What happens to Earl Grey Children's Centre in case of a swap?

Due to how quickly the idea of a school swap was sprung on Earl Grey School, despite the fact other parties involved appear to have a head start on information gathering, Earl Grey School is unfortunately left in the dark as to how a swap would impact programs like Earl Grey Children's Centre (EGCC).

There are those that would like a full school swap by September 2015. With so much up in the air and so much information missing, we are left scrambling and seeking out any information we can. But there are also a number of glaring realities in how EGCC will be impacted. This post outlines the huge number of concerns and the plain facts regarding a school swap, including the possible closure of the Centre and the loss of jobs.

EARL GREY CHILDREN’S CENTRE (EGCC) IMPACT FACTS

BACKGROUND

·         Earl Grey Children’s Centre has been operating out of Earl Grey School for 35 years.  We are a non-profit provincially licensed early childhood education centre serving 71 children ages 3-12 years.  We employ 15 Early Childhood Educators.

·         We service the Earl Grey School exclusively and our programming is fully integrated with the school system.  We directly affect enrollment and we exist solely to serve Earl Grey’s needs.  Ex. Three years ago we expanded another room and added 15 spots on request of the school to meet enrollment demands.

Other Community Childcare affected:

·         Dante Nursery serves up to 15 children per year who attend Earl Grey School.  They are unable to transport in the event of swap.

·         Earl Grey Community Club supports 40-60 children per day in their before and after and lunch programming.  They also cannot transport.

·         Home daycares have contacted us to inform they will not be able to transport as they also care for infants and cannot take them out in extreme weather. 

MIXED MESSAGES

The Trustees:

·         We have heard many of the trustees acknowledge the importance of our centre to the school community.  Thank you. 

·         Many have made statements of support in regards to our continued operation in the event of a swap though it seems unclear if anyone fully knows if or how that would happen.    

·         How do the trustees plan to address this uncertainty?  Is there a plan in place to work with us?

The Division:

·         Last year we received a letter, completely random at the time, ensuring we were aware of their policy to provide 90 days notice for eviction.  When the swap was raised as an option on December 15th 2014 the trustees voted in the favour of maintenance of the status quo whereby Ecole LaVerendrye would continue to operate as a N-6 school in its present location, to request additional classrooms from the Department of Education and Advanced Learning and explore the possibility of establishing a new French milieu program outside of establishing a new French milieu program outside of the existing École LaVérendrye catchment area. On February 2nd, 2015 the vote was reversed and amended options were put forth by the board as possible solutions for community consultation. 

·         On the WSD website outlining the new consultation process, it states we are business tenants in the school. There is no acknowledgement of our long standing and integrated relationship.

·         The process that prevented the school administration from giving us any direct communication on the jeopardy we faced perpetuates the perception that we are not valued by the WSD administration.

·         If one of the options requires use of our space i.e. swap or space sharing with LaV, will the division only give us 90 days’ notice or will we be offered some planning time or allowed to remain until the school moves?

The Province:

·         The province has made childcare, in particular its relationship with school communities, a priority.  It supports the research that shows a seamless integration between early years and formal school benefits everyone and has implemented policies to reflect this.

·         New schools are mandated to include purpose-built space for early education childcare centres.

·         Bill 7, an amendment to the public schools act has been put before the Legislature to protect existing centres operating in schools. 

·         Is the WSD aware of the provincial views or Bill 7?  Is the rushed timeline intended to ‘beat’ the legislation?

SCENARIO LOGISTICS

Scenario A: A school swap is voted in and it is determined that there is space for EGCC in the new location.

·         Provincially licensed centres must meet certain criteria including #square feet, natural light, washroom facilities/child ratios, sinks in rooms, food preparation kitchen space, etc.

·         EGCC’s operating license is based on the space we have in our current location.  It is not transferable.

·         We would effectively be opening a brand new centre and would have to ensure it was possible, structurally, to do renovations to meet provincial standards. 

·         Renovations take time and money.  It would not be something we could accomplish during the summer break between school years.  There would be a disruption of service for a majority of the first year.

·         At Earl Grey School, the WSD approved us doing a $45,000 kitchen installation.  We raised funds and received grants from Community Places.  Since this is not WSD property but cannot be moved, would the WSD commit these funds to allow us to recreate our facilities in a new space?  What compensation would be offered for other centre funds invested in the existing space?

Scenario B: A school swap is voted in and we are allowed to remain in our current location.

·         This scenario was noted in a letter from the LaV community council to the board.  It is important to note that we were not consulted on this ‘solution’ and no onsite assessment of our space was done.  It is highly unlikely this would be possible due to LaV’s space needs and their own KinderCare service.

·         The centre and most families are opposed to this option due to the hardship of transporting young children to and from school up to 4 times per day, especially in extreme weather. 

·         The centre would not be able to remain in a space if their access to shared school space or movements within the school were in any way restricted by a segregation based on language.  It is against our value system and curriculum requirements which support cultural integration.

Scenario C: A school swap is voted in and there is no available space for us to move with the school.

·         We have done our contingency research and there is no suitable space within walking distance of the school that is available or affordable.  We are unable to afford to operate motor vehicle transportation services to be located further away.

·         This scenario would cause the centre to close permanently.   71 children would be without early education childcare.  Parents would have to start over on a 2+ year waiting list for care. 

·         Many of these children would be unable to remain enrolled at Earl Grey as parents seek and eventually secure care in schools that do support a relationship with a childcare centre.

·         15 people would lose their jobs. 

·         Is losing the centre a factor in considering the swap or are we an add one that you hope to support but if not, then that is just an unfortunate consequence?

Scenario D: A school swap is NOT voted in and we remain in our current relationship with the school.

·         Obviously, this is our preference and we would breathe a collective sigh of relief with the rest of the community.  However it is important to note that based on the perceived lack of value we have to the WSD itself, we would not feel completely safe and secure until Bill 7 passes into law and until we saw the WSD change its statements and actions to reflect the Provincial values on childcare in schools.

·         Is there a disconnect between the WSD, the board of trustees and the province in terms of early education priorities and is this on the radar to be addressed in any way after all this is over?