by Natalie Chiasson
Silver Crescent Academy Society and Children’s Centre is celebrating the announcement of a new childcare facility in Bayer’s Lake, backed by nearly $2 million in federal and provincial funding.
The expansion comes about five years after the organization surpassed its goal of offering 9,650 additional childcare spaces across the province, with about 2,600 more currently in development. According to staff, the new facility will be Silver Crescent’s fourth since 2009.
Silver Crescent’s Executive Director Dayga Sheriff. PHOTO: NATALIE CHIASSON/ACADIA BROADCASTING
Executive Director Dayga Sheriff says the current location on the busy, traffic-heavy Bedford Highway is quite old and poses potential health and safety concerns.
Sheriff explains that the new Bayer’s Lake facility will be a significant improvement, featuring a more open and accessible layout for children and parents. She adds that while the current building is not approved for infants, the new location will be.
The Bayer’s Lake centre will have 120 spaces, up from 71 at the Rockingham location.
MLA for Clayton Park West, Adegoke Fadare, spoke on behalf of Minister of Early Childhood Development Brendan Maguire. PHOTO: NATALIE CHIASSON/ACADIA BROADCASTING
MLA for Clayton Park West, Adegoke Fadare, spoke on behalf of Minister of Early Childhood Development Brendan Maguire. Fadare says, “This is a fast-growing area of the city. These child-care spaces will be essential for families who live in the area as well as those who pass through on their way to work.”
Staff say it’s not yet clear whether fees will increase, but Sheriff says “there is a high possibility that we will increase our prices according to the location of the center,” citing operational expenses such as rent, food, and maintenance as factors moving forward.
Officials say the project was selected from a pool of major infrastructure applications, and that under the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, any organization receiving funding for expansion must be a not-for-profit.
According to officials, “all of the applications that were received under the major infrastructure program were scored on a set of criteria and luckily this organization was one that was chosen.”
While funding has been fully allocated under the agreement, the organization says it hopes to continue expanding, with the new location set to open later this year.
