Dear Parents,
We have been working around the clock with our teachers, vendors and licensing agency to determine if there is any way that our Center could reopen in a safe manner next week. However, it is with a heavy heart that I share the news that YCP will be unable to reopen this Monday, March 30th. As we monitor state and national guidelines, we will reevaluate our operating status every week until this crisis is over as it is our intent to reopen YCP as soon as it is safe to do so. Our primary focus has always been to make sure that we are able to serve our families to the best of our ability, and we do not feel confident that we can provide the safest care to your family at this time.
Our goal is to keep our staff on payroll during this interim period so that we are able to reopen for you as quickly and safely as possible. We are asking all families to commit to paying a reduced weekly tuition rate of 70% at this time, we will reevaluate this rate on a weekly basis based on available resources. The more families that are able to contribute, the more prepared we will be to reopen. We are aware of and actively exploring all recently announced government programs for small businesses that could help ease the burden, but access to relief will take time. We are also aware of the potential financial hardships of charging tuition during this time and do not take this situation lightly. We ask any family not able to contribute to contact us directly to discuss your individual needs. We will send a follow-up email by this Friday that will list a few different ways families can pay tuition, but we are working towards a system of electronic/online payments. Please let us know your family's status and intent to remain enrolled by this weekend,
We are a small family-run business who has been serving the community of Vienna for almost 25 years and that has been our greatest honor. We have always tried to be there for our families, but now we are in the difficult position of asking for your help during this unprecedented time. Because we are an independent business, we rely exclusively on our weekly tuition to cover recurring expenses such as payroll, benefits, insurance, utilities, etc. We don’t receive any public funding towards our operating expenses, and absent some form of relief on the part of the VA or Federal Governments, we will be unable to fully cover those expenses. Our most vital expense is payroll because we are not able to operate without teachers. Childcare guidelines are incredibly strict about teachers/child ratios, and for good reason.
While we remain closed, staff will continue to work to provide your children with learning packets and/or art projects to do at home. We are also working on setting up some online applications (Book Reading, virtual Show & Tell, Weekly Song, etc.) We will work to find a safe and timely way to distribute these materials to families. Please look for Teacher emails in the coming week and we thank you for your patience as we try to develop resources for you at home. We will also begin emailing all current families every Friday with a weekly Check-In that will include up to date information, including YCP's Operating Status.
Although there are no easy answers for childcare centers during a Pandemic, we are trying to do our part in helping to prevent the risk of spread in our community and "flatten the curve."
We thank all of our families for their patience and understanding as we navigate this difficult period and we hope that we will all be stronger as a community at the end of it all.
We welcome your thoughts and questions and please be safe and healthy!