Tag Archives: childcare

After 70 years of helping raise Seattle kids, Capitol Hill Cooperative Preschool is closing

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At the Burke (Image: Capitol Hill Cooperative Preschool)

There’s an alumni party coming up on Capitol Hill for generations of Seattle city kids.

After 70 years of helping little ones grow up into Seattle big kids, Capitol Hill Cooperative Preschool is closing its doors at the end of this school year due to low enrollment numbers. Its closure will be a challenge for some families but it is also a sign that things have changed when it comes to early childhood education in Seattle. Some of the older models like Seattle’s one-time robust community of co-op preschools are falling by the wayside.

“We are not alone in this struggle, as several other co-ops in the greater Seattle area are unfortunately closing for similar reasons,” Shannon King, CHCP chair said.

King says low enrollment numbers “have made it challenging for CHCP to continue operating.”

Those involved with the 10th Ave E school that shares a building with the Harbor Anglican Church just a short walk from Volunteer Park say the expansion of the Seattle Preschool Program through Seattle Public Schools and other community-based providers along with the expansion of Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program and Head Start has drastically increased childhood care and learning opportunities.

But they say families might also miss out on the co-op experience. The cooperative preschools model allows for kids to learn social, emotional and intellectual skills and for parents to improve their parenting skills, be involved in their children’s education, and form a community, co-op families say.

“It’s a great way to form a community really early on in your child’s life and receive a lot of support for the teachers and the parent educators,” teacher Elizabeth de Forest said. Continue reading →

District 3 challenger adds 6 pound, 10 ounce running mate to ticket

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Caitlyn and grandmother Ly Tran (Image: Elect Ami)

District 3 candidate Ami Nguyen has announced a new running mate.

The challenger for Kshama Sawant’s seat on the City Council gave birth Saturday morning, her campaign has announced.

Complete with a press release featuring proud grandma Ly Tran, little Caitlyn joins a race marked by the amazing amount of cashed poured into the battle where her mom has held her own thanks in large part to the city’s Democracy Vouchers program. Nguyen, whose “get out the vote” strategy is centered on meet and greets and “aggressive” doorbelling, Nguyen, a public defender vying to become the first Vietnamese American to serve on the council, has focused her campaign on D3 communities beyond Capitol Hill.

“There’s never a perfect time to have a baby, but I’m excited to be in a position where I have the chance to help build a more inclusive Seattle for Caitlyn to grow up in,” Nguyen said in the announcement. “I want her to feel safe walking our streets, have access to great educational opportunities, and create a city that is affordable so that if she chooses to remain here in the future, that option is available to her. But right now, I’m just happy that she’s here and healthy.” Continue reading →

Parents in scramble after Seattle Academy announces plans to shutter Mother’s Place daycare

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A stressful weekend has yielded a reported extension but parents at Capitol Hill daycare Mother’s Place have been in a scramble after 12th Ave property owner Seattle Academy’s sudden decision to close the facility.

In a letter to Mother’s Place families sent Thursday, the academy’s head of school Rob Phillips informed parents that the academy was preparing to shutter the daycare facility it has owned since buying the property and business in 2011.

“This decision was made by reviewing Seattle Academy’s mission, the desire to bring Seattle Academy programmatic elements together on one block, impact to our communities, responsibilities of day care ownership and our continued need to house Seattle Academy’s expanded programs,” Phillips wrote.

The letter said the academy would cease operations at the daycare at the end of June, a timeline families told CHS was too abrupt to allow them the time necessary to find a replacement source of care for their children and a schedule, many parents said, was unfair to the staff, some of whom have been part of Mother’s Place for more than 20 years. Continue reading →