Thirty-five years ago a group of young mothers met for coffee to discuss the lack of childcare in and around Chestermere.
From that meeting, the first plans for what would become Chestermere Community Playschool were born.
Jen Peddlesden, one of the original founders of the playschool, said that back when they started, Chestermere was just starting to have consistent year-round residents and there was no childcare available in the community.
“You had to drive to Calgary,” she said.
The nearest childcare centre was in the Calgary community of Ogden.
The first hurdle they had to clear was finding a space for the playschool and overcoming the resistance to opening a playschool in the community.
Peddlesden said that in 1983 the only public spaces in Chestermere were the old city hall and the community centre.
“They had their council chambers, which was kind of a big room that was used for community events anyway,” said Peddlesden, “we used to have the Christmas party there.”
However, when they asked to use that space they were rebuffed with the Mayor at the time suggesting the kids would damage the meeting table.
“So, then we came over to the rec centre and we had to twist the arms of the seniors,” said Peddlesden.
They did finally manage to secure space at the Chestermere Regional Community Association.
“It was the upstairs room right at the top of the stairs across from the lounge,” said Peddlesden, “it was the only room finished up there at the time.”
And while they have since changed rooms, the playschool is still operating out of the rec centre 35 years later.
With a space secured, it was hoped things would go smoothly from there. It didn’t.
In an age before Google, the internet, and cell phones, it wasn’t a simple matter to research what needed to be done when opening a childcare facility.
“What we didn’t know is we had to have a license to do this,” said Peddlesden.
She said that they had to go to social services to apply for a license and have their facility inspected.
“I still remember standing in the parking lot that day, getting out of my car and I can still remember that I was so scared about this silly licensing,” said Peddlesden.
It turned out her fears were unfounded.
“We passed everything,” she said.
“We worked hard in that Whitecappers room. It was in better shape when we left,” said Susan Mack, another one of the original founders.
Chestermere Community Playschool started operating two days a week with the founding moms volunteering as both teachers and support staff.
“We volunteered as the teachers for the first while because we didn’t have any money,” said Peddlesden.
The Playschool operated two days a week.
“You volunteered to be a teacher for one of the days,” she said.
“Another mother would bring the snack, and somebody’d clean up, everybody signed up for something.”
Peddlesden said that there were only 5-7 of them to start out with.
In the early years they had about 20 children enrolled.
When the school expanded to operate Monday, Wednesday and Friday, they were able to hire a teacher.
Today, Chestermere Community Playschool is open Monday to Friday and employs two teachers.
Chestermere Community Playschool Board Member Debbie Manovich said that while they have changed and grown over the years, the volunteerism and values of the founding mothers are still a part of the playschool.
“What these two started and the other women is still present today,” said Manovich.
All parents are asked to volunteer 10-15 hours with the playschool for each child they have enrolled.
Additionally, to be eligible for a position with the board one must have a child enrolled in the playschool.
“Our parents and mothers are really invested in this playschool group because they play a part in it,” said Manovich.
The longevity of the school means that they are seeing second and even third generation involvement.
Susan Mack helped to found the playschool and both her daughter and now her granddaughter have attended the playschool.
In the last 35 years, Chestermere Community Playschool has grown from class sizes of about 20 to a capacity of 88 children this year.
While they celebrate their past, the board still has an eye to the future.
Manovich said that since the board is constantly changing, as parents of older children move on to Kindergarten and new children enroll, it is difficult to plan too far into the future.
She believes that the non-profit operating model has worked well and hopes to see that model continue to contribute to future successes.
“I really do believe that if it is the same passionate board members and teachers we’ll be integrated with our community and hopefully those moms and dads will want to see the success.
“As long as that value gets passed on I think it will survive,” said Manovich.
