No one will deny that the 2020/2021 school year was difficult and scary. As a school that serves young children, ages 18 months to five years old, we do not get the benefits of a vaccine safety net for our children. As delta surged in the fall, some parents were still hesitant to send their children to school. Monitoring positive test timelines, quarantining timelines, and figuring out just how runny a nose needed to be in a two-year-old to require a test was exhausting on a good day and tear-inducing on a bad day. None of that compares to the fear our families in the restaurant business (and we have several) faced as Covid reared its ugly head again in the fall. They were still recovering, and another mask mandate and stay away from inside public places order could devastate their family’s finances.
Through the support of NAES and other fundraising efforts, we reassured those families that regardless of the impact of Covid on their family’s finances, their children would remain welcome at our school. Christ Church Episcopal Preschool provided $50,000 in financial aid to families this school year, making a difficult year easier for our families that needed our support the most. We provided routine and structure in a familiar community during the most uncertain and unfamiliar of times. CCEP and our families continue to thrive thanks to NAES’s continued support.