WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — With the Wichita Falls ISD preparing to bring students back to school, local child care centers are doing the same.

Officials from Child Care Partners and First Kids Learning Center both said communication with parents is the key to keeping children safe.

Research seems to show that many children who test positive for COVID-19 rarely experience severe illness. But some families have concerns about sending their children to daycare.

“The biggest question I have is ‘is what you’re doing going to impede on teaching my child? So are you gonna be able to teach them with all the measures you’re taking?’ That’s probably the most common question I have,” Kids First Learning Center director Daniel Keeling said.

But as parents begin returning to normal work schedules, the need for child care is apparent.

“Parents are communicating with us. They know that they need us open as bad as we want to be open for them so they’ve been communicating with us throughout the process,” Child Care Partners executive director Keri Goins said.

“They wanted an idea of what the actual physical day to day steps looked like. I had a few people look at they wanted to know what kind of disinfectant we were using and that’s ok. The whole point is to make sure that their children feel safe,” Keeling said.

Child Care Partners and Kids First Learning Center both have safety measures in place. Both centers are screening children, making them wash their hands and making their employees wear masks all to make sure that children can learn safely.

“One of the things we did in one of our classrooms was use PVC pipe and a clear shower curtain. So that when the kids are doing small group time that they can actually still be close together with the teacher in small group educational opportunities. Space is premium right now,” Goins said.

“I know everyone’s looking for everything to get back to normal but I think it’s just kind of accepting new normalcy to life and taking the steps to make sure we’re safe and taking care of each other,” Keeling said.

Learning from instructors who have masks on is the new normalcy as children seek instruction during a pandemic.

Officials from both centers also said that parents were grateful that they have been open throughout the pandemic.

In Texas, nearly 4,800 child care centers have been closed between February and now and have not reopened while others have managed to keep their doors open.