Finding child care a challenge in St. Louis as preschools close, downsize

June 09--Dozens of families are scrambling to find day care options after changes to three popular programs will reduce the number of available spaces this fall.

St. Mary's Preschool South, near the Affton area, will close Aug. 31. The preschool, run through the Archdiocese of St. Louis' special education unit, serves 45 children from age 6 weeks to 6 years, with and without developmental disabilities. About 20 staff positions will be eliminated, a spokeswoman said.

The Magnolia School for ages 3 to 6 in the Tower Grove South neighborhood closed in May after one school year. "Financial pressures" led to the closure, according to its website.

Childgarden Early Childhood Center in the Central West End will drop in September to five classrooms from 10. The center laid off nine staff members and told 20 families their children would not have spots in the fall. There are 113 children now enrolled in the day care, and the capacity is expected to drop to 72, said Mark Keeley, president and CEO of St. Louis Arc, which operates Childgarden.

Lori Naeger is now searching for new care for her 1-year-old son, Leo, who has gone to Childgarden for most of his life.

"It is very emotional for us right now to be making these decisions. We love these instructors," she said. "To be pushed out instead of having a choice has made it more difficult."

The changes will exacerbate the challenge of securing child care in St. Louis, which can cost up to $400 a week. Wait lists at centers with good reputations can reach six to 18 months before a spot opens. At least one, Cornerstone Center for Early Learning in the Shaw neighborhood, has a two-year waiting list.

Although Childgarden receives funding from United Way and the state for therapy for children with disabilities, Keeley said the downsizing was not because of budget cuts. Fewer than 25 percent of the children attending the center receive therapy services.

"There's a teacher crisis that's created this situation," Keeley said. "For the last two to three years we've struggled to obtain and maintain teachers."

Preschool teachers in private and nonprofit settings make an average of $12 an hour. They can make closer to $20 an hour in public school districts, according to a national survey. Keeley said Childgarden relied on temporary staffing services to fill openings, and the center's "quality for the last several years has suffered."

St. Louis Arc will move some of its other programs, including parent training and an adaptive equipment library, into the Childgarden building on Laclede Avenue, which opened in 2000. The center plans to expand to a second classroom for children with autism.

Both St. Mary's and Childgarden tout their inclusive missions, which place typically developing children in the same classrooms as those with autism, Down syndrome or other developmental disabilities.

Having kids with and without disabilities in the same child care setting "is beneficial to both (groups) ... Peer modeling allows children with disabilities to learn by example, and children without disabilities learn acceptance and tolerance," reads the Archdiocese's special education website.

A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese said it would shift services to send therapists to Catholic preschools and elementary schools around South County instead of operating its own facility at St. Mary's Preschool.

Alyssa Patel, whose 3- and 1-year-old daughters attend St. Mary's, said she expected to have a difficult time finding a new day care setting.

"I'm disappointed and frustrated," Patel said. "There's a huge shortage of places that have availability, and now there's an influx of families looking for affordable, reliable, safe care."

Last year, the Archdiocese closed its other inclusive preschool in Spanish Lake, and now sends speech, physical and occupational therapists to Catholic schools in north St. Louis County. Thirty-nine children were enrolled in the North County preschool before it closed.

The decision to close the preschools was "gut-wrenching," said Cathy Johns, director of curriculum and instruction.

"We are all disappointed," she said. "I completely understand the emotion and the sadness that comes with that."

Johns said the move would allow the Archdiocese to serve more children with special needs in the Catholic schools.

"There will still be special education opportunities in our schools, it's just that there will not be one stand-alone site that is solely preschool," Johns said.

At least one new preschool will open in St. Louis in August. Central Reform Congregation plans to welcome 10 to 12 young children to the Nest, the synagogue's new full-time child care center in the Central West End. Maxine Weil, director of education, said they would welcome children who had been displaced from other centers.

"What parents are really looking for is a place where their children are going to grow and prosper and flourish," she said.

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