EXCERPT FROM: Rutland Herald
By Sandi Switzer
WALLINGFORD – When one door closes, another one opens and little feet will be walking through it.
Kids’ Cove of Wallingford will be opening its doors this fall as a nonprofit Vermont-licensed child care center providing play-based learning and care for youngsters ranging in age from six weeks to 12 years old.
During the school year, the center will feature a preschool program weekday mornings for 3- and 4-year-olds. Camp experiences will be available for school-aged children during the summer months.
A Kids’ Cove steering committee is negotiating a contract to purchase a historic building on Main Street used for decades by the Masonic Lodge.
“They’re excited about the opportunity for the building to be used for such a great community effort,” committee member Michelle Kenny said.
Kids’ Cove was formed last February as a result of the unexpected closure of Wallingford Day Care, leaving 47 families without child care.
“For those of us who work full time, it was a crisis,” Kenny said.
Parents working from Bennington to Rutland scrambled to find temporary solutions, oftentimes calling upon family members or friends for help, according to committee member Elisabeth Kulas.
Kenny, Kulas and Rowan Muelling-Auer formed a steering committee to brainstorm solutions. “Wallingford Day Care was such a mainstay in this community, such a resource. There was a lot of outreach when people heard we were interested in opening up a center,” Kulas said.
Wallingford Day Care teacher Felicia Knapp will be involved with the new center along with two additional teachers, a full-time director and other caregivers.
The center will feature separate spaces for different age groups and school-aged children will have their own study area. It will accommodate up to seven infants in the infant room and 10 toddlers and 20 preschoolers in the great room. The building has a licensed capacity for 45 children.
A large lawn surrounds the center providing ample space for outdoor play and the property abuts Wallingford Elementary School fields and playground, Kulas said, making it conducive for before and after school care.
The center’s director will be in charge of the day-to-day activities, but art, music and literature will be important components, according to Kenny.
Steering committee members indicated Kids’ Cove would be re-establishing the collaborative arrangement developed between Wallingford Day Care and the elementary school.
Under Act 60, public school systems will draw tax revenue for 4-year-olds in established preschool programs. The collaborative arrangement would enable Wallingford 4-year-olds to attend preschool the year before kindergarten free of charge.
It would also allow all enrolled preschoolers to attend events and field trips sponsored by the local elementary school.
“It’s an excellent example of how collaboration can work,” Kulas said.