The Department of Education (DEO) walked back on its previous announcement of the closure of five daycare centers following massive backlash from parents and officials.
New York City has reached lease agreements that would keep the city-funded daycare centers in Brooklyn and Queens open for at least one more year. However, the long-term future of these centers and the hundreds of children that attend them is still at risk.
Extending the Daycare Centers' Operations
In a statement during a City Council oversight hearing on Thursday, Chair Rita Joseph said that while the temporary extension provides some relief, it does not address the primary issues that resulted in officials choosing to close the centers in the first place.
The department's reversal of its decision came as angry parents and daycare administrations slammed the DOE as a "running joke" for its sudden closure and turnaround of the centers.
These are Nuestros Niños in Williamsburg, All My Children in South Jamaica, the Grand Street Settlement's Bushwick Family Center, Friends of Crown Heights, and the Fort Green Council, according to the New York Post.
One mother who testified at the hearing, Stephanie Garcia, said that the DOE failed to "conduct even the most basic investigation into how the database inaccurately reported low enrollment numbers." She noted that the department instead banned more than 150 families and 80 staff members, leaving them to scramble for affordable care options and jobs.
Garcia added that it has become a running joke now, noting that they can no longer trust an agency that was disorganized to make the best decisions for their children. Nuestros Niños administration Ingrid Matias Chungata was seen crying at one point during the hearing and described her stress following the closures.
Being More Proactive
Deputy Chancellor of Early Childhood Education Simone Hawkins pledged that they would become more proactive following the incident. She said that "communication absolutely should have been better," the New York Daily News reported.
Hawkins admitted that the communication regarding the closure of the daycare centers was "not the best." She continued to say that her team will work on being more proactive in how and when they communicate with programs.
When the DOE first announced the closure of the five daycare centers, staff and parents were heartbroken, including Katherine Ferrer, whose three-year-old son Arron attends Nuestros Niños. The center has been a part of the Williamsburg community for more than five decades.
Ferrer noted that she, along with many other families, only has this particular daycare center as an option. According to CBS News, it has continuously served many low-income families throughout the years.
