Before and After School Care Handbook

Elementary Sites

AM hours are 6:30 AM – 8:40 AM

PM hours are 3:45 PM – 6:00 PM

Early Release hours are 2:35 PM-6:00 PM

Half-day hours are 12:00 PM -6:00 PM

Summer hours 6:30 AM - 5:30 PM

Middle School

PM hours are 2:40 PM – 6:00 PM

Early Release hours are 1:30 PM -6:00 PM

Half-day hours are 10:43 AM -6:00 PM

Summer hours 6:30 AM  - 5:30 PM

Elementary

Morning Schedule - Before School

Afternoon Schedule - After School

Middle School

Afternoon Schedule

 Childcare is not available during district break times: Thanksgiving, Winter Holiday, Spring Break. It is also not available on snow days or other days when the school may close early due to weather or unforeseen circumstances. School personnel will follow the emergency plan they have from the parents on these days. Childcare is open on teacher professional development days, both half and full days.

The Harper Creek Community Before and After Care programs are available to children without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, gender, or ancestry.

Registration 

An annual registration fee of $25.00 is due at the time of enrollment, and the first week's tuition is due before the child can start. Each year, new enrollment paperwork must be completed by parents to ensure that we have the most up-to-date information for each child enrolled in our programs. Upon acceptance of your child into our childcare, you will receive an invitation through email or text inviting you to join Procare. You must go through the invitation process for the app to work.

Students may continue to be enrolled throughout the school year as long as there is availability according to our child care licensing attendance totals. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Procare App

• The Procare child care mobile app and web portal let you message your child’s teachers and check your child in and out. 

•  Use GPS-enabled curbside check-in or QR code technology for a contactless experience.

•  Designate people who are authorized to do drop-off/pick-up.

•  Billing/Payments

Sign-In / Sign-Out 

Child Care licensing regulations require us to keep accurate attendance records. An important part of our safety process is the sign-in/sign-out sheet. It is the responsibility of all parents to sign their child in each morning and sign their child out each afternoon. Parents need to sign their signature at drop-off/pick-up.

Child Release

At pick-up time, children will be released only to the parent or authorized person specified on the child’s registration form. Please take care to list all of the people who may pick up your child other than yourself. When someone other than yourself is picking up your child, please advise them that they should be prepared to show their driver’s license prior to your child being released to them. Letting our program staff know ahead of time when someone else is picking up your child is also appreciated. 

Absence Notification

Parents are requested to notify the Child Care program if your child will not be attending due to illness, being picked up from school early, going home with another student, or if care is not needed for the day. The regular weekly tuition is still due for the week. 

Middle School Children will NOT be allowed to attend after-school sports events on their own. 

If your child is signed up for an after-school sport and will not be attending childcare for a period of time, please provide a written note giving the dates the child will not be attending, two week notice.  You will not be charged for the full week of not attending.  Children are not allowed to attend sports practices without an adult.

The child will be discharged without notice if the child’s disruptive behavior creates a direct threat to the safety of the child, other children, or the provider’s staff.  The child will be discharged when parents are more than 4 weeks behind in their payments.  We ask that our families give us a two-week notice prior to withdrawing your child. Thank you!

Beadle Lake Elementary, Sonoma Elementary, and Wattles Park Elementary

Tuition Rates 

Tuition is based on a weekly basis.

*Before school    $50.00 per week        **Sibling Discount     $5.00 per week

*After school    $60.00 per week            

*Before and After      $105.00 per week          

Child care is not open on no school days

RATES  SUBJECT TO CHANGE IN 2026/2027

NO REFUND FOR SNOW DAYS, AND NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR HALF DAYS

Summer Tuition Rate

$160.00/week/child    ($140.00 sibling discount)

Subject to change in 2027

Harper Creek Middle School

Tuition Rates

 Tuition is based on a weekly basis.

 *After school    $75.00 per week, **Sibling Discount is $5.00 per week

 Child care is not open on no school days

NO REFUND FOR SNOW DAYS AND NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR HALF DAYS

Summer Tuition Rate

$160.00/week/child  ($140.00 sibling discount)

Subject to change in 2027

Weekly Payment 

We use Procare.  Tuition payments are made on a pre-payment basis. Tuition is due the Friday before the care occurs. Please make your payment to Harper Creek Community Schools and give it directly to our program staff.  We encourage all parents to use the Procare app for billing. Deposits are made on Monday of each week. Each week, you will receive a receipt for the payments made.

Procare is the system we use to manage our Payments. It allows us to process payments quickly, efficiently, and securely through a variety of methods, including a recurring autopay feature. In a matter of minutes, each month, we can accomplish what would otherwise take us hours to complete – leaving us even more time to spend with your wonderful children. We offer the following electronic payment options through our Procare system:  Automated Debit and Credit Card Transactions, Automated ACH Transactions (bank to bank), Mobile online Payments via Parent App, and Point of Sale card transactions (onsite or by phone).

If your child does not attend the Before and After School Care Program due to vacation or illness, you are still responsible for the tuition payment, which secures your child’s spot in the program. In the event of a prolonged illness, please talk with the Lead Caregiver in order to discuss the long-term plans for your child, at which time different tuition arrangements may be made. A note from your doctor may be needed in this event.

Tax Statement

 A tax statement is available by February 1st for the previous year’s childcare expenses.

Late Payment Fee

Payment is due the Friday before the care occurs for the following week. If payment is not received by Friday at 6:00 PM, your account will be assessed a $5.00 late fee. This includes online payments, too.  This fee will increase to $10.00 should payment become seven (7) days past due. If you become more than 14 days late on making your payment in full, the Childcare Director may terminate your child’s spot.  This policy will be strictly followed. 

• The Procare child care mobile app and web portal let you message your child’s teachers and check your child in and out. 

•  Use GPS-enabled curbside check-in or QR code technology for a contactless experience.

•  Designate people who are authorized to do drop-off/pick-up.

The center has the following qualified staff: a director, lead teachers, assistant teachers, and kitchen personnel to fulfill the general responsibilities of program planning and implementation, building and maintaining effective relationships with children and families, continuing personal and professional education, as well as, other criteria cited through licensing. 

A staff member trained in first aid and CPR will be on-site at all times. 

No volunteer or employee will be allowed to be at the center when children are present who have not been cleared by the Comprehensive Background Check and Fingerprinting as required by the State of Michigan licensing rules for child care centers.   This includes parents and family members of students.  Volunteers will be supervised at all times by a child care staff. Criminal and Child Protective Services histories are checked for every volunteer and employee.  Any individual registered on the public sex offender registry (PSOR) is prohibited from having contact with any child in care.

Snacks

An after-school snack will be provided every day through Chartwells, the food service program contracted by Harper Creek Community Schools, and is included in the weekly tuition rate. All meals/snacks are in compliance with the requirements of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Please refer to the posted menu at each Before and After School Care site.

Special Dietary Needs

Please notify our staff if your child has any special dietary needs or allergies so that we may make the necessary food arrangements. As participants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, any child requiring a special diet must have a completed Medical Statement on file with the Food Service Office. This statement must be completed by your child’s doctor and be on file before special dietary requests can be accommodated. If this statement has been completed for the school lunch program, it will also apply for the after-school snack. For additional questions, please contact John Ruemenapp, Director of Food Services, Harper Creek Community Schools, at 441-8457.

Illness

Please notify the Before and After Care Program when your child is ill and unable to attend. If your child is coughing excessively, running a fever, or is sick to their stomach, please keep him/her home. If a child becomes ill in our care, we will notify you by phone. In cases where the child is too ill to remain in our care, you will be requested to pick up your child as soon as possible. In the event that a parent cannot be contacted, we will contact the person(s) listed on your enrollment information. 

The following are guidelines for when your child may return to school after being ill:

• After they have had no fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication

• 24 hours after starting antibiotics

• 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhea 

Communicable Disease

Children contracting a contagious disease must be excluded from school for the health and welfare of all of the students. The child may return to school when the disease is terminated or the child has obtained a physician’s release. The following diseases are considered communicable and/or contagious: chicken pox, hepatitis, impetigo, measles, infections, mononucleosis, mumps, pink eye (conjunctivitis), polio, ringworm, rubella, head lice, scabies, scarlet fever, and whooping cough. It is the responsibility of the parent to notify the school of any contagious disease.

Staff

Staff will be asked not to participate in the program when they have the following symptoms: fever of 100.4 degrees or more, vomiting, diarrhea, lice, pink eye, and/or continuous green mucus. After three consecutive absences, documentation from a medical professional may be required for staff to return to the program.

Medication

We strongly prefer to have all medications kept and dispensed in the main office during regular school hours. The Before and After Care Program does not keep over-the-counter medication at our site. If medication must be given during childcare hours, please obtain a medication form for the doctor to sign. Once we receive this form, we are able to dispense the medication. All prescription medication must be in its original container, have a current date, and the child’s name printed on the label. The Harper Creek Community Schools Child Care Program will keep a record of the time, date, and dosage administered for each medication. 

If your child may need their medication during Before and After Care, you are required to fill out a medication form through state licensing, allowing childcare staff to administer the medication.

Accident / Injury /Incident

Minor injuries will be treated by the Child Care staff at the time of the incident and reported to parents. Depending on the situation, the injury may be treated by washing the injured area with soap and water, applying a cold compress, applying a bandage, and/or applying ice. A Harper Creek Community Schools accident report will be completed and made available to parents upon request. Parents will be notified of any accident or injury their child experiences while attending the Before and After Care Program through a phone call (a.m. care) or in person at the time of pick-up (p.m. care).

A center shall make a verbal report to the department within 24 hours of the occurrence of any of the following: a child is lost or left unsupervised, an incident involving an allegation of inappropriate contact, the death of a child in care, a fire on the premises of the center that requires the use of fire suppression equipment or results in loss of life or property, the center is evacuated for any reason. 

A center shall make a verbal report to the department within 24 hours of notification by a parent that a child received medical treatment or was hospitalized for an injury, accident, or medical condition that occurred while the child was in care.  A center shall submit a written report to the department of the occurrences in a format provided by the department within 72 hours of the verbal report to the department. A center shall keep a copy of the report on file at the center.

Medical Care / Emergency Care

 Safety for our children is our first priority. 

Medical Care

In the event that a child requires medical care, the Child Care staff will contact the parent directly. If the parents are unavailable, the person(s) listed on the enrollment information will be notified next. In the event that none of the above can be reached, 911 will be called. The Child Care staff will continue trying to reach the parents. 

Emergency Care

If the accident/injury is of a more serious nature, emergency personnel will be called first. Once the child is stable and emergency personnel have been contacted, the parents will be called. Child Care staff will share all information with the emergency personnel in an attempt to keep the child safe.

Child Safety

In the unlikely event that a child becomes lost or unsupervised during care at the center, if the child cannot be located within a few minutes, staff members will call 911 for assistance in finding the child, and then parents will be contacted by phone.  The Harper Creek Before and After School Program guarantees that staffing levels will be kept at or above the legal threshold that the Michigan licensing rules allow at childcare centers.

Bathroom responsibilities

All children must be fully potty-trained and able to use the bathroom independently.  We fully understand that accidents do happen, so please provide an extra set of clothing in their school backpack in case this does happen.  

Discipline                          

When discipline is necessary, a positive behavioral approach will be used as a means for the child to reflect and learn from his/her actions, while maintaining a positive image of themselves.  It is our goal that children learn from their actions so that negative actions are not repeated. Physical or corporal punishment will never be used to discipline a child.  Our staff will use the following strategies whenever disciplinary situations arise:

• Communication – staff will share and discuss the situation with the child to ensure that s/he realizes what behavior needs to be changed and why the behavior is inappropriate. The child may be asked thought-provoking questions as a means of helping him/her think about the behavior and what actions should be taken to ensure it doesn't happen again.

• Taking Responsibility – taking responsibility for one’s actions is one way of learning from our mistakes. Whenever possible, children will be encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, whether it be cleaning up an area they disrupted, apologizing to others verbally or in written form, or sharing with a parent what they have done.

• Redirection – a child may be redirected to a different activity or to play with different children for a short time period. Sometimes a change of activity is all that is needed to help children change directions and put them back on the path of positive interaction with others.

• Cool Down – In the event that the child does not respond to redirection, or if the behavior is more serious in nature, the child will be asked to sit away from the other children in order to take some time to cool down and reflect more intentionally on his/her actions. Before returning to the group, it will be important for the child to have a conversation with a Caregiver whereby s/he accepts responsibility for their actions and understands the impact their behavior has on others as well as themselves. Children may also decide to take a “Cool Down” for themselves as a means of calming themselves and avoiding their behavior from moving in an inappropriate direction. Children are to be commended for reflecting and taking this approach to help themselves!

• Problem Solving – Should the behavior become more continuous, the child will be involved in working on a solution for long-term changes to the behavior. This also helps the child to take responsibility for their actions in a proactive manner. Contracts or behavior sheets may be developed during this time, or agreements reached in which a child loses a privilege. Parents will be involved at this point so that they may also be a part of the problem-solving solution. When children know that all parties are working together for their benefit, the likelihood of success is greater. 

• IEPs & 504 Plans-If your child has a one-on-one aide through the school day, then they need to have one during childcare.  Please make sure the childcare staff has a copy of your child's 504 plan, so that teachers can help your child adjust to changes and accommodations as needed.

  
  

Parent Notification

 It is expected that behavior will need to be addressed from time to time with all children as part of the normal learning process. Most disciplines address this normal learning range of behaviors and allow our Caregivers to deal with it and move on. At times, however, behaviors become more serious or repetitive, at which time parents will be brought into the conversation. Should a behavior be of a more serious nature, the parents will be notified by phone or at the time of pick-up, with what consequences were administered.  Parents will also be contacted by phone or at the time of pick-up if their child was the target of inappropriate physical contact while at the center.

Program Dismissal

Harper Creek Community Schools reserves the right to remove a child from the program due to excessive or continuous behavioral problems.

Photographs will occasionally be taken of the children. From time to time, these pictures may be used in school brochures, newspaper articles, school frames, etc. If, for any reason, you do not want photos of your child to be used in publicity materials, please notify the Before and After Care Program in writing.

Personal Items

Please do not bring personal items from home, including cell phones and technological devices. Harper Creek Community Schools is not responsible for lost or damaged items that are brought from home. In the event that an item is lost, you are welcome to look in the school building’s Lost and Found.

Cell Phones

Cell phones are not allowed.  All communication is to be done through the childcare staff or through Procare messaging.  

Fire

In the event of a fire, the children will be evacuated from the building using the nearest exit. They will be led to a safe area (designated by each school) away from the building, and staff will take attendance. If any child is unaccounted for, a search will be made to locate the missing child without putting the other children at risk. 

Parents will be notified (text or phone call) of the fire and asked to pick up their child immediately.  A posting of the relocation site is posted in the emergency information on the bulletin board.  The building is equipped with fire alarms, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and pull stations that are inspected regularly. 

The center practices fire drills so that in the event of an emergency, everyone will be ready to act quickly and safely.  Rooms used by the program have emergency plans posted near the exits to assist in successful evacuation.  

Should an evacuation be required to move children off campus, parents will be called to give the off-site location and the procedure for reuniting them with their children.  Accommodations for children with disabilities or special medical needs will be planned for by the staff in the event of an emergency.

Off-Site Reunification Locations

Sonoma Elementary -Sonoma United Methodist Church

Beadle Lake Elementary-Harper Creek Administration Building

Wattles Park Elementary -Wattles Park Men’s Club Building

Tornado Emergency

Tornado Watch

Upon learning of a tornado watch in the area, the weather conditions will be monitored until such time as the center is closed and all children have left with parents, or the weather watch is canceled.

Tornado Warning

Should weather conditions deteriorate and a tornado warning is issued, children will proceed to a predetermined location in the building until such time as the tornado warning is canceled. Should parents need to be notified, they will be contacted by one or more of the following methods: email, text, or phone call. A posting of a relocation site will be posted at both entrances if applicable.

Tornado Drills

Tornado drills are practiced regularly with the children and staff.  Accommodations for children with disabilities or special medical needs will be planned by the staff in the event of an emergency.

The Before and After Care Programs maintain a licensing notebook at each school site location. The notebook contains all licensing inspection reports, special investigation reports, and all related corrective action plans. 

Should a parent wish to see the notebook, please inform the Program Director or building Principal. The notebook will be available to parents to review during regular business hours. 

Licensing inspection in special investigation reports is also available on the child care licensing website. 

As required by Licensing Rule R400.5940, Harper Creek Community Schools' Before and After School Care Programs will notify parents annually of the following pest management: notification will be provided to parents or guardians informing them that they will receive advance notice of pesticide applications.  Advance notice (minimum 48 hours) will be provided by posting a notice at entrances, and a note will be sent home.  An advance notice shall contain information about the pesticide, including the target pest or purpose, approximate location, date of the application, contact information at the center, and a toll-free number for a national pesticide information center recognized by the Michigan Department of Agriculture.  

Currently, there are no pesticides being used at The Harper Creek Community Schools' Before and After School Care Programs.

The Harper Creek Community Schools' Before and After School Care Programs informs parents, in writing at the time of enrollment, that the center plans to use the school’s outdoor play area and equipment that does not comply with Michigan State Licensing Regulations.  

Harper Creek’s childcare programs are not required to conduct child care licensing inspections of their playgrounds because of an allowed exemption to public school childcare programs.