The Children's Center at Cal Poly Pomona is once again welcoming children into its classrooms, with a pilot reopening that began on July 6. Throughout the pilot and until further notice, office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
COVID-19 precautions are extensively observed at the center, including completely separated classroom cohorts, face-coverings always worn by children and staff, temperature checks, and individual-use equipment and toys. Extensive indoor cleaning is also observed. Under occupancy guidelines, the initial cohort returning includes 30 children.
Amid these expected changes, the robust early care practices that contribute to the center's quality programming remain in place, preparing children between the ages of 2 and 5 for necessary skills in the areas of literacy, math, and science with opportunities for creativity, self-expression, and exploration.
"I'm really excited to see kids again in the playground, engaging with the materials around them," said Celeste Salinas, the center's director. "So many children enrolled in our center have said 'I just miss my friends and all the toys!' So we're excited to be back in-person."
The Children's Center serves a crucial role in the college journey of parenting students by providing high quality, convenient and affordable childcare services in a safe and clean environment. For this pilot, the center is only providing services to student-parents with previously enrolled children.
"I'm so glad we are now able to support these parenting students by giving them in-person childcare," said Ishia Barajas, interim Enrollment Coordinator and Parenting Student Liaison. "This way they can more easily focus on class, their mental health, and more."
Parenting students are encouraged to visit the official University support website, which includes important on-and-off campus resources for parents, research, policy updates, and more information, including other childcare service options and a parenting student specific advisor with the Bronco Advising Center.
Hours at the center are expected to be expanded slightly by the fall semester, with an additional classroom in operation and more capacity for children. Announcements related to these changes will be communicated with the campus community.
In-person tours are not available at this time, but the center is open for questions and information. For more information, visit the Children's Center website or email childrenscenter@cpp.edu.