A CLOSER LOOK
/by John Streit
LAST-MINUTE REPRIEVE FOR LITTLE SPROUT
Relief for parents in the West End whose young children are attending one of the oldest and most well-regarded and popular public preschools in the city. Little Sprout Preschool in the West End Community - slated for closure at the end of the December term - appears to have been given a last-minute reprieve.
BEHIND THIS DOOR LIES A WORLD OF CHILDHOOD ADVENTURES.
In a letter to parents from the West End Community Centre Association (WECCA), operator of Little Sprout Preschool, WECCA’s president Dave Scott writes “we have heard from many of you and understand your valid concerns. I am writing today to advise you that the Association is proposing a partial solution for the January through June program schedule. This would combine the two sessions, morning and afternoon, into one morning session. At present we have 13 children registered for the morning session and seven for the afternoon session. Our licence is for up to 20 children, so all afternoon registered children could attend our morning session.”
Scott adds the proposal still needs approval by the union representing staff at the preschool, which should be coming in the next few days.
Little Sprout is neatly and subtly situated along the lane separating the community centre from King George Secondary School. The preschool has a surprisingly large indoor space and a secure outdoor space. The KG grass field is usually unlocked on high school days if the kids really need to run around. It is almost centrally located in the West End near Denman and Robson. Some of the many amenities in the community center include the ice rink, Joe Fortes Library, dance studios and gym play areas. Parents can workout in the fitness centre, spin the pottery wheel or practise their slap shots while their kids are in class. It’s a one-stop shop for everyone where hours can fly by because you’re learning or having fun.
Denise Cheung has a long connection to Little Sprout. Her three-year-old is currently a student and her eight-year-old also attended. She loves the location and style of instruction.
Little Sprout Preschool Outdoor Space.
“This is almost the only structured early education program in the West End area. Pooh Corner at Lost Lagoon is more of a daycare. The preschools at Coal Harbour and False Creek are a bit of distance from the West End. YMCA is also not as close. Even if I counted those facilities that have similar preschool programs, we still have very limited numbers of licensed early childhood education programs to serve the population of the Downtown Vancouver area. There is also a growing number of young families in the area.
“They all need a preschool like this for their kids. This is an amazing program for three-to-four-year-olds to learn and socialize and prepare for kindergarten. Early childhood education is important to foster growth in all areas of development. If we want our community to thrive and to attract more young families, then we need to have relevant programs and facilities that would welcome kids and families,” she says.
When told of the announcement to close Little Sprout, Cheung’s first reaction was disbelief and shock, “I never thought a school could close like this. Without warning, with such short notice.”
Denise Cheung and daughter (photo submitted by Denise Cheung)
Dave Scott of WECCA cited low enrolment sparked by a growth of full day daycare programs in the city and a lack of certified Early Childhood Care (ECE) staff for the sudden closure plans. “Until 2020 the program was a sellout with a waiting list. First COVID was a factor in low enrolment, and then because of staffing issues we could not provide reliable scheduling. We had a number of short notice cancellations. It is a labour shortage like many that exist post COVID,” Scott tells TWEJ.
“We have tried over the last two years to attract and retain qualified staffing. It has been a struggle and now we have a partial solution by combining the morning and afternoon classes.”
Cheung took action after being informed of the closure and launched an online and in-person petition which was nearing 300 names before publication of this article. She disagrees with Scott’s assessment of the situation at Little Sprout.
“When I did the petition, a few parents told me they were on the waiting list and never got a reply. A lot of parents are surprised that low enrolment is the reason. We have a lot of young families here that need preschool. A lot of people told me there’s always a waiting list for preschool. Miscommunication or mismanagement may be the reason for a full enrolment becoming low enrolment. Ineffective marketing of the school might also be another reason. All other preschools in the area are on waiting list (e.g. Coal Harbour), I don't understand why only Little Sprout is not. I believe there are still a lot of parents out there looking for preschool,” Cheung says.
Cheung asked new ABC Vancouver City Councillor Peter Meiszner for help in saving Little Sprout and he promptly reached out to Dave Scott with several questions. In correspondence seen by TWEJ, Meiszner asks Scott about the staff situation (TWEJ reached out to Meiszner but did not hear back before publication). Scott writes “from September 2020 until June 2021 the program ran with only one permanent staff and used several substitute personnel to backfill the second permanent position. Again, this year, they are running with only one permanent staff and relying on several on-call temporary personnel to backfill the second permanent position. Recruiting efforts back in 2020 and 2021 were unsuccessful and again in 2022, recruiting efforts over the last three months are without any suitable candidate - as you may be aware, there is a shortage of ECEs.”
Cheung feels the WECCA could have done a better job recruiting. “One individual told me that she is doing her ECE certificate and is looking for a job. She is interested in applying. I am sure there are people out there that are qualified, maybe they can't agree on some terms. I also heard the pay is not very competitive. When we talked to the teachers, they didn’t think there was a staffing issue. They currently have one full time ECE and two part time assistants and can operate smoothly with current capacity,” she believes.
Councillor Meiszner was also told by Scott that “running the program without two permanent staff is extremely stressful with the possibility of needing to cancel a day or a week of the program at any given time.”
Cheung’s response? “We as parents can cope with cancellation rather than a permanent shut down of a valuable preschool for the community. I believe the teacher would also rather have a cancellation than closing the school. It is much more stressful for us to face the shut-down of the preschool than a few cancellations,” she says.
Before the decision to reverse the closure, Cheung also reached out to Park Board General Manager Donnie Rosa and NDP MLA and Deputy Speaker Spencer Chandra Herbert. She says Chandra Herbert called back to show concern but told her he is in “a different level of government.”
Cheung says Marisol Petersen is a City of Vancouver Social Planner and also replied to one of the Little Sprout parents suggesting the possibility of a $10,000 one-time emergency grant available for non-profit childcare centers that are in financial crisis. She writes “These grants can help centers stabilize their financial situation, restructure their financial systems, and conduct long term financial planning. This information will be provided to WECCA should it be applicable.” Petersen added, ”while the City has a number of new childcare facilities at various stages of development in the West End, we want to assure you that we recognize the important role programs like Little Sprout are playing for families and will be working closely with the Park Board to support WECCA in navigating operational challenges."
TWEJ asked Dave Scott with WECCA about the possible COV emergency funding but said he was “not aware of any funding that we qualify for that would provide us with a bridge.”
For now, it appears Little Sprout Preschool has been saved. Going forward, Cheung believes parents should always be kept in the loop, especially when it comes to something as important as early learning. “Children are our future and all the kids are the best asset of our society. Therefore, the preschool is an important asset to our community to help the growth and development of our children.”
LATEST WEST END CRIME STATS
In the November issue of “A Closer Look”, we looked at some of the crime issues plaguing the West End. Many of us have noticed an uptick and public safety has risen to become a top issue for both the City of Vancouver and provincial government.
Here are the latest year-over-year crime stats of our neighborhood provided by the Vancouver Police Department:
(click image to enlarge)
West Ender John Streit has been a BC radio, TV and online journalist for more than 20 years. You can listen to him anchor Global News on 980/CKNW in Vancouver.
