Day care petition

Today Madeline sat in chairs.  She did this inside at breakfast ...

... and outside after day care.

Speaking of day care, the parents at Madeline's center have prepared a petition to Brown to consider repairing or rehousing the center rather than shutting it down.  Here's a link with our collective pitch, but kindly indulge my own supplemental one:

1) Madeline's center is great for her and for us.  Although Brown is suggesting it will help us place our children in other day care centers in the city, we visited other day care centers in the city and intentionally chose this one for its excellent staff and programming and its warm, familial feel.

2) Brown's decision imposes significant financial burdens on some parents.  One of the other centers Brown has promised to place children with is approximately twice as expensive as Madeline's center; Brown has offered to pay the difference only for those of us already enrolled at the center and only for one year.  Anyone who is pregnant and budgeting for Madeline's center is out of luck.  Madeline's center is the only one locally that offers a sliding scale tuition; we do not benefit from this, but for some of our friends it makes Madeline's center the only one that is financially feasible.

3) Brown's decision will flood the local market and create barriers to entry for other daycare applicants.  Every spot Brown locks down for a displaced family from Madeline's center will be a spot that is unavailable to the community at large.  And it is difficult to find child care in the city.

4) Brown's decision will result in the unemployment or potential unemployment of Madeline's caregivers, people who are very, and very deservedly, dear to us.  This is tragic in a down economy and a time when Rhode Island continues to have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

5) Brown's process was as bad as its result.  No parent or staff member was consulted prior to the decision to close the day care center, and the University's post hoc explanations were often faulty or otherwise unconvincing.  Had the University involved parents from the beginning, our various community ties, knowledge, and expertise might have allowed for a more acceptable outcome.

6) The decision to close the center reflects policy that conflicts with Brown's claimed values.  At its core, Brown decided to allocate its substantial resources elsewhere rather than attempt to repair or rehouse the center.  This decision conflicts sharply with the image Brown tries to project to the public and its faculty, staff, and students: an image that the university prioritizes support for working parents and actively promotes work-life balance.

There is surely more to be said, and indeed we parents have been saying quite a bit to one another.  But we are hopeful that, at best, Brown will reverse or revise its decision regarding Madeline's day care; at worst, we now have some strength in numbers and hope to hold the University to its claimed family-friendly policy aspirations.  Whether or not you are affiliated with Brown in any way, you can help: sign the petition and consider including a comment indicating why you think the decision to eliminate an affordable and high-quality source of child care in a low-supply, high-demand city is bad policy. (Unless, of course, you disagree.)

Here's a link again.  Over 400 people have already signed.  Madeline says, "What are you waiting for?!"