By: Angel Dominguez
Dominican’s announcement that it would be closing its pre-school at the Priory Campus has left parents upset and looking for answers.
The Rose K. Goedert Center for Early Childhood Education has been a staple for Dominican and the River Forest, Oak Park community for years.
When Dominican sold the Priory to Fenwick High School in 2022, they agreed that the pre-school could stay up to five years, said Stephanie Kubas, Dominican’s executive director of Marketing and Communications. But Fenwick had the chance to exit the agreement after two years, and let Dominican know this past May that they would take the exit.
Dominican looked for other locations but couldn’t find a viable one, Kubas said. The center will close in June 2024.
The university didn’t tell parents until November, which angered Dominican student Chloe Young, whose daughter attends the center.
“Families are scrambling at this point to find a new place for childcare,” she said. “There was a report done that found our area already has an insufficient amount of childcare offered for families and the closure of Goedert puts about 90 families without childcare.”
“I utilize the State of Illinois’ Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) payments and many daycares have a certain number of spots reserved for CCAP families, so it has been challenging to find a spot for my daughter,” she said. “It has been devastating for myself and other families who have children and grandchildren at Goedert and rely on this wonderful place for childcare. My daughter being enrolled at Goedert has allowed me the time to finish my degree and complete required internship hours.”
Young has been frustrated trying to get answers from Dominican and believes that too many decisions were made behind closed doors.
Dominican alumna and community member Laurie Christofano was also unhappy about the closing and how it was done.
“This center isn’t just a preschool; it’s a fabric of our area and a training ground for Dominican’s education students,” she said. It’s about preserving our community values and the legacy of education that Dominican stands for.”
For more information in the coming weeks, check dominicanstar.com
