Many child care centers across the nation have remained open during the coronavirus pandemic for the children of parents who are essential workers. One such center, PS/IS 128 in Queens New York, has seen a steady stream of 130 kids daily and hasn’t reported one case of COVID-19. The center was renamed a “Regional Enrichment Center” during the crisis as the four-story brick building was repurposed from a school to a day care center.

According to CNN, the director of the REC, Josephine Ramage, says educators have been asking for her advice and guidance on how to keep kids safe as they plan to get children back into classrooms. Here is her protocol:

• Staff members greet children as they enter the front doors, taking their temperatures.
• Staff members and children must wear masks on the premises.
• The school has placed a giant sea turtle on the wall of the of the first floor that reminds kids how far apart they should be for safe distancing by looking at its measurements.
• The staff encourages air hugs and elbow bumps as COVID-19 correct forms of greeting.
• There are only 9 students per classroom and the room is thoroughly disinfected daily.
• If a child becomes ill, he or she is kept in isolation until the parents can come to pick the child up.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines for the reopening of classrooms that also include frequent handwashing, encouraging staff and students to cough or sneeze into a tissue and then safety discarding the tissue, and having adequate supplies of hygienic products sch as hand sanitizers, paper towels and disinfectant wipes on hand.

The plan to reopen schools varies from state-to-state, with some districts even defying state guidelines until the number of coronavirus cases drop.

Rampage acknowledges that it would be difficult to implement her successful system to a regular school, where students arrive at the same time. Her center has a rolling admission policy in which children arrive at staggered times. Temperature checks alone could be a nightmare if everyone arrived at once,

“Imagine the line that would be out the door, trying to keep them distanced and checking their temperatures,” she said, according to CNN. “So, while the safety protocols are awesome, the cleaning products and just the procedures are a model, it’s not the same as a school.”