North Texas daycares preparing to reopen while keeping kids, staff safe

FORT WORTH, Texas - Since daycares got the go-ahead to reopen this week, many have been planning how to do it while keeping workers and children safe.

A rehearsal, of sorts, was held at the Lena Pope Home Early Learning Center in Fort Worth Friday.

“Any of these two symptoms: fever, chills, muscle pains, headaches, sore throat,” one worker said. “I’m going to take your temperature, OK?”

With teachers posing as parents and kids in a new drop-off procedure.

“We show them that it’s still us underneath the mask because we want our kids to feel safe,” Jennifer Carpenter explained. “This is a completely different change from mom or dad walking them into the classroom, so we want to make sure they feel comfortable and safe at the school.”

From health screening at the car, to hand washing at the door, it’s all to prepare for the childcare facilities reopening on Tuesday, while complying with CDC guidelines.

Classrooms were reconfigured, with sanitization top of mind. 

“We have taken quite a bit of furniture out of the classrooms to provide more spaciousness so kids can separate. We’ve put fewer chairs and tables we have taken out items that are soft so children don’t have access to those,” Carpenter explained,

Through it all, they’ve kept the children and their emotional state in mind.

“They know what we look like with a mask on, and a thermometer, they know it won’t touch them and it won’t hurt them. It’s just taking their temperature,” Carpenter said.