#reopenclc Reconsider the PERMANENT closing of the Children’s Learning Center

I was part of the HCC education program in 2012-2014. The CLC provided me with a great opportunity to interact with students early in my education and helped me form into the teacher I am today. The CLC provides child care and education to many children in the community. Please reconsider keeping the CLC open and running. It is an important part of the HCC education program and a huge support system in our community.

Now is not the time to lose high quality early childhood education.

Please find a way to reopen this excellent learning center!

I only took one class from the college that was held at the day care, but it was the most beautiful and well thought out child care center that I have ever seen. It would be a terrible shame to loose it for both the children and the college students.

This place served our family well, and saw 2 children through from birth-PreK. The staff here is loving, educated, and hard working. It was also a fantastic place to let students explore the world of early childhood hands on. You are doing the community and students/staff @HCC a disservice.

My daughter attended CLC and it is a wonderful place. It was vital to me being able to work as a single mother.

The CLC is an amazing center. I was a teacher there for 11 years before moving onto the public school system. All of the staff genuinely care for all of the children and families that come through the doors. Many of us watched children grow up from infancy through Preschool. We felt like we were a family. The CLC isn’t just a daycare. It is an amazing learning environment with lots of opportunities for the children. Besides that, it was a lab school for the college’s education students. The students got hands-on experience in the CLC classrooms and the children looked forward to them coming. The closure of this center is devastating not only for the staff, but for the community as well. It needs to be reopened so children can have a place to thrive, students have a place to learn, and the staff have a place to do what they do best- love and teach. Some of my friends/old coworkers were staff there for 18 years. This was their home. Please reconsider opening the center.

Please keep this open! My grandson has thrived there

Single father struggling to keep food on the table after being furloughed. Now that I’m able to return to work, the struggle is now finding someone to watch over my little ones.

Pre-school age childcare is an essential service during this pandemic. Please find a way to keep this wonderful center open and the staff employed.

As grandparents we have visited the center several times met the teachers and enjoyed the Halloween celebrations. It is a great facility which many working parents have become to depend upon. It would be a shame to have this close. Please reconsider. Thanks

I am a student at HCC and majoring in Early Childhood Special Education. I had the opportunity to take some education courses in the CLC and was able to teach a lesson and interact with the students as well. The CLC is a true asset to the HCC community and surrounding areas.

All child care programs are essential

Kindly reconsider closing the CLC greatly serves our community. Wonderful teachers.

I am still in shock on the handling of the closing of the CLC by the HCC administration. We are devastated that our son will not be able to complete his final year of preschool by the wonderful teachers at CLC. And we can't believe that the incredible, dedicated, and professional staff have all lost their jobs so suddenly. There has to be another way. We urge HCC administration to work with the passionate staff and parents to reconsider any other options. -Kerri Dinsmore

This place is great please keep open!

I could understand if it was a restaurant or bar however, this a preschool. This abrupt closure makes absolutely no since.

It was very difficult finding a learning center I felt comfortable sending my child to. Upon first entering the CLC, I instantly felt that it was the perfect place for my daughter to attend. She really blossomed at the center and it will be very difficult to find another learning center that will match the service and environment of the CLC.

Our son has been going to CLC since his second birthday. He is now 5 years old and will be going to kindergarten. It has been the best experience and I can't imagine sending my daughter (who is 1 now) anywhere else. I was deeply saddened to hear about the closing and very frustrated that there was no opportunity to provide any input. The reasons provided for the closure didn't seem valid to me. Without the current public health crisis this would have never happened and the administrators were not transparent about that. Yes, CLC has been serving many children from the community but many of those children have parents who were HCC students when the child first enrolled. Additionally, the tuition is much higher for these children so CLC is compensated. If it is a funding issue, then the parents and the community should have had a chance to discuss some solutions before jumping to the decision to close. The center also served as a laboratory school where HCC students had the opportunity to observe and gain practical experience. HCC is a public institution so thinking from a purely business perspective is not acceptable. Many potential HCC students do have children and need childcare. Having quality childcare associated with and near a school is very important. Maybe further lowering tuition for children of HCC students should have been considered. Or ensuring that potential HCC students (not just current) are aware of the center and it's benefits. Another option should have been to look into a way to keep the center open during college closures and other holidays as that is one of the reasons some are unable to enroll. These are just some things that should have been discussed and explored before jumping to this decision. This is also one of the rare MDSE certified childcare centers that had no specific religious leanings (something very important to me) and had no profit incentive. From my search there is none in the area that has decent amount of physical space for t

Just as others mentioned, this news has devastated our family. I won't be wrong to say that is the same for all of the families who are associated with CLC and who have grown from acquaintances to close family friends over the 4 years we have been associated with CLC. My son was very excitedly looking forward to this year. His sister had just started at ladybug in February and she was only there for 3 weeks before CLC closed due to Covid. He was looking forward to CLC opening in summer and was dreaming of walking to school with his little sister in a stroller, waving to her when they passed down the hallway and playing in the blacktop with his friends for hours after school closed. This was going to be his last year. He would have moved to Kindergarten next year, so you have just not only robbed him of all those dreams but have taken away an opportunity for all these kids to say good-bye properly to their teachers. I cannot imagine what those teachers, who have given 10, 15 years of their life to this institution must be going through. The families we have associated with in CLC have grown to be more than friends over the years. 4 of them live at walking distance from us. We meet outside of CLC, and get together during holidays, celebrate festivals, Birthdays etc. Since majority of us live at a short distance from CLC, we are all very much devoted to this community, HCC and the success of this institution. Most of us are homeowners in this community and have our neighbors going to HCC as students, have received recommendation from friends and neighbors while looking for a daycare for our children. So, this institution has served many families in this community over the years. It is such a rash decision to completely close it down when it was showing so much potential under the able leadership of Laurie, with a new library, new flooring and roofing and new app for parents to stay in touch and so many more improvement in less than an year. What was more disappointi