Child care solutions in focus at N-P committee talk

With most parents having to work outside the home, what are the options for child care?The growing issue of school-aged child care in the area sparked discussion the Nashua-Plainfield Community Schools hosted on Tuesday evening among parents, daycare providers, teachers and school board members.Many daycares in the area cannot take in any more school aged children owing in part to space constraints. Also because schoolchildren are only there in the mornings and afternoons, some daycare providers cannot afford to keep these students.The safety of the children was at the forefront of discussion.“I worry about kids going home by themselves,” said daycare provider Lisa Zwanziger, who is also a school board member.The school has assembled a task force to tackle this growing issue and with an aim to eventually assure parents their children will be safe if they are working before or after school.The task force members, Michelle Arneson-Havenstrite, Kristi Hannamen, Sarah Sudol and Kelli Kuker have looked into how other school districts in the area handle this growing issue.According to a survey the task force handed out at parent-teacher conferences, 72 percent of parent respondents would be interested in putting their child in a before- or after-school program if available.With the need identified locally, now the task force will explore options the school could be a part of when keeping children safe.The options which the board is looking at are numerous.— For more on this story, see the Dec. 20 Nashua Reporter.