“The day we were notified that the childcare center was closing was a very difficult day,” Technical Director Mr. Kyle Melton said.

For the past two years, Mr. Melton has been able to bring his daughter to work. But now, the current child care center, an aspect of the Bishop’s community for many decades, will close at the end of this year due to a lease termination. Bishop’s 35-year lease with Prince Chapel by the Sea in the Cuvier building, where the center is currently located, was set to expire in the summer 2025. The center, which provides care for children ages six weeks to five years, also serves as an employee benefit, according to the Bishop’s Employees Benefits Portal.

The Tower reached out to Director of Childcare Ms. Samantha Ferguson, as well as the childcare center staff for comment, but was redirected to Director of Marketing and Communications Ms. Cathy Morrison and Head of School Mr. Ron Kim.

Administrators notified faculty and staff of this change on August 7, 2024 —  just under two weeks before the start of school. The email added that the School would be open to other creative solutions and dialogue as to what this benefit could look like, according to Mr. Kim.

Science Department Chair Ms. Laura Cummings and History Social Sciences Chair Ms. Karri Woods are at the forefront of these discussions. “From that moment, we wanted to make sure that parents and faculty had a voice in what that creative solution could look like,” Ms. Cummings said.

After the announcement, Ms. Cummings and Ms. Woods spent a week gathering testimonials from faculty, staff, coaches, and parents. “Ms. Cummings and I wrote a joint letter and then included an appendix of testimonials about the ways the Bishop’s childcare program has impacted the lives of faculty and staff over the past 29 years. We shared it with Mr. Kim and Ms. Duffy [Chief Financial Officer] ahead of a face-to-face meeting” Ms. Woods said.

Ms. Woods originally thought they would have three or four testimonials at the end of their letter, but she soon started receiving new statements every few hours, which she continued receiving throughout the first weeks of school. Through word-of-mouth and personal connections, Ms. Cummings and Ms. Woods still gathered a thick packet of around 37 testimonials from people who had used the center before, expressed strong concerns, or had personal ties to the center. Responses ranged from a few sentences to entire paragraphs.

Ms. Cummings hoped that these testimonials would help emphasize the value of the program,“That it’s worth more to us than just affordable child care … it’s a real pillar of the community,” she said.

Math teacher Mr. David Johnston voiced strong support for the center. His son, who has since graduated from the center and subsequently, from Bishop’s, spent the first three years of his life there. “The love and care he received there was an amazing resource that we were able to take advantage of. It was super important for me. It was incredibly important for my wife, as well. She felt so comfortable being able to go back to work knowing that he was going to be in a place where he was going to be loved and cared for,” he said.

While faculty, staff, and parents have all voiced support for the center, according to Ms. Cummings, there are several roadblocks that are still preventing its reinstatement. These roadblocks have been discussed for years between Mr. Kim and Chief Operating and Financial Officer Ms. Pamela Duffy, “The challenges that we’ve had with that building led us to conclude that we couldn’t rely on consistent operations in that building,” said Mr. Kim.

Some of these challenges included what Mr. Kim described as “facilities issues.” The problems with consistency eventually led both Mr. Kim and Ms. Duffy to not renew the lease.

However, finding an alternative proved to be a trickier problem to grapple with. “We were exploring options for a while now. It’s a challenging mixture of problems,” Mr. Kim said.

He cited several, including the convenience of campus proximity, proper zoning for a childcare center, affordability, and licensing — which means that the building must be validated as a safe environment for kids.

“How can we resolve all of those different factors in the same way that building did? It’s hard to replicate,” Mr. Kim said.

Ms. Cummings and Ms. Woods believe that a faculty committee could help make more progress on finding a solution to this complicated set of problems. While both are doing as much research as they can, wading “in the weeds of the municipal code,” Ms. Woods admitted that this isn’t their expertise. Creating a committee of faculty and staff — who invested the necessary time and energy — could help them push forward solutions, with expectations of deadlines, accountability, and set meeting times. “We are pushing for an administration sanctioned committee that has members who have deep knowledge about Conditional Use Permits and related regulations that can help us save this critical program. We want to work with people like us who are highly motivated to make this happen,” Ms. Woods said.

Ms. Cummings added that a faculty committee could be a refresh for brainstorming. She and Ms. Woods expressed appreciation for Mr. Kim and Ms. Duffy’s work, yet Ms. Cummings’ hope for the committee “is that we pass the baton and delegate the work required to keep the center.” To her, creating a committee would show that this is a “priority for the school moving forward and that committee members would be empowered to figure out how to make it happen.”

Ms. Woods and Ms. Cummings also proposed the establishment of an on-campus infant care center for kids ages zero to two. Some centers don’t open until 8 a.m. or 9 a.m., providing logistical challenges for teachers who have longer commutes, according to Ms. Cummings. “As you can imagine, dropping off your six-month-old at a location far from campus is both emotionally and logistically difficult,” Ms. Woods said.

While Ms. Woods described her feelings for a future solution as “cautiously optimistic,” she fears that conversations surrounding the child care center could be lost. “The School is a very busy place. There are a lot of competing priorities. I think the concern for many, and I feel the same way, is that this will just kind of slip off the radar,” she said.

But luckily, for now, many faculty and staff still appear to advocate for its reinstatement.“If we as a school prize wellness, I would love to see our young faculty members be able to have something like that for them too, so that they know that their children are going to be loved and cared for in such an amazing place,” Mr. Johnston said.

Ms. Cummings shared the importance of the childcare center in her transition back to work. “I felt so supported. My work and home lives were really symbiotic and could exist together in a way that was sustainable and positive,” she said.

“I felt that when I was on campus, I was able to be present with my students and colleagues because I had peace of mind knowing my child was close and safe.  It just felt like such a seamless and healthy transition back to work and into a new role, when it could have been totally overwhelming – and I know is overwhelming for many other new parents in other schools.” Ms. Cummings continued.

At that time, Ms. Cummings was not only balancing her role as a teacher and parent, but as the new Science Department Chair.

Ms. Woods shared that sentiment.”Reflecting on my first year as a mom, the second half was especially rewarding. I was glad to be teaching and leading the history department again while continuing to nurture a close bond with my son. I cherished cuddling Isaac during breaks and watching him explore, interact with other children, and bond with his teachers. I want future parents at Bishop’s to have the same experience.”

Beyond the tangible advantages of a childcare center at Bishop’s, the childcare center also serves as an educational resource for new parents. Ms. Cummings and Ms. Woods agreed that the childcare center staff helped them navigate the second six months of parenthood. “The childcare center also serves as an educational resource, providing us with guidance on supporting our children’s development and offering feedback on what they observe to help them thrive,” Ms. Woods said.

The community of parents also served as a second resource.

Mr. Melton finds the childcare center to be one of the many amazing things about Bishop’s. “To see it closed, is to close the book on a fantastic and wonderful benefit that the School has made a priority in the past. I hope the School will find a way to continue this benefit as it truly makes a difference in the lives of the faculty and staff members with young children,” he said.

This story was originally published on The Tower on October 17, 2024.