Stonington -- The school system is planning to launch a low-cost child care program for school employees at the beginning of February.

Superintendent of Schools Van Riley gave the Board of Education an update on the proposed program called “The Den” at its meeting last week. The update was part of a report by Riley about the many efforts being taken in the area of staffing and retention of employees.

Riley said he modeled the program after similar ones offered to employees at school districts he had worked for in California before coming to Stonington.

Riley said parents will be charged $38 a day to send their child to the day care program which will be housed in the former preschool room at the high school. Riley said the cost is significantly less than the $57 to $70 a day charged by private child care centers in the area. He said the school system will not make a profit on the program and will charge what it costs to operate it.

"We're very excited," he said about the program, which he called an added benefit for employees. 

The program will be limited to a maximum of 20 children with a minimum of three adults overseeing the program at any one time.

The child care center will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on school days and parents will only be charged when school is open. Children must be 2 1/2 years old by Sept. 30, 2020, to enroll and can stay in the program until they begin in kindergarten. Parents can sign up their children through Dec. 16.