Overview:
Richmond teachers are planning to go on strike starting Thur., Dec. 4.
While schools will be open, some parents may choose to keep their children home, to avoid crossing picket lines.
If you need someone to watch your little ones, don't count on finding any child care centers to do it. Most don't accept school-age children.
This story was updated to correct that Richmond Art Center will not provide meals and to provide more information about local groups offering activities for school-age children.
In preparation for the Richmond teachers strike that’s set to begin Thur., Dec. 4, Richmondside contacted a number of local day care centers and youth organizations to find options for working parents who don’t want their children to cross picket lines.
What we found was a gap when it comes to care options for school-age children (generally between the ages of 5 and 12). Most corporate facilities only accept children up to age 5. Even chains that advertise care for older children, such as Kindercare and La Petite Academy, for example, do not offer slots for those ages in Richmond. A care clearinghouse, winnie.com, designed to help parents find child care, incorrectly says those companies offer school-age care in the area.
The services we reach were unaware that a strike was looming and didn’t have many answers for parents.
While we did find a few places that said they would take school-age children (such as Donya’s Home Daycare in San Pablo), there were only a few open slots. Unless one has friends and family willing to offer care, it’s unclear how west Contra Costa County families with working parents will be able to keep children at home during the strike. (It’s worth noting that the district says all schools will be open and students will be safe and kept engaged in learning.)
The one place that did explicitly say it would accept children up to age 6 is the Bay Area Crisis Nursery in Concord. Even the Richmond YMCA doesn’t offer programs for children over age 5.
Courtesy of Donya’s Home Daycare
Where children can go if you’re keeping them home during the WCCUSD teachers strike
So, while finding a temporary child care service at the last minute in Richmond seems unlikely, the following organizations said they will provide activities for school-age kids.
| Name | Ages | Hours | Activities | Contact Info |
| RYSE Youth Center | 13 to 21 year olds; can accommodate up to 100 youth | 10 am to 6pm, M-F, for the duration of the teacher’s strike | Light breakfast and lunch will be served. Art, music, sports equipment will be provided | 510-374-3401 |
| Richmond Public Library | 8 years and above can be in the library without a parent, though supervision is not provided. | Available online | Homework Help 3-5pm for K-8 students at Bayview and Westside Branches | 510-620-6561 |
| Richmond Recreation | 6 months and up. Online sign up is required, programs can be 1-2 hours long | Afterschool with evening and weekend hours. | A variety of after school activities are available to sign up for at: link | www.tinyurl.com/RichmondRecreation |
| West County Salesian Youth Club | 1st through 12th graders | 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays | Art room, music room, homework help. $75 annual fee | 510-215-4646 |
| Richmond Police Activities League | 7 to 17, $30 for a year membership | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; 30 spots available. | Breakfast and lunch will be served. Variety of activities, including sports. | (510) 621-1221 |
| Richmond Art Center | Grades K-12 | 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; 16 spots available | Winter art program sessions Dec. 10, 11 and 12 but may be extended. | (510) 620-6772 |
Also, on Tuesday the Richmond City Council set aside $50,000 to expand recreation programs that parents can take their children to during the strike.
When asked what prompted RYSE to offer services to students during the strike, Alberto Avendaño, front desk administrative assistant, said it is, “For the protection of the youth.”
Avenado explained that RYSE was worried that, with the strike going on, students wouldn’t have any safe environment to go to — which could possibly lead to more negative police interactions and pose a danger to everyone.
Providing services during the strike will help prevent that by creating a safe space. While he hadn’t heard anything from parents, he did hear from a lot of students themselves. Despite the hardship a strike might create for them personally, he said they were supportive of the teachers, explaining that, “The improved conditions of teachers would mean that their classrooms will improve too.”
City and county resources
Richmondside tested out Contra Costa County’s CocoKids, a child care referral service. The first time we asked them for an emergency child care referral, the agent directed us to call a 211 information line, which provides community resources. The second time we were sent to a website and asked to fill out a form.
While the form allows parents to be as specific as they wish in explaining their children’s needs, the process was time-consuming and likely not useful in a last-minute emergency. Richmondside sent a test request on Nov. 25 and still hasn’t received a response.
Even visiting the CoCoKids office in person was a dead end. While we were told someone would answer our questions as soon as possible, as of this writing, no one has responded.
Get text updates about the teachers strike
We’ll text you breaking news and other updates about the WCCUSD strike. Text “Richmondside” to (510) 781-9051 to sign up.
The city’s Child/Youth Services department was contacted to see if they are setting up any emergency childcare programs in preparation for the strike, but no one has yet responded.
Another option is to hire a babysitter or temporary nanny, for example, through sites like care.com. Users must create an account to conduct a search. While users can create a free listing for potential babysitters, those users will face a paywall before being able to respond to any applicants.
Also: Richmondside has a running guide of ongoing Richmond activities, many of which are low-cost and include programs for children. We also publish a weekly things to do events listing on Thursdays.
Richmondside freelancer Sejal Parekh contributed to this report.
Little Tree Montessori, El Cerrito Martial Arts, Bridges Rock Gym, and iFlip Gymnastics are offering strike camps for students. Convenient for those in El Cerrito, South/East Richmond or those commuting south along the 80 corridor or catching BART at El Cerrito del Norte.