run smoothly once we are back in school and try to return to some normalcy. Having an intact and fully paid workforce is essential to achieve this objective. We realize that Public Schools of Brookline may be closed beyond the current proposed return date of April 6. The Parent Board and Directors are communicating regularly to make decisions and contingency plans for the staff and will keep you posted.
With that said, we understand that families may be wondering how this LEDP closure will impact tuition payments already paid for March and future payments if the school closure extends beyond April 6. As you may know, LEDP tuition charges are set such that families have stable monthly payments that collectively cover the expenses of the full school year. This is why we don’t ask families to pay more or less for long or short months, or less in months with school vacation weeks. Regarding March, we will not be able to provide partial tuition refunds as these funds are committed to teacher salaries. The only exception to this is for families who already receive income-based tuition assistance. However, we are also aware of the financial implications COVID-19 may have on some families so if this is a hardship, please contact Mary Gardiner at mary_gardiner@psbma.org
We have decided that we cannot yet make decisions about tuition for April - June until we receive further information, such as guidance from the district regarding make-up days and, of course, the possibility of an extended Brookline School closure. At this time, we do not plan to collect April tuition until we hear a confirmed date for schools to re-open.
LEDP has worked for the last 40 years to set up a rainy-day fund meant to provide continuity of operations in the event of an emergency. We are fortunate that we have operated for so many years without needing to draw from this fund. In the event of an extended school closure, we will be forced to access the emergency fund to cover operational expenses to support LEDP leadership and teachers. This fund provides us with a degree of security, and we are hoping that we will not need to layoff or make any difficult personnel decisions regarding our employees in the event of an extended closure. We may look to all of you for additional support in the future to help us recover from potential losses. Your generosity will help to ensure that we can continue to provide the highest quality after-school programming for your children once this crisis is over.
Our amazing Directors, Mary and Janet, are providing essential support and guidance to teachers throughout these challenges, and we are forever grateful. If any of you are in need of childcare please reach out to Mary. There may be some LEDP staff available to assist.
As parents with kids in LEDP, we personally understand the challenge of the school closure upon working families. The experience frames how valuable LEDP is to us and to our children.
In solidarity and with deep appreciation,
The LEDP Parent Board
Frederick Ruberg – Parent Board Co-President
Shella Dennery – Parent Board Co-President
Amanda Carillo
Cat Ham
Corey Harwell
Jennifer Havlicek
Mike Laub
Stef Gerken
Carolyn Mansfield
Nick Yoder
March 12, 2020
Important information
Dear LEDP Families
With the quickly changing information of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, we wanted to send you a brief update on LEDP’s response to the situation. Although there have been no cases of the virus here in LEDP, and it can all be overwhelming to some, there is no need to panic. We are taking the health and safety of the children, families and staff at LEDP seriously.
Although the custodians in the building are working diligently on making sure all the highly touched surfaces, door knobs, water fountains, etc., are given extra cleaning attention, we here at LEDP are also taking additional steps in our spaces. We are sanitizing door knobs, cabinet handles, tables and most often used work spaces daily. As part of our standard operations, all materials are taken off of shelves and those are also sanitized daily. The younger groups have met with teachers or LEDP office staff to talk about germs, how quickly they spread, reminders about the proper way to wash hands and also generated a list of times hand washing should be done. Hand sanitizer is available in every space in addition to on all of our traveling carts, for those times when soap and water are not readily available.
The staff is aware and are keeping current of the symptoms to look for, we are in contact with the school administration and are monitoring the everchanging information from local and national authorities.After an informational conference call with the Brookline Health Department today, we were informed that extended day programs are considered non-essential programs. Having said that, our program will operate on our normal schedule unless we receive guidance from our local board of health that we need to temporarily close. If that decision is made, we will reach out as soon as possible.
LEDP Staff
LEDP Director