New BeeKeepers Program For Families With Students in Kindergarten

The Brecksville-Broadview Heights BeeKeepers will add another program to their childcare services next year aimed at families with children in the non full-day kindergarten program. 

The district’s part-time kindergarten program will run in two sessions next year. Each session will be two full days and one half day—Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday, plus half of Friday—rather than five half days, said Carla Calevich, director of curriculum. That will help keep transportation costs down for the district by eliminating mid-day trips, she said.

But the schedule could cause problems for parents who need to find care for their students on the other two-and-a-half days a week. 

Enter the new BeeKeepers program. 

The BeeKeepers’ program offers childcare services in the district’s school buildings before and after school, depending on age, and on many non-school days like spring break, according to the program’s website. The program also provides . This new program, which was approved by the , will offer care for the families that sign up on the two days students aren’t in class and the half-day on Friday.

The program will be held at each elementary school, allowing students to consistently attend the same school, said Linda Hemperley, the program’s director. In the past, the BeeKeepers had held a similar kindergarten program, but it was at a Blossom facility, which led to more travel for students. With this program, students will be able to use the same school transportation, whether it’s their BeeKeepers day, their in-class day or the half-day on Friday, which would be a combination of both. 

The hours in this program will be the same as the school day, and students will have guaranteed care five days a week, even if classes are out for a break, Hemperley said. The weekly $102 tuition includes those kinds of days. If parents need before- or after-school care, that charge will be additional.

Hemperley said the kindergarten program will also serve as an academic extension of the school day – if teachers say there is an area that students need to work on, the childcare staff can work it into their day. Students will also have time for music, arts and crafts, a weekly hands-on science project and reading projects. Students can also buy a hot lunch on the full days of the program. 

Calevich said the district is pleased to be able to offer this care to fill in the non-class days for families who need it.

“BeeKeepers is a tremendous program,” she said.