In the world of daycares, there are your strip mall storefronts — which are fine — but nothing is like having your own building for dozens of kids to come to every day.
That’s unique, said St. Albert Day Care Society’s executive director Mezia Houssain, but it is only one of the reasons why the child-care organization has held its position for half a century.
“The building itself is actually called a daycare building,” said Houssain. “There is a plaque on the outside. It was actually built as a daycare building.”
Another reason is that it’s located right next to Fountain Park Recreation Centre, and still even more reasons are that it is within earshot of two high schools, two junior highs, and an elementary school. If you have a family with children of varying ages in St. Albert, there's a strong chance this area is likely on your daily drive anyway.
Of course, having such an operation continue and thrive for so long is also unique. Fifty years is nothing to sniff at, especially when you consider the unique challenges that must have come with starting it all back in the early 1970s.
While debate continued about the society’s ability to find appropriate space, its services began out of a church in September 1972. Efforts to establish a place of its own eventually took root, and it moved into the new Municipal Day Care Centre Building in 1976. Like a child on a growth spurt, it quickly expanded to include its first off-site Out of School Care program out of Ronald Harvey Elementary School the very next year.
The St. Albert Day Care Society now operates such Out of School Care locations, plus the Ready Set Grow Preschool that started in September 2008.
“We started off as a simple need for families, and then just as the need grew, we just expanded,” said Houssain.
No kidding. A lot of that expansion was tied to the growth of the city and the school systems.
“Being one of the first in St. Albert gives you that leverage to be able to make those partnerships with the school board and trustees and things like that to be able to work together and provide the care in the schools for those parents that need to work,” she said.
“With us having a daycare, we're able to have the kids in daycare, and then they go to school and have a program in the school as well. It's almost full service.”
Current enrolment at the daycare is more than 125 in the main building plus another 100 in the out-of-school programs. There must be tens of thousands of St. Albert Day Care Society graduates out there.
While a celebration is in the works for May, it's business as usual for the non-profit with kids at play, eating healthy snacks, and taking naps while the well-trained staff keeps everything clean and running smoothly. For Houssain, who works behind the scenes at the non-profit, she is taking the anniversary as an opportunity to admire the success story that keeps on succeeding. She is focused on giving back to the community by building great kids into great adults.
"What's astounding is the fact that not only did we start, and we were one of the first if not the first in St. Albert, but even with other companies, not-for-profits, sole proprietors, things like that that have come in because the market has opened up, we're still here, which is huge," she said, adding, "Without the community, we can't really be here."
She asked for anyone with any memories or photos of the daycare from decades past to share them. The St. Albert Day Care Society is located at 6 Cunningham Rd. Contact information can also be found on its website at sadcs.com.
