But when a day-care center is located in the school, diapers and even infant formula are part of the supplies.
For the third year, Barbarito and Beyers are operating a private day-care center and preschool in two previously unused classrooms at Dennis Township Primary School in rural Cape May County. They soon will be opening a second center at the Ventnor Educational Community Complex.
The private centers fill a need for parents and school staff, generate a little revenue in rent for the school district and can help districts provide required preschool services for disabled children within their own school.
"There are not a lot of day-care options for families here," Dennis Township school Superintendent George Papp said. "This responded to a need, and then it's a nice, easy transition for the local children into the school."
Locating a private day care center in a school is rare, mostly because few schools have the space. But in districts where enrollment has been shrinking, or has not yet grown to fill a newer building, a day care center can be an ideal partner.
Bill Beyers, an early childhood specialist who runs Barbarito and Beyers with his wife, Janice Barbarito, said they are always open to new options. They run a center at Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing, and at other private sites in Atlantic County.
"It's all about being flexible," he said. "Locating in a school is ideal for the parents and children, plus we can get access to services here like their playground, gym and library."
But the arrangement does take some adjustment on both sides. Day care centers have longer hours than schools and need to be open year-round. Required school fire drills can wake napping babies.
In Dennis Township, the day care and preschool rooms are located at the end of a hallway and have their own locked entrance. One large room has three infants and 12 toddlers. The other is for 22 preschoolers taught by a teacher with a master's degree in education. Each room has a bathroom with child-sized facilities, and there are at least two to three adults in each room at all times.
Papp and Ventnor school Superintendent Carmine Bonanni said the districts considered running the centers themselves but then decided to leave it to more experienced operators.
"They've done this before, and know all the rules and regulations," Bonanni said.
The rules are different. Day care centers are licensed by the state Department of Human Services, not the Department of Education. The DHS has its own staffing and facilities requirements which required some modifications at the schools.
The small Elmer school district in Salem County learned that the hard way. The district moved a local day care center into its school when the owner retired and discovered it wasn't quite as easy as they anticipated. But superintendent Stephen Berkowitz said the benefits have outweighed any difficulties.
The tiny K-4 school had been losing enrollment and saw acquiring the day care and preschool operation as a way to serve the community, bring more children into the school and maybe generate a little income. The K-4 school has just 85 children. The day care center has 65, including the school secretary's triplets. The preschool curriculum for the center blends into the district's academic program.