After-school program changes to full-day

The Guilford Center for Children’s “before and after school” program might deserve a new name.

In addition to running its usual early morning and mid-afternoon activities out of the town’s schools, the GCC this fall also is operating a full-day distance learning program out of the First Congregational Church and the town’s community center.

The initiative, according to officials, was born out of a community effort and as a way to support families while the Guilford Public Schools operate under a hybrid model. It provides child care on days when students are not in school and their parents still need to go to work.

The program also ensures children participate in distance learning, with staff members helping them log into their video classes and check schedules on their Chromebooks, according to Jessica Catlin, who directs the program.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for families in town,” said First Selectman Matthew Hoey. “If you think about the impact that [it] is making on some families, it’s just another great story.”

And plenty of folks are availing themselves of the opportunity, with 110 kids enrolled in the full-day program, ranging in age from around five to 12 years old, according to Catlin.

Julie Fitzpatrick, whose third-grade son is among those participants, described the before- and after-school program — which now also encompasses the full-day program — as “just such a special asset to the school system here.”

“But this school year it’s unprecedented how helpful it is,” she said.

When Fitzpatrick learned that the schools’ hybrid model, which divides students into cohorts for a mix of in-person and distance learning, would leave her son out of school three days a week, she wasn’t sure what to do with the off-days.

The GCC was her answer.

“It’s been wonderful,” Fitzpatrick said, praising the program. Her son brings his iPad with him and is able to log into Zoom classes alongside other classmates, as some of the students in his cohort also attend the GCC, she said.

When he is not in a virtual class, he participates in COVID-safe activities, such as crafts, according to Fitzpatrick.

“He’s not stuck inside with, you know, boring adults,” she said. “That’s a bonus for him, big time, and for us, because it gives him some semblance of a school-like structure.”

Even Lisa Jones, who directs another GCC service — its early education program — is using the full-day program so that she can go to work on Wednesdays, she said.

Catlin also thanked several community organizations, including the Guilford Foundation, the Guilford Community Fund and the Guilford Human Services Council, that she said donated funds to make sure parents could access the program regardless of financial need.

“They provide a critical service to working families and folks who need to have their children in excellent care during the day,” said Liza Janssen Petra, director of the Guilford Foundation.

Getting the program off the ground was a community effort, according to Catlin, who said Superintendent of Schools Paul Freeman and Hoey offered vital support.

“The work that Jessica has done to put together an all-day quality childcare program during our hybrid and distance learning phase has been invaluable to families and students by providing much needed support through these challenging times,” Freeman said in an email, also describing a longstanding “positive partnership” between the GCC and Guilford schools.

“The implementation of this program … really exemplifies the true spirit of Guilford,” Catlin said. “Just the community coming together for a common goal, which is supporting the families of our town during such a crazy time.”

Setting up the initiative had its challenges, not the least of which was finding extra space out of which the GCC could operate.

Organizers essentially got two new child care facilities up and running in less than two months, Hoey said, adding that they also had to make sure those locations were inspected and licensed to operate by the state.

Normally, licensing child care centers takes months, Catlin said.

But thanks to the help of the town and the state’s Office of Early Education, the GCC was able to get it done in just a few weeks, she said.

“I gotta give Jessica Catlin a great deal of credit,” Hoey said. “She’s really a rock star. She pulled this together in such short order.”

meghan.friedmann@ hearstmediact.com