The President’s Committee on Child Care Options (PCCCO) announced today that the university again is partnering with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) to provide children’s programs during an upcoming school holiday.
“Explore the Museum” takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, which is the date of the Jewish observance of Rosh Hashanah. Several schools in Northeast Ohio close on this date, and CMNH offered a similar program on this holiday last year with great success. The committee and museum also have partnered for programs for President’s Day and children’s spring breaks.
“The Cleveland Museum of Natural History has been an outstanding partner to Case Western Reserve,” said PCCCO chair Eileen Anderson-Fye, the Robson Associate Professor of Anthropology. “We are grateful to the museum for creating such enriching programs and to university families for recognizing their value.”
The program is open to children in kindergarten through sixth grade, and will include lessons about geology, chemistry and dinosaurs. Children also will see a live animal program and a planetarium show. The cost for the one-day camp is $50 per child; registration information can be found on the museum’s website.
President Barbara R. Snyder created the first child care committee in the fall of 2008 to explore short-, medium- and long-term possibilities to assist university families with children. The university adopted two of that group’s recommendations, launching programs for temporary and back-up child care and funding for child care related to professional travel.
The president created a second committee in 2012-2013 to assess and tweak those new programs and evaluate the potential for creating a child care center on or near campus. In addition to sponsoring Spring Break programing in 2013, the group ultimately recommended the university issue a Request for Information to qualified private child care providers. Since that time the university has continued to explore potential locations and philanthropic possibilities, while committee members conducted extensive evaluations of potential providers.
In addition, the president’s office has supported financial assistance for PCCCO camps to families with household incomes of $50,000 or less. Those with questions about financial assistance and their eligibility can contact Human Resources Manager Amy Sheldon at amy.sheldon@case.edu or 216.368.5000.