Ensuring the safety of our students and staff is a top priority at Sprouts. All of the entrances to our classrooms are secured and require a key card to enter. Interior and exterior security cameras add an additional layer of protection to our students and employees. Additionally, Sprouts utilizes Brightwheel, a management software. Each family will have access to the Brightwheel app, which allows for a seamless check-in and check-out of students, gives a direct line of communication between families and staff, and safely accepts online tuition payments.
Before opening our doors, the Sprouts building underwent a complete renovation from top to bottom. During this process, the building had to pass city and state building codes as well as rigorous inspections by the State Fire Marshal as well as DHS. All of our classrooms include a safety exit directly to the outdoors which can be utilized in case of emergency. Our building also includes a voice announcing fire alarm system and emergency exit lighting. All of our ground-level exits are ADA accessible. Before opening our doors, Sprouts hired licensed professionals to remediate asbestos in the building. As an additional layer of protection to our staff and students, Sprouts installed a radon mitigation system to ensure our building maintains safe radon levels at all times.
The playground at Sprouts is designed with safety in mind. Our play area is covered with Playsafe Artificial Turf, which is a turf created specifically for children. Directly under the turf is a padding layer that meets a 6-8 foot Critical Fall Height, which is a standard used for measuring the shock absorbency required of a play surface to prevent fall injuries. The playground area also includes a small hard surface area where students can safely ride trikes, bounce balls, and practice other large motor skills. Sprouts has installed safety closures on our playground gates to keep our students safely in the playground while outside.
Before attending Sprouts, each family is provided a PARENT HANDBOOK which explains all of our safety precautions and procedures. This handbook includes plans for severe weather, emergency contacts, fire and storm drills, and other safety precautions. Since Sprouts is a licensed facility through DHS, we are required to hold three practice drills every month. These include drills for a variety of emergency situations such as fires, extreme weather, lockdown, reverse evacuation (coming inside when outdoors), etc.
Due to the large amount of small children throughout our facility, Sprouts has invested in the best quality of air filtration, purification, and disinfecting equipment and technology.
To continuously filter the air, Sprouts uses Air Doctor air purifiers continuously running 24/7 in each classroom and common area. The Air Doctor brand is top of the line with UltraHEPA technology which is 100 times more effective than the HEPA standard. It is also proven to capture 99.99% of bacteria and viruses as well as removing other common indoor air pollutants such as VOCs from off-gassing of furnishings and building materials along with other air pollutants.
To disinfect against bacterias, microorganisms, and viruses, Sprouts uses a cold fogger with HOCL solution throughout every room in the building. HOCL is a safe, natural, and powerful solution that is simply electrolyzed saltwater. It is over 100 times more effective than chlorine bleach at killing bacteria and highly effective for disinfecting surfaces and airborne bacterias and viruses. It is so safe, that the solution can be ingested without any harmful effects. In fact, HOCL is even created by white blood cells in our own bodies to fight against infections. It has been used for over 40 years in hotels, gyms, daycares, the food industry to wash fruits/vegetables, and medical facilities for cleaning as well as eye and wound care!