THE CHILDREN'S CENTRE
20 Years of Memories
by Elizabeth Murphy

With plants in the windows, brightly colored curtains and a small front yard, the blue-and-white house situated on Golf Avenue in St. John's looks like any other in the neighborhood. A closer inspection reveals a sign spelling out, in bright red letters, "The Children's Centre," and people in the area are used to seeing small children running up over the steps to enter the building on weekday mornings.

To understand exactly what the Children's Centre is, one needs to know some of its history. In 1967, a group of five university women were asked to prepare a brochure providing information on services for new faculty in St. John's. When it came time to prepare the section on existing daycare facilities, the women, who themselves were mothers of young children, felt unsatisfied with what they had found.

A year later, these same women decided to incorporate. With a university grant and money of their own, they started a preschool for three-to-four-year-olds in the Cochrane Street church building. The values and attitudes toward learning, relevant for the preschool, seemed equally relevant at the school age, and so in 1969 a kindergarten program, accredited by the Department of Education, was begun. By 1972, the centre had expanded to include four toddler groups, a nursery school, a kindergarten primary group with an overall total of 80 children and 11 staff members. As one of the founding parents, Mrs. Pat Wright, explained, "The program grew over the years and the children advanced in grades, although there were no grades in the true sense of the word because the children advanced in learning at their own pace. Then, in 1977, our first group of students graduated from the centre and went on to junior high school."

In the years that followed, lack of space forced limits on how many students the centre could accommodate. A committee of parents was established to look into the construction of premises suitable for a school, and extensive plans were drawn up for a series of domes on university grounds. However, one of the parents, Deborah Reimer, recalls, "Because there was somewhat of a disagreement between what the university wanted and what the association was asking for, unfortunately, the domes were never built."

Even with the rental of the property at Golf Avenue beginning in 1984, space remained a problem. At the same time, the French Immersion program was becoming a popular alternative to the regular school system, and many parents opted for this new program instead of enrolling their children at the Children's Centre. By 1986, the association's program offerings for school-age children was limited to a kindergarten, and a year later the kindergarten program was abandoned.

Today, the association classifies itself as a "small, non-profit, non-denominational preschool run by parents." The centre's president, Dennis Acreman, explains the difference between the centre and a daycare: "The primary aim of the Children's Centre is not to ‘babysit' children while their parents are working, but to provide an environment where the children can learn through playing."

Equally important in the Children's Centre program, noted Mr. Acreman, is respect for the children's rights and sensitivity on the part of teachers and administrators when it comes to the children's particular level of development and pace of learning. "The schedule of activities is flexible, and the children are never obliged to participate in an activity they don't want to participate in. The teachers, who act as resource persons, suggest activities and encourage the children to make choices about what they might do at the centre on any particular day," he added.

Jackie Ryan, coordinating teacher at the centre, feels that parental involvement is another aspect of the association which makes it special and distinguishes it from other preschools or daycares. Ms. Ryan noted, "If it hadn't been for the long hours of work, the dedication and the efforts of the parents, the Children's Centre probably wouldn't exist today."

Charlotte Strong, a mother of three children who attended the centre over the years said: "For my children, the years spent at the Children's Centre were the best years of schooling they ever had and I would encourage other parents to enroll their children there."

After 20 years, The Children's Centre is still going strong and, according to its past success, should continue to provide children with the type of care they will never forget.