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Erica Fletcher's 2 1/2-year-old son, Henry, has been attending the Kids' Place Child Care Center since he was 12 weeks old.
But now that the VNA Care Network & Hospice on High Street says it can no longer support the program and intends to close it by the end of August, Fletcher and her husband have just eight or nine weeks to line up something else.
That means no more Kids' Place for Henry and none at all, eventually, for his baby sister. And that is unfortunate, Fletcher said, because Kids' Place is an early education program "that's doing everything right," with a commitment not seen elsewhere, and "teachers that have been here for years and years and years."
"This is kind of a model program, so the possibility of not having it continue is really tragic," she said.
The disarray caused by the Aug. 31 closing of Kids' Place could also have a heavy personal cost for Fletcher's family. "If we can't find quality care, one of us is going to have to stop working," said the 34-year-old Roslindale resident, who works in teen pregnancy prevention.
Dozens of parents met yesterday afternoon at the center with Karen Green, the CEO and president of VNA Care Network & Hospice, expressing their disappointment and frustration with the closure. About 50 parents, staff, and administrators from the umbrella network of visiting nurses associations attended.
Five moms and dads wore white T-shirts saying "Save Our School." Nearly every parent in the room raised a hand to say they had spent the past three days scrambling to find alternative child care for their kids.
"It's been a nightmare for three days," said Michelle Apuzzio, 33, of Dedham.
Parents were informed of the news Friday morning, through letters that were taped to kids' cubby walls at the school.
Yesterday, Green said the mission of her 118-year-old home care and hospice organization is to keep visiting nurse services available to people in Massachusetts. "That is our mission, and that is what we are about," she said.
The Dedham program is not covering its operating costs and overhead, and it is down 10 to 13 children that it was counting on to meet expenses, she said. And the VNA does not have a lot of money to throw at something that is not its mission, she emphasized.
Erica Fletcher's 2 1/2-year-old son, Henry, has been attending the Kids' Place Child Care Center since he was 12 weeks old.
But now that the VNA Care Network & Hospice on High Street says it can no longer support the program and intends to close it by the end of August, Fletcher and her husband have just eight or nine weeks to line up something else.
That means no more Kids' Place for Henry and none at all, eventually, for his baby sister. And that is unfortunate, Fletcher said, because Kids' Place is an early education program "that's doing everything right," with a commitment not seen elsewhere, and "teachers that have been here for years and years and years."
"This is kind of a model program, so the possibility of not having it continue is really tragic," she said.
The disarray caused by the Aug. 31 closing of Kids' Place could also have a heavy personal cost for Fletcher's family. "If we can't find quality care, one of us is going to have to stop working," said the 34-year-old Roslindale resident, who works in teen pregnancy prevention.
Dozens of parents met yesterday afternoon at the center with Karen Green, the CEO and president of VNA Care Network & Hospice, expressing their disappointment and frustration with the closure. About 50 parents, staff, and administrators from the umbrella network of visiting nurses associations attended.
Five moms and dads wore white T-shirts saying "Save Our School." Nearly every parent in the room raised a hand to say they had spent the past three days scrambling to find alternative child care for their kids.
"It's been a nightmare for three days," said Michelle Apuzzio, 33, of Dedham.
Parents were informed of the news Friday morning, through letters that were taped to kids' cubby walls at the school.
Yesterday, Green said the mission of her 118-year-old home care and hospice organization is to keep visiting nurse services available to people in Massachusetts. "That is our mission, and that is what we are about," she said.
The Dedham program is not covering its operating costs and overhead, and it is down 10 to 13 children that it was counting on to meet expenses, she said. And the VNA does not have a lot of money to throw at something that is not its mission, she emphasized.
"It's not who we are. We are a nursing agency, we are not a child care agency," Green said.
She added that the VNA faces such a money-losing situation even before a new lease is taken into consideration.
Business manager Michael LaFrancesca of the Dedham public schools said he offered a one-year lease extension, through Aug. 2010, that would have raised the VNA Care Network's rent by 10 percent, or $5,800, for the space they use at the former Dexter School at 1100 High St. The lease also called for an additional $500 for snow removal. The increases were necessary because Dedham's utility costs have gone up about 30 percent, he said.
LaFrancesca received a letter yesterday in which the VNA Care Network officially told the School Department it does not intend to renew the lease.
In her meeting with parents, Green said she was very grateful to the school system "for giving us excellent rent over the years."
Green said her board made its decision a month ago. "The decision has been made by the board, and we are not going to back off that decision," she said. Another day care center in Worcester would remain open, because it is in a building her organization owns, she added.
Green said she has talked with 8 to 10 facilities about transitioning Kids' Place staffers - who number about 20 - and offered to put parents in touch with other day care programs.
Parents, however, focused on the short notice they were given. One man said he had been blindsided, and spoke of "the exceptional value" of the day care center.
"Not only is the tuition low here, the quality of the facility is amazing," and something similar cannot be found nearby, he said. "This is going to exceptionally harm the community and the families in here."
Westwood parent Brian Haak said the VNA has a commitment to the area. He said giving parents 60 days notice is "wrong" and that if Green had any compassion, she would realize that.
"We will do our best to help you in any way we can," she responded.
She pledged, "We'll have staff here to care for your children until the end of August," and said she would do her best to find someone interested in taking over the center and keeping it going. Green said she and Linda Byrne - the director of Kids' Place since its launch in 1984 - are meeting tomorrow with two companies that might be interested. One parent even offered to invest in the business yesterday; Green said she'd talk to him.
Parents suggested price increases and desperately asked if there were any way Kids' Place could be kept open for another year, but Green said that was not possible. She listened to all their complaints - remaining outwardly calm as parents' anger and frustration spiked at times - and reiterated why the VNA Care Network can no longer run the school.
"We are not financially breaking even now. We cannot hang on for another year," she said.
Near the end, the CEO said she "had hoped that two months would be an adequate transition of time" - and injected a touch of empathy.
"We are not without feeling for this group," Green said, noting that she put her two kids through day care. "Just because I don't have little kids now doesn't mean I don't understand what it's like."
Daily News staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.
