Jasmine Moorman is a multi-hyphenate for her five children. Every day she carries the title of mother and all the duties that come with it. But on days when child care and education gets a little spotty, she adds chef, teacher, chauffeur and several other positions as their primary caretaker.
Her children, all under 10 years old, are in different stages of development. Her eldest three are in elementary school and her younger two are old enough for daycare.
“Well, they’re supposed to be in daycare, but of course, daycare isn’t working out right now,” Moorman said. “They’re on the waiting list and I’m not sure how long that will be.”
In the meantime, while Moorman is away at work they stay at her grandmother’s home.
Moorman said that daycares have been hard to get into across town, especially compared to when her eldest three were that age.
Due to COVID-19, she’s seen enrollment numbers be limited — and her children have been on the waiting list now for 2 months.
On days when school isn’t in person, Moorman has to work overtime to ensure her oldest three stay ahead in their classes.
When the schools went virtual due to weather a few weeks ago, Moorman said she had to ensure that her kids were able to be on time for their calls and learn as much as if they were in the classroom. If not, when she came home she would have to be their teacher.
“I would have to explain their work and try and hopefully catch them up on the work that they had before their bedtime, and still try to get dinner ready,” Moorman said.
That became even tougher when she had COVID-19 at the start of the year.
Her kids, all of which tested negative, were quarantined at their great-grandmother’s house, spending the day away from school to ensure they didn’t spread the virus — but they couldn’t complete the work.
“They went to her house and quarantined but they didn’t do really online [school] there. They just did work that they already had, but they still got so behind,” Moorman said.
She eventually caught them up when she was well again, but with work schedules, online schooling and digital literacy of her grandmother, sometimes her kids aren’t able to learn as efficiently as they should.
The legislative side of child care
The Public Life Foundation of Owensboro found through studies that education that is established in early childhood is the most pivotal in a child’s development.
In partnership with other organizations, the PLFO found that significant gaps exist in kindergarten readiness for children throughout Greater Owensboro.
On average, approximately 49% of those students arrived at kindergarten unprepared in the 2019-20 school year.
Along with a slew of other research data that can be viewed here, a task force has started an initiative to ensure that families like Moorman’s don’t have to balance the struggle of catching their children back up to par while juggling the other day-to-day duties of being a parent with a full-time job.
One of the initiatives starts at the core of the issue: helping clear HeadStart waiting lists.
“Data and research are showing that the years of birth through 5 are when a lot of the significant brain development happens that leads to better outcomes for kids later on in life,” said Joe Berry, PLFO President.
Berry said there are policy goals as well, such as changing the Child Care Assistance Program to allow families that are 200% under the poverty level to earn funding for child care along with funding an all-day kindergarten program at the local schools.
State legislation is in the works to totally fund all-day kindergarten. Local school leaders have pledged to redirect the funds they currently have allocated for kindergarten to instead be used for preschool programs.
The transfer of funds would be beneficial to the economy and school systems, according to Berry.
“Whether it’s education, economy, the issues that are facing children and families they all really intersect with one another,” Berry said.
Candance Castlen Brake, President/CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, said that in this COVID-19 environment there has been a lot of adapting and pivoting for businesses and schools getting to the normal, but beyond a COVID-19 environment, it’ll be beneficial for all.
“With universal preschool and taking care of our children and giving them a headstart, this will be a win-win because it enhances the quality of life, it enhances our economic future,” Brake said. “When you can do things that are good for people, but also good for the economy, it’s just a win-win.”
