School-age students enrolled at any of ESD 112’s Early Care and Education (ECE) child care centers now have access to remote learning supports to help with homework assignments and other tasks related to distance learning.

The newly-available supports include on-site school district paraeducators as well as students pursuing their teaching certification through ESD 112’s ESD-U program.

“Many of our students were receiving one-on-one supports or spending time outside of their general education classroom to meet their needs prior to distance learning, so we try to get as close as possible to providing those kinds of supports in our environment now,” said Zoe Loranger, one of two directors at ECE’s Crestline location in Vancouver. “We need as many hands on deck as possible because this is a big task, and our children can’t wait.”

The Early Care and Education program operates four school-age child care centers in Clark County, with locations in Evergreen School District and Vancouver School District. The centers offer before and after school care for children between the ages of 5-12 years old.

“Students, families, teachers and child care providers are all working hard during remote learning,” noted Jackie Brock, Education and School Readiness Manager at ESD 112. “With these additional supports in place, we have greater capacity to work with students who need more one-on-one support and technical assistance to be successful in learning academic content virtually.”

Kelsey Cortez, the director of ECE’s Orchards location, said she noticed the impact of having an ESD-U student at her center supporting families, immediately.

“Our ESD-U student has already developed strong relationships with the kids, in addition to providing much-needed help with homework,” said Cortez. “Our kids actively seek this person out for help and know they have a good resource to turn to when they get stuck.”

Families interested in enrolling their student in school-age care are asked to call 360-952-3466. Space is limited. Additional program information, including a list of FAQs related to health and safety protocols, is available at www.esd112.org/ece-center-updates.

ECE SCHOOL-AGE CENTER LOCATIONS:

  • 28th Street ECE Center (14405 NE 28th, Vancouver)
  • Crestline (13003 SE 7th, Vancouver)
  • Columbia Valley (17500 SE Sequoia Cir., Vancouver)
  • Orchards (11405 NE 69th, Vancouver)