ATLANTA — Tuesday marks the start of a new school year for Atlanta Public Schools, but the district also recognizes the need to invest in families long before kids are school-aged through its new program to help employees with childcare costs.
When Janekia Barnes, a veteran bus driver of ten years, heard about the district's plan to roll out the childcare scholarships, she knew she needed to apply.
"It would help me out financially," Barnes shared.
Her one-year-old son Noah goes to a local child care center while she's on her daily route transporting students. Though it's comforting knowing he is in a center he loves, she said, costs are also increasing.
"He loves his daycare lady so much and I feel comfortable with her," Barnes said. "He learns his colors, his alphabet so I'm happy about that."
District leaders, too, recognized the expense of child care and how it can be a burden to some families. So Barnes will now receive a little help with such costs as a recent scholarship recipient.
"I'm so thankful they did it," Barnes said. "It will help a lot, so we won't have to stress."
"Our district decided to invest $5 million in providing scholarships for our APS families," Selena Florence, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning from the district, explained. So we have worked very hard with our H.R. team to determine specific groups that this this scholarships will partially fund child care for."
The benefit is twofold, Florence added: to ensure district employees are supported financially through child care but also to aid retention and keep staff within the district.
"We really want to make sure that we're communicating this far and wide, that we have this opportunity available for APS families to be able to take advantage of and really get some help and support with what can be a hardship for some families," Florence added.
A maximum of $208 weekly will be given to at least 165 kids. t comes from $4.5 million in funding from APS to offer subsidies over the next three years.
"It really is taking a weight off of them, allowing them to show up to work, knowing that their kids are in high quality care," Ellyn Cochran with Quality Care for Children, explained.
The nonprofit is partnering with the district to bring the subsidies to qualifying district employees at a time when it's not only about the cost but making sure kids are thriving.
"We hear from families all the time about the growing costs of child care," Cochran said. It's expensive and has to be because quality child care is expensive, and whatever we can do here in Georgia to help alleviate that burden for families, we want to do."
To qualify for the program, APS employees must meet the following criteria:
- Have age-eligible children (birth until eligible to attend GA Pre-K).
- Be (1) classified and (2) fall within APS pay schedules 111-123.
- Employed by APS for at least six months and remain employed throughout the scholarship period.
- Children live in the same household as the eligible APS employee in Metro Atlanta at least 50% of the time.
- Household income at or below 85% of the State Median Income.
- Contribute 10% of your gross weekly household income towards child care and any amount over the maximum scholarship amount ($208 per week).
The scholarships are part of an effort by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens' office to help more kids participate in early childhood education. To learn more or apply, visit here.