We have posted about community anger about the elite Berkeley Carroll School in Park Slope closing their child care center and some particular bitterness about the way it is being done. We found this email via our dear friends at Park Slope Parents trying to organize the community to prevent the center’s closure and to get local elected officials involved in pressuring the school. The email says that while the school’s decision is “deeply disappointing, we remain dedicated to doing all we can to preserve this unparalleled program, and with it, the valuable child care slots and dedicated teachers and staff. We have vowed to work as a group, with local political advocates, with other non-profit institutions, and with any other interested parties to find a solution that will preserve this important community resource under new stewardship.” We are going to post the full email after the jump, since we think it has a lot of valuable information about a very controversial decision by a Park Slope institution.
Dear Friends and Neighbors in the Berkeley Carroll and Park Slope Communities,
On October 6th, the Board of Trustees of the Berkeley Carroll School announced that, as a result of the expiration of its lease with New York Methodist Hospital for the space occupied by the Berkeley Carroll Child Care Center at 515 Sixth Street, and the school’s inability to find alternative space, it had decided to close the Center as of August, 2009.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Child Care Center, it offers year-round full-day child care to approximately 55 Brooklyn families for children aged 1 to 4 and employs 22 teachers, staff, and administrators. The Center is much more than a traditional day care facility. It is one of the most sought after early childhood educational programs in the borough. Families are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, forming a line down the block waiting overnight each February to secure a spot for their children in the Center’s three-year program. The families of the Child Care Center are diverse and reflect a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Many families sacrifice financially to send their children to this respected program and then continue on to public school when their children
reach elementary school age. The unique program is designed to allow children the opportunity to grow in their own distinct manner and at their own individual pace. The classrooms are thoughtfully designed to create an environment that stimulates the natural interests of young children. Children are encouraged to make their own choices and to develop an appropriate level of independence while remaining respectful and responsible members of a larger classroom community. The children thrive under the supportive care of teachers who have been with the Center for well over a decade (and some for over two). In fact, the low attrition of experienced teachers and staff at the Center is one of the most distinguishing features of the program. The loss of these dedicated educators and
caregivers would be one of the greatest travesties of the closure.
Child Care Center families have been actively pursuing neighborhood organizations to assume administration of the program and have been encouraged by the enthusiasm they are encountering. On October 23rd, a group of concerned parents made a formal appeal to the Board of Trustees of Berkeley Carroll for the school to request a final two-year lease extension from the hospital – a request the hospital has never denied of the school when asked. Such an extension would have allowed time to transition operations to a new location and a new administrator, thereby preserving this valuable program, including the child care slots and teaching and administrative positions.
At a closed meeting held on October 29th, the Board of Trustees rejected this request and stated it would neither request nor accept a final lease extension from the hospital. Its decision to close the Center in August, 2009 was definitive.
While we find the Board’s conclusion deeply disappointing, we remain dedicated to doing all we can to preserve this unparalleled program, and with it, the valuable child care slots and dedicated teachers and staff. We have vowed to work as a group, with local political advocates, with other non-profit institutions, and with any other interested parties to find a solution that will preserve this important community resource under new stewardship.
In this Sunday’s New York Times, a Berkeley Carroll School spokeswoman stated, “This (Center) is a luxury for parents, not a community service that is leaving the neighborhood.” This statement could not be further from the truth. For many decades, people have fled the city for the suburbs to raise young families. The trend over the last ten years indicates that the demography of New York City is changing, and the population of working families with children, especially in neighborhoods like Park Slope, has been increasing. The need for quality child care and early education programs in this community, throughout New York City, and on a national level continues to grow. The vibrancy of our communities, in these pressing economic times, depends more than ever on the availability of quality early childhood education and child care for working families. Ignoring the formative years of early
childhood and the quality of care and education provided to the children of working families is shortsighted. The Child Care Center, with over 20 years of operation and a dedicated and experienced staff, is one of the most cultivated, stable and well-operated in the borough. Furthermore, closing the Center would result in increased competition for the already limited selection of quality day care options and would result in an unnecessary elimination of a valuable, well-run, and successful program.
Please help us do all that we can for our friends and neighbors and for the people who teach and care for our children. Quality daycare for working families is not a luxury, but a necessity. Help us preserve an asset that has served our community for years and that is in high demand (and that will continue to be so for years to come), as well as 22 hard-earned jobs. We believe that, by working together, we can do it.
Here are some ways you can lend your support:
• Send your name in support of preserving this early childhood education program, including the 55
child care slots and 22 jobs, to savebcccc@gmail.com as well as any ideas or suggestions you may
have to further this cause.
• Contact Robert Vitalo, Berkeley Carroll Head of School, at (718) 789-6060, ext. 6560 or
rvitalo@berkeleycarroll.org and Barbara Grossman, Berkeley Carroll Board President, at (718)
789-6060 or any other Board members you know, and ask them to do all they can to support
transition of this program to new leadership.
• Contact Mark Mundy, President and C.E.O. of New York Methodist Hospital, at (718) 780-3301
or mmundy@nym.org or any other hospital administrators you know and ask them to be flexible in evaluating different alternatives brought by the families for extensions of the lease to new operators.
• Contact the following elected officials and encourage them to do all they can to help preserve this
valuable community resource:
City Councilmember, Bill DeBlasio, at (718) 854-9791 or deblasio@council.nyc.ny.us
City Councilmember, David Yassky, at (718) 875-5200 or yassky@council.nyc.ny.us
State Assemblymember, Jim Brennan, at (718) 788-7221 or brennaj@assembly.state.ny.us
State Assemblymember, Joan Millman, at (718) 246-4889 or millmaj@assembly.state.ny.us
Borough President, Marty Markowitz, at (718) 802-3700 or askmarty@brooklynbp.nyc.gov
Yours Truly,
Committee of Concerned Child Care Center Families
Amie A. Macdonald, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Philosophy
John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY
899 Tenth Avenue, Suite 325T
New York, NY 10019
212.237.8345
amacdonald@jjay.cuny.edu
17 responses so far ↓
1 Dada // Nov 12, 2008 at 10:17 am
Read between the lines. The Board at BC is very proud of their decision. They were asked to do the possible, not the impossible. They like laying off people in bad economic times. They like not having to listen to parents
They said Yes We Can’t
2 seeya // Nov 12, 2008 at 11:19 am
BC Board is firing 22 teachers, and they could easily pass this institution on to someone else…any effort they espouse to have made is hogwash…the center used to be a feeder for the private school; now they don’t want to deal with parents who feel entitled to get in, and they don’t need the kids anymore…so to hell with 22 teachers
3 C Hsi // Nov 12, 2008 at 11:25 am
Berkeley Carroll is a school not a childcare provider. Board is doing the right thing.
4 Momma Bear // Nov 12, 2008 at 12:38 pm
C Hsi – you clearly don’t understand this program. It is considered one of the best early childhood education programs in the city and has been around for decades. If education of children is not BC’s mission, than I don’t know what is. This is a huge loss for the community, especially since the board is doing everything in its power to shut the program down despite the parent’s best efforts to transfer the program to another non-profit – there is significant interest, but we need at least 1 more year to transfer permits, etc b/c of city regulations. According to the board president, the childcare program is profitable and the only reason they don’t want to continue the childcare program is because they have a difficult relationship with Methodist Hospital. Methodist has expressed a willingness to continue their lease with BC, but BC won’t ask for a lease extension which would give the parents an opportunity to find someone else to run the program because BC doesn’t “want to deal with Mark Mundy.” How immature – these people are teaching children and I am shocked at the level of cowardice, it is truly a new low. I can’t believe that an expensive prep school would rather avoid a contentious relationship with another institution for 12 more months before advocating for their tiniest students. And the half-brained spokeswoman for BC said in the NYT that daycare is a luxury – what a joke – I’m not going to the gym and getting my nails done when my son is there like some mommas at BC proper – I’m working my ass off to provide for my family. Don’t be fooled, BC is a toxic institution and they are cowards who cannot be counted on. Don’t send your kids to school there, go to Poly Prep or better yet, PS321, instead.
5 BUBYE // Nov 12, 2008 at 1:01 pm
whatever….
BC kids grow up spoiled and drug addicted.
boohoo…
its hard to believe that with the amount of (wealthy w/ contacts) people sending their kids to the school couldnt figure out a way to prevent this.
6 B Gac // Nov 12, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Indeed, BC certainly can redirect their mission but the way it was done was to withhold information of the closing until contracts were signed, seats filled, and school year begun. They had made decision to close before summer and were touring new families with the sales pitch at the same time. Dishonest at the minimum.
7 Dada // Nov 12, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Fine C Hsi I agree.
BUT The School made a moral obligation of three years to toddlers and left them and their parents to crap their pants.
What kind of community leadership is that.
That doesn’t sound mean to you?
8 Elfa // Nov 12, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I agree too with C Hsi.
But what obligation does the school have to toddlers who are already in the three year center?
What if the board decided to close grades 11 and 12 and you were in 1oth?
I know someone who wouldn’t admit a mistake or change his mind. His name is George Bush.
9 Dada // Nov 12, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Please take the time to read momma bears’s long post.
Hey Bubye FYI, I work a blue collar job and I am really not wealthy at all. It is hard to prevent something when we wer lied to from day one. There is a growing belief that this was closure was planned two years ago without disclosure to unsuspecting customers. Why won’t Arnold Diaz return my call.
10 Momma Bear // Nov 12, 2008 at 5:32 pm
BC wants to be a varsity player like Packer or Spence, but they are totally Little League. We were left to scramble to find new daycare spots for our kids after many of the better programs’ application deadlines had passed – this is a loss of 55 spots in an already tight childcare market. Those families now will have to compete with other families for the precious few spots available to them.
BC didn’t offer ANY spots in their 3 year old program to famlies impacted by this change so the 2 year olds got royally screwed and their director of admissions told us with a straight face that because she has monthly lunches with her counterparts at other area schools that she was in some magical position to help us. She hasn’t helped one family get into an equvalent program or BC’s own program that I am aware of.
For their flack to go on record and say in the NY Times that this program is a luxury was a slap in our faces – a nanny is a luxury for those of us who don’t make a lot of money. Daycare is the reality for many of us and this program is WORTH SAVING!
BC should be ashamed of itself. And the parents of the current students should know that BC has violated its own code of ethics in how they have handled this and refuse to own up to their mistakes and throw the prents a bone in terms of a 1-2 year extension. How can they be trusted with our kids’ education when they won’t even hold themselves to their own standards? If I were the parent of a student in the LS or US, I’d be extremely shocked by and disappointed in the administration’s behavior.
And to add insult to injury, they had the nerve to solicit us for a contribution to their annual fund after they sent us the closure letter. Dispicable.
11 bill b. // Nov 12, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I’m sorry for those losing their school but for the $ you are paying, how about create your own school and hire those displaced teachers to run it…
To say this is a huge loss is ridiculous… It serves such a small number of families.
Consider youselves lucky you have so much notice to find a new place. Now, if they gave you a week or two, I’d understand your contempt. Additionally, noone signed a multi-year contract for their kids preschool… So to say there is a moral contract to keep the kids enrolled is absurd.
12 Dada // Nov 12, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Bill b. I don’t think you understand a moral contract. There is more to life than following business law to the letter. Some of us believe in community and god, and not screwing with people. Also some grown ups can admit a mistake.
The school has given a least three different answers as to when this closing date was decided. Lies are among us.
Think about all those who signed mortgages with every detail in small print, fully disclosed. It is still being labled as deceptive. So will it be for Berkeley Carroll allowing people to sign up without disclosing the scheduled closing. Some board members have told us the truth off record.
No parents have filed fraud suits yet because they believe in the reputation of BC. The good honor of BC has been hyjacked by people who probably got beat up every day of grade school.
Closing in 2011 is possible. These parents are asking for only that. Methodist has said it is still possible. Grow up Grossman and board members. Honor your honor code. Honor god.
13 B Gac // Nov 12, 2008 at 9:42 pm
bill b. – you are placing the microscope on the wrong group. What is wrong, and certainly unethical – is that the School decided that instead of being transparent about the end of their lease and their decision not to continue with the Center – they concealed it until the last possible moment. they lied to 54 families in order to maximize their profits and trap families and teachers into the final year. they brought new families into a soon to be defunct program and all these people drank the BC kool-aid, essentially being lied to. these people were paying BC tuition, contributing to BC annual funds and being fed nonsense because they were never part of the school anyway. It was just a big shell game.
By the way, bill b., see how you like it when you get sold a bunch of bull. The program people paid for this year is ruined, the place is a mess and everyone is trying to figure out help these teachers and what to do for themselves. No one signed up for this hassle. So when BC claims to stand for the highest of ethical conduct and for their great sense of community service – I say what pure and utter lies. If I were a parent there, I would wonder what kind of Board is representing the School. They have been a disaster and done nothing but ruin the reputation of a probably fine school. They are either corrupt or inept – but definitely not what they pretend to be.
14 Momma Bear // Nov 12, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Hi Bill B – If I weren’t in this situation, I’d probably share your viewpoint. Let me try to offer ours. First, the $ we are paying. Basically, what we pay boils down to $8.50/hr. If you review the Park Slope Parents Nanny Survey (found on the PSP website) you will see that a nanny costs between $12-14 – more if you want someone on the books. Other programs I researched were $10+/hr, had high rates of turnover and were located on 4th Ave. above tire shops with no outdoor space.
Second, we *are* trying to form a parents collective and/or transition the program to new leadership. There are non-profits who have expressed an interest in taking over the program intact. They are unable to do this without a lease extension on the current space because of strict City licensing and space requirements – we need a 1 year extension to effectively transition the program to another non-profit or to a parent’s collective (we are researching suitable space right now, but we also need the funds to lease and retrofit a space that needs at least 2 forms of egress per floor which is tough in any sitiuation but nearly impossible in this economic climate).
Third, it *is* a huge loss for the community. There are only a few hundred daycare spots in the neighborhood, this represents a significant percentage of spots that are disappearing. Also, there are almost no daycare spots for 1 year olds, this is a higher percentage of spots that are going away. I know that “nursury school for 1 year olds” sounds ridiculous – but when I see my son’s happy face and watch him hug his friends and teachers and do things that I thought he wasn’t ready for, I have to admit, I am a big believer in early childhood education (and the research backs up its role in a lifelong love of learning).
Fourth, the program was “sold” to us as a 3 year program. 6 weeks into our relationship with the school, we were told that the program would end. Many of us gave up our nannies or spots in other programs so we could attend this one (after considerable application fees elsewhere which now we have to pay again to re-apply). We can’t get those back. It was deceptive and wrong and while yes, we didn’t have multi-year contracts, as one parent put it, “they tell you to ask a lot of questions about your kid’s eduction – whether the program will be around the following year isn’t one of them.” BC has been in early childhood education for well over 10 years, the program is beloved and is one of Park Slope’s oldest childcare programs, there was no reason to think it would go away.
Finally, the teachers are the real losers, my son’s teacher has been at the center for over 20 years! She is wonderful and I have noticed the most incredible developmental changes in my son since he started at the center. The teachers have no incentive to stay, this is going to create problems when they start getting job offers next year – we are not going to get what we paid for, period and despite repeated requests of the administraiton to offer incentives to teachers to stay thru then end of the year, they have yet to even have a conversation with the teachers about their future – there is nothing to prevent the entire staff from walking next week, so your runway of “a week or two” is certainly one reality.
BC has acted in an inconscionable way and Bill B, you sould like a reasonable person – if you’d been involved in the phone calls and meetings and letters and conversations as I have I guarantee you would be as disgusted as I am. I was one of the parents advocating restraint and decorum, they have lost every ounce of my respect and I would NEVER send my son to the Berkeley Carroll School even if they offered him a scolarship from pre-K thru senior year. I believe that the board has acted in a way that is entirely incongrous with it’s moral standards I would never want to send my child to a school that places such little value on its own ethical conduct.
15 seeya // Nov 13, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Correct me, isn’t Berkeley Carroll is an educational institution? I for one am not contributing to their annual fund. This is not the school I want to be associated with. It disgusts me that they would fire 22 teachers without making a whole-hearted effort to find a new owner. If they keep the place open for one more year that would give parents the time to transition to center to new ownership. They have lost their minds and they have lost all credibility.
16 B Gac // Nov 14, 2008 at 12:17 am
Bravo seeya – If Berkeley Carroll families knew what was really going on, they would be disgusted. The BC Board is either colluding with the hospital to shut down the Center in a way that provides political cover to both, or the Board is actually just inept and petty. I believe they will continue to hear about this issue longer than they ever imagined and hopefully they are punished for failing to act with rationality and humanity. Yes, it is probably time for BC to circle the wagons and continue patting each other on the back over their fine institution… What a joke, being an education provider that claims to stand for ethical conduct, open discussion and serving the community. They talk the talk, but they do not walk the walk. Shame on them. BC – kick your Board out the door – they do you dis-service I am sure.
17 Jess // Dec 12, 2008 at 11:28 pm
I agree with Bill B. at post #11. The parents should organize and start their own center. The founders of the successfull Smarter Toddler chain did just that when they started. http://www.smartertoddler.net