One year has made a big difference for the Cortes Playschool, according to its facilitator.

After the school lost staff due to the Southern Cortes Community Association’s COVID-19 policies, the childcare operation was barely open in 2021. Now, the playschool is offering more availability than ever before, with full time hours launching on Oct. 24.

Hannah Schwartzentruber has been the main driving force behind the playschool's recent progress on the island. Originally hired in January as the playschool facilitator, she has since evolved to be both facilitator and manager. 

Schwartzentruber managed to double the hours the playschool was open last spring from eight hours a week, to 16 hours a week. Now, this fall, the playschool will have availability Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The playschool manager said the change was simpler than one might imagine. 

“As the holder of that license, I am the contact person, we are assigned a licensing officer. So, I communicated with him to let him know that we want more days, and that was literally all it took. I just made a phone call.”

Despite this increase to childcare access, one barrier remains relevant for many Cortes families: affordability. Drop in rates are $30 a day. Monthly rates range from $150-$850, depending on the average amount of days per week the child is registered for. In addition to the decent rates on Cortes, Schwartzentruber is eager to assist local families apply for all available subsidies. 

“We're doing our best to support families to access programs like the subsidy and applying for the operating fund and fee reduction, and hopefully we'll be doing some fundraising as well this school year.”

Due to the increased hours, there is more space to fill, meaning there is plenty of room for more families to sign up for the flexible childcare services in Mansons Landing. Parents can reach Schwartzentruber at playschool@mansonhall.org.

To hear more about accessing childcare on Cortes Island, listen to the CKTZ News update below: