A large modular building that had been sitting empty at the former Cloverley school site in North Vancouver has been moved to Ridgeway elementary, where it will provide additional classrooms and daycare space.
The modular will eventually house six classrooms at the school plus a daycare made up of the equivalent of two classroom areas. The portable was moved from Cloverley in sections earlier this month and reassembled with a crane at Ridgeway last week. Work on the project is expected to continue over the next few months and be completed sometime in January.
The school district was not successful in getting a $500,000 grant from the Ministry of Children and Families towards the project, but opted to go ahead with it anyway. The total cost of the project is $1.6 million.
The school district plans to issue a request for proposals soon for daycare operators interested in running out of the space.
The move comes at a time when space available within schools for child care has been shrinking, putting a squeeze on existing child-care providers. Introduction of the full-day kindergarten program in recent years, plus increased enrolment in elementary schools, means there are now far fewer classrooms available for uses like child care and preschools.
In the past, school districts could designate 15 per cent of space within schools under construction or renovation as neighbourhood learning space which allowed room for child-care programs. But the province no longer provides for that extra capital funding in school construction projects.
Top Drawer Daycare is one of those interested in the new daycare space, after losing their former daycare space in Brooksbank elementary this past summer. The daycare was told it had to move after Brooksbank needed the classrooms back. The program provides before- and after-school care for more than 40 families.
Top Drawer has found a temporary home by renting classroom space at Brockton private school in Lynn Valley, which also provides space for Bee Haven childcare.
Owner Lorraine van der Poel said the school has been very accommodating, and families have adapted to a new routine of transporting kids back and forth to Brooksbank school in shuttle buses. Ideally, however, van der Poel said she’d prefer to have a dedicated space for the daycare, instead of sharing it with a regular classroom.
In addition to seven StrongStart early learning centres, 11 preschools, nine full-day child care programs and 14 before- and after-school programs operated from North Vancouver school sites in 2015.
