Spots in new day-care centre filling up fast
Children St. Stephen facility opening Sept. 2 has waiting lists already for some age groups
ST. STEPHEN - Registration for the Charlotte County Boys & Girls Club's day-care centre has been open for about three weeks and already has waiting lists for some age groups.
Last month the Boys & Girls Club announced it would be opening a day care, primarily to help teenage mothers, on Sept. 2.
The facility, called the Community Learning Centre, is a collaboration between School District 10 and the Boys & Girls Club and will be located at 252 King St., near St. Stephen High School. When it opens, it will be the only licensed day-care centre in the town for children under 15 months old.
Heather Estey, executive director of the Charlotte County Boys & Girls Club, said the centre will give preference to teen moms and then will open the centre for children from other members of the community.
The three spots available for infants up to 15 months were filled, but Estey said a person recently dropped out leaving a spot open to the public again.
The room for two- and three-year-olds is almost full with six of the seven spots spoken for.
The third room available for children from 15 to 24 months has nine spots and eight of them have been filled. Five of the youngsters in that age group are children of teen moms.
Estey said there were 11 spots for the preschool room designed for four-years-olds, but with only one four-year-old registered and four three-year-olds on the waiting list, the centre is considering opening it to three-year-olds if there is not a better response.
"I think this is something the community has needed for a long time. We have always had a lot of teen moms and that is why we put in the effort and worked so hard and it is why their teachers had this idea," said Estey.
"I think it proves the point of how important licensed day cares are."
Estey said since the day care is set up to help teen mothers get their education without having to worry about their children being well taken care of. Any teen that needs a spot for her child will be put at the top of the waiting list.
The community has been very supportive of the centre and the concept set up to help teenagers with children, Estey said.
She was busy painting the walls of the new centre as she spoke on the phone Thursday afternoon. She said the renovations will be complete this week and in the next couple weeks the club will be busy buying furniture and setting up the rooms.
A staff of seven has been hired.
Estey said it feels great to watch things go from paper to reality and looks forward to opening day, when all of the preparations will be completed and everyone can breathe again.
She said if anyone in the community is interested in registering their child, they should immediately call 466-4314.
More The City
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
