It was the culmination of almost three years of planning, negotiating and building, but it is finally happening for Wendy Biette and a dedicated, determined band of supporters who were intent on seeing another daycare centre open in the Energy City.
The Hillcrest Early Learning Centre, a product of the Estevan Child Care Centre Inc., located at 617 Rooks Avenue near Hillcrest School is licensed to accept up to 55 youngsters between the ages of one-and-a-half to 12.
"We have 23 children registered already," said Biette on Saturday morning during the centre's open house celebration that was held to introduce the centre to the public.
"We open our doors officially on Dec. 19. We haven't advertised much, yet the word is out. With such a shortage of daycare spaces available in the city, I don't expect it will take long before we have all the spaces filled," said Biette, who will serve as the administrator and cook.
The centre provides over 6,000 square feet for programming and that includes a kitchen plus various play areas, learning centres and wash up stations for the children.
"We'll have an opening staff of three and we've hired three more to come aboard in early January," Biette said.
Kaylynn Fiswell, who is program director, and Kara Rogers, child-care worker, were on hand on Saturday to welcome youngsters who made their way to the centre with their mothers for a first-hand look at the newly built facility.
An outdoor play area is also included in the plan while the interior is sectioned off into three different working and playing areas with one dedicated to toddlers, another for pre-schoolers and the third for school-aged children.
The centre is government funded and certified with a four-person development board having waded through the various regulatory agencies to make it happen.
"The fundraising efforts are needed to provide furnishings and other amenities," said Biette who noted that daily meals and activities require a sturdy operating budget.
She said she was well aware of the fact that the city's other day care centres had long waiting lists, so hopefully the new centre could alleviate some of that existing problem. But, she expected, there would still be a huge demand even after all 55 spaces are filled at the Hillcrest Centre. She said she heard one other major care centre in the city had a waiting list of over 130.
"So we've been working in co-operation with them. We don't see ourselves as competitors in a business sense, we're all trying to provide a necessary service. Our daycare fees will be the same," Biette said.
The steel framed and metal clad building is owned by the provincial Ministry of Education through the South East Cornerstone Public School Division. Its estimated value is about $1 million including all the additions that are necessary to accommodate early learning programs and required safety measures. But the programming and services are separate from the school division's.
"Now that we've reached this stage, things are falling into place rather nicely," said Biette, suggesting that the daycare centres in Estevan will be able to speak to the community with one voice as their programming unfolds.
With the demand for daycare spaces growing constantly in the city, Biette said she felt it wouldn't be long before other announcements would be made concerning expansions or new early learning centre start-ups.
The development board consisting of Biette, as secretary; Shauna Eddy, who took on the presidency; Lareine Brock as vice-president and Corinna Kuntz, treasurer; expects to expand into operational board mode with the inclusion of some parent/directors in the near future.
