{"id":4071,"date":"2020-06-05T12:31:51","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T19:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/news\/?p=4071"},"modified":"2024-06-10T15:39:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T22:39:15","slug":"palomar-plans-reopening-of-early-childhood-education-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/news\/palomar-plans-reopening-of-early-childhood-education-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Palomar Plans Reopening of Early Childhood Education Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Administrators are planning a July 1 reopening for the ECE Lab School, with precautions to meet California COVID-19 guidelines for childcare facilities.<\/p>\n

SAN MARCOS \u2014 After more than two months of vacancy, the administrators and staff of Palomar College\u2019s Early Childhood Education (ECE) Lab School<\/a> are making plans to reopen the San Marcos facility in observance of California\u2019s phased reopening procedures.<\/p>\n

The school serves the community at large as well as Palomar\u2019s students and employees. Under the current reopening plan, administrators and teachers will return to the Lab School on June 15, with the first children following on July 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cReopening the Lab School is another step in resuming the many services Palomar College provides in the greater North County community,\u201d said Acting Superintendent\/President Dr. Jack Kahn. \u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to welcoming our youngest students back in a safe, educational environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located near the W. Borden Road entrance to the San Marcos campus, the Lab School serves children from infancy through age 5, and normal class sizes average 16 kids per room.<\/p>\n

By limiting classes to 10 children and maintaining strict separation between groups, in addition to frequent cleaning throughout the day, the ECE Lab School may resume operations, said Diane Studinka, a Child Development professor and Lab School liaison.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur main purpose is to reopen for essential workers\u2014to ensure that they have high-quality childcare and preschool services during this time,\u201d said Studinka. \u201cWe have to maintain ratios of 10 children per classroom, so we\u2019re going to be operating at around 60 to 70 children, at the most, during our initial phase.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s COVID-19 requirements, childcare providers like the ECE Lab School were not required to close during the stay-at-home order, in order to continue serving families of essential workers. Palomar temporarily closed its Early Childhood center and is now reopening it under Newsom\u2019s phased plan to aid families in the region, as permitted by federal, state and local health guidelines.<\/p>\n

The following are several of the guidelines that the Lab School, like other childcare facilities in California, will follow to reopen in alignment with state requirements:<\/p>\n