Local daycare needs new home
By Steph Wiechmann
Yellow Brick Road, one of the area’s biggest daycare centers, must find
a new place to play by the end of the year. But $400,000 stands between
a temporary solution and a permanent new space. The daycare's board
hopes to raise some of the needed funds with a benefit Feb. 18.
Begun in 1977, Yellow Brick Road is a non-profit daycare currently
housed in R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church on Washington Street. When
the lease runs out in December, Yellow Brick Road, and the 80 children
it cares for, will have to move out of its space and into a new
location. The church plans to use the vacated room for either Sunday
school classrooms or office space.
“R.E. Lee has been extremely generous to us in the last 25 years,” said
Nan Partlett, the president of the daycare’s board.
As a temporary solution, Yellow Brick Road purchased and moved into a
house on Mason Drive in Lexington, behind Hampton Inn Col Alto last
April. There, the youngest children are cared for while older classes
remain in the original classrooms in the basement of R.E. Lee.
The temporary facility has 2,300 square feet and a suitable yard for a
fenced-in playground. However, Partlett said the space is
less-than-ideal and would require many upgrades to become a permanent
home.
The cost of all the renovations needed to make the Mason Drive house a
permanent location have been estimated at around $400,000, said Marc
Conner, secretary and public relations chair for the daycare.
The expense will cover building a kitchen for the Mason Drive house, as
well as updating the property to comply with childcare codes.
“The multiple building codes involved in a childcare center are
staggering,” Conner said. “Hallways have to be wider, fireproofing and
sprinkler systems have to exceed normal standards, there must be a
certain number of square feet per child per room, [and] then there’s the
playground construction [and] easy drop-off and parking.”
Besides the house on Mason Drive, Yellow Brick Road’s board is
considering several other options for a permanent space. Partlett said
she did not want to discuss them, because they were only preliminary
ideas.
No matter which option the board chooses, finding the $400,000 will not
be easy for the daycare center.
Yellow Brick Road is a non-profit, United Way agency. The daycare
applies for financial gifts on each year, but it must compete with 12
other agencies in the region for grants.
“The amount we get varies each year depending on how much the Rockbridge
area raises,” Partlett said.
Yellow Brick Road certainly needs more money than what United Way can
provide, she said. To stay afloat, the daycare will need a little more
help from the community.
The board will host Yellow Brick Road’s bi-annual fundraiser, Taster’s
Choice, to begin raising the needed money. The benefit will be held in
Washington and Lee University’s Evans Dining Hall on Feb. 18, and it
will feature samplings of recipes from local restaurateurs, individuals,
parents and teachers. There will even be cookies baked by the daycare
children.
“Taster’s Choice in the past has raised in the $7,000 range,” said
Conner, “and we’re hoping for $10,000 this year.”
Conner, an associate professor of English at W&L and a father of three,
has been involved with Yellow Brick Road as a parent since 1997.
Conner’s oldest sons attended the daycare, and his youngest son is
currently enrolled.
“The care, the attention, the learning, the range of kids from all walks
of life...the whole program is ideal for little kids,” he said.
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Claudette Artwick
Reporting supervisor: Prof. Doug Cumming
Editing supervisor: Prof. Pamela Luecke
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd