While fewer Fulton Public Schools employees are using the Options Daycare program, more teen parents than ever are, according to school officials.
Fulton Early Childhood Center Director Jennifer Meyerhoff will provide a program update on Options Daycare during this evening's Fulton school board meeting. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Fulton High School's library.
Options Daycare provides daycare services for teen parents, allowing them to continue attending school. It's open to children from infant to 4 years of age. The Division of Family Services subsidizes costs for qualifying teen parents. Employees of Fulton Public Schools may also use Options Daycare, and the fees they pay - ranging from $29 per day for infants to $18 per day for 4-year-olds - help offset the costs of the program.
Currently, 21 FPS employees have children enrolled, as do six teen parents. There are seven infants on the waiting list. The children of teens take priority, according to the program report. During the 2017-18 school year, 28 employees' children and four teens' children were enrolled.
Also tonight, the board will be asked to consider joining the Bright Futures program. The program is currently in place in communities across eight states, including 32 in Missouri. Nearby Columbia and Mexico participate.
It's designed to build community connections to ensure students living in tough situations have their basic needs met. Meyerhoff and Danielle Westmoreland, a process coordinator for FPS, will share more details of the program during the meeting.
Other items include a report on transportation, an update about the BAC-PAC program and more. To see the full agenda, visit bit.ly/FPSBOEagendas.
Candidate filing for two school board positions ends at 5 p.m. Jan. 15. Terms last three years. Interested persons may file at the superintendent's office located at 2 Hornet Drive, Fulton, MO, 65251.