YMCA day care opens at 39 Pleasant Street
Published on August 25th, 1999
STONEHAM, MA - The Melrose YMCA runs three child care facilities, two of which will be in Stoneham this year.
"Stoneham seems to be a young community, and we have had an amazing response," said Maureen McGurl, Director of the Stoneham Child Care Center Infant/Toddler/Pre-school Program.
Besides a Melrose site, which opened in June, the YMCA is opening a center at 39 Pleasant St. in Stoneham this week and continuing operation of Strawberry Mills.
The Strawberry Mills day-care facility is located on the Woodland Road campus of the bankrupt Boston Regional Medical Center, but the YMCA is in the process of negotiating a lease at a new location.
Melrose YMCA President Richard Whitworth did not wish to disclose the new Strawberry Mills location until the lease is finalized but said the center will be in Stoneham.
Director of Early Child Care Programs for the Melrose YMCA, Faye DiBona, said Boston Regional creditors want the day-care center off the Woodland Road property by the end of September.
"We may have to leave a lot of toys and equipment, but the staff will be the same," DiBona said.
Construction of the Pleasant Street center was just completed by Cunningham Remodeling and Construction of Stoneham. Joe Cunningham owns the building, which was at one time a box factory.
Beginning in September a staff of around 45 teachers and aides will care for and instruct 150 to 160 children at the Stoneham Community Child Care Center on Pleasant Street. The children will range from six-weeks-old to elementary school age youngsters.
According to DiBona, the facility and all staff are licensed with the Office for Child Care Services.
"Everyone knows first aid and CPR and has been properly trained," DiBona said.
There are two distinct programs offered at all three of the Melrose YMCA facilities: the infant/toddler/pre-school program and the school age day-care program.
According to McGurl, close to 100 children are registered for her infant/toddler/pre-school program. Thirty staff members will be dedicated to looking after these young clients. Parents can leave their children in the care of the staff from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for up to five days a week. This would cost between $222 for infants and $150 for six- or seven-year-olds.
"We are providing for the need for full-day care right in the parents' home community," McGurl said.
Between 50 and 60 children are registered for the after school program which includes wrap around care for kindergarten students (all-day care on the days the children don't have class).
Tina Biddy is the Director of the After School Program at the Stoneham Community Child Care Center. The center will provide transportation from school to the Pleasant Street building. Students arrive at 3 p.m. and are educated, entertained, and baby-sat until 6 p.m, Biddy explained.
"We pick them up, and then the kids have snacks and arts and crafts or sports and games, or have time for home work," Biddy said.
A full, five-day week costs $355. But parents can opt for fewer days, with a minimum of $155 for two days.
The educational philosophy espoused by the Melrose YMCA is the same at all their facilities, DiBona said.
"We follow the guidelines and practices of the Association for the Education of Young Children," DiBona said.
Biddy added that even if parents are home, day-care can be helpful and fun for children.
"They can be with other children they know," Biddy said. "Day-care can be seen as a social tool for children."
McGurl said Stoneham children could begin longtime friendships at the YMCA programs.
"Some of the kids who come to Stoneham Child Care might graduate from Stoneham High together," she said.
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