By Justin Brisbane
Justin@canmoreleader.com
Wednesday May 07, 2008
When Kevin and Sue Preece came to Canmore to open a private daycare last summer, they saw it as an opportunity to help a community feeling the pinch of a lack of child care spaces.
The couple worked hard to prepare the site, and looked to help relieve a child care waiting list that was about 300 children long in the Bow Valley.
Yet when they finally opened their doors last week, only six children were registered in the day care’s 88 spaces.
“Over a year ago, we said let’s do daycare. We got the building finalized and advertised for two months. Where are the kids?” Kevin asked.
The daycare is run by qualified staff at Grotto Mountain Village, but Kevin isn’t sure why there hasn’t been a stronger response to what is considered a large need in the community.
“We’re trying not to be frustrated. We’re growing daily,” Kevin said. “You hear there are 300 kids on a wait list (in the Bow Valley), but you wonder where they are.”
Kevin guesses many parents have had to stay home or are using day homes for child care. He said he’s heard of parents doing some intense juggling to find child care in the Bow Valley.
“One Dad took his son to Calgary every day for child care. Even though he worked five minutes from his home in Canmore, he had to get up early and drive back and forth to Calgary twice a day,” he said.
Kevin said he doesn’t see Dragonfly daycare in competition with the facilities in Canmore or Banff, and he hopes all three sites can complement each other.
“The only place for competition is staff,” he said.
Kevin said the day care is fully regulated and licensed, and all of the staff is certified. They are accepting children aged one to six years old into full and part time day care, but aren’t licensed for drop-in care.
The daycare is government-certified and in the process of achieving its accreditation. The Banff Community Day care has achieved accreditation and the Canmore Community daycare is in the process of achieving accreditation, and are expecting an announcement soon.
Lynda Schofield, executive director of the Banff Community daycare, said she has a wait list of about three to four months for parents looking for child care.
“There’s a big difference between not-for-profit and private daycare,” Schofield said. “So much weighs into a parent’s decision about where to send their kids.”
Schofield said some parents in Banff might not be willing to drive to Canmore for child care.
Cherri Hodgins, executive director of the Canmore Community daycare, said she welcomes the new day care.
“We welcome more child care in the valley. We’re all trying to help the kids,” she said.
While she wouldn’t divulge the size of the wait list, she said the daycare is anticipating some spaces opening up in June and September. The wait list was at 200 names in December, however she says that number can be misleading.
“The same family can be on the waitlist here, and in Banff and elsewhere,” Hodgins said.
The Canmore Community Daycare is holding an open house later in May to update many parents who are currently on the wait list about changes to the daycare.
The Canmore Community Day Care and preschool used the same space for a month while toxic mould was being removed from their current facility. The Community Day Care had an option to use the Grotto Mountain Village on a permanent basis, however they declined. Dragonfly daycare did qualify for government funds, as the provincial government has spent money diversifying child care options in the province.
The current government strategy is investing in other forms of child care, such as day homes.
Day homes allow small-scale child care providers to run businesses out of their homes. Many aren’t regulated, however there is a push to certify more of these operations.
Publisher: Kim Oliver Proprietor and published by Bowes Publishers Limited at Suite 100, 50 Lincoln Park, Canmore, Alberta, Canada T1W 1N8
