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The Children's Garden Nursery School
By Nicole Zummach
May 28, 2007
PEMBROKE, ON // Once upon a time, nursery schools were a place where the pampered and the elite took their children. Today, researchers, educators, and many parents know that the early years are a critical time in a child's development. Daycares and preschools abound, but they are not all created equal. Some, like the Children's Garden Nursery School, have been in the field for more than two decades and know what it takes, not only to survive, but to succeed at giving children the best start possible.
Aside from community praise and support, the school has been a Donner Award finalist six times and received the Donner Award for Excellence in Child Care Services in 2005. CharityVillage spoke with director Benita Richardson about the organization's approach to child care, the challenges facing this sector, and what they've learned along the way.
CharityVillage: An early childhood educator and six families from the community established the Children's Garden Nursery School in 1983. What is your child care philosophy today, almost 25 years later?

Benita Richardson: We are a parent-cooperative nursery school, so when we think about who we serve, we serve children and their families. We all work together, providing care and learning opportunities for young children. We always say we are doing it together and learning from each other. That's the cornerstone of what we are all about as a cooperative.
It isn't without its challenges, because it's not just the children for whom we are providing learning opportunities; it's also very much the families. They come in and they participate daily on what are called Duty Days, where they assist the early childhood educators with programs for the children. They are all also part of committees here at the nursery school or on the executive. They help us to fundraise. They are very, very involved.
We really evolve our programs around our children, their families, and the community. I'd like to look at our nursery school as being a community co-op because we are so in tune with what is happening within our community. We've had things like children's Halloween parties, open to everybody. We've had children's winterfest parties, and other things like that, to include opportunities for all children in the community, not just those who are enrolled in our daytime programs. I like the whole idea of being a cooperative.
CV: How is your organization impacting children and their families?

BR: It's interesting. We were just part of the Early Development Inventory (EDI), a longitudinal study that was conducted across Ontario. It is proven that anyone who had a preschool experience does significantly better in junior kindergarten (JK), senior kindergarten (SK) and beyond, than someone who hasn't had that preschool experience. Those are the kinds of studies that we look at closely. And the general feedback we hear from teachers in JK, SK or Grade One programs is that they can easily identify the children who have had nursery school experience, based upon their ability to stay on task, attend at circle time, even just separate from their families. And of course, there are the academic learning skills, like pre-reading readiness, pre-math, and so on. So that is the kind of feedback we receive from beyond the nursery school doors.
We also look at the fact that our waiting lists and our enrollment are forever increasing. We have had to create and recreate programs constantly. We began with a three-morning a week program with six children back in 1983. We now have five mornings and five afternoons; we have a before- and after-school program, a PA day program. Those kinds of demands are a sign to us that what we are doing is what people are wanting and wanting more of.
CV: Looking at the bigger picture, what are some of the greatest challenges facing child care providers?

BR: There are three huge challenges right now. The first is early identification of children who are experiencing difficulties in their development - how to early identify it and then how to approach parents with it. That is a big one. The second one is trying to promote child care and the value of the early years, and all the different child care opportunities out there. So, good PR and public awareness of what child care is all about. Another big challenge that we face as providers of child care, I think, would be the lack of respect that is shown. We are not babysitters. We are early childhood educators and we are trying to be looked at as professionals within the field of child care. Everything that relates to us - our salaries and so on - certainly shows a lack of acknowledgement of early childhood educators as professionals. There are other challenges as well, but those are the top three we want to address.
CV: You've been a Donner finalist many times. What have you learned over the years from the evaluations that the Donner Foundation provides?

BR: We took the first Donner report and had it analyzed. So when it came to financial management, we took the information that they gave us and found out that we really needed to raise our fees for the service we provide. We always wanted to keep our fees low so as many people as possible could be part of the program. Yet we were always so afraid of just barely making it. We had very little money in our reserve and what if something happened? So we really took a good look at our financial management, and we did raise our fees and continually do so a bit every year. We also took a good look at the way we manage ourselves, how we operate.
The other thing that is really wonderful is that every time we attend the Donner Awards we network with others. And with this networking we are able to learn from the best about how we can be better. Last year, there were also several workshops and it was amazing, again, what we learned about how to remain a viable nonprofit organization.
CV: What advice would you give to other organizations working to achieve excellence?

BR: Always be open to change and think outside the box. Take the plunge. Never be afraid to change, to be innovative, to respond to the needs of the day. Times change, needs change, so be responsive to that.
Benita Richardson is an early childhood educator who has been with The Children's Garden Nursery School since 1985. She has served as its director since 1990.

To learn more about the Donner Awards, visit: www.donnerawards.org.