Childrens Enrichment Center Looking For a New Home
The Children’s Enrichment Center (CEC), a non-profit cooperative preschool, has been a wonderful addition to the Palisades community for the past six years. Now, according to director Joanne Volpe, the CEC has been asked to vacate the building at the end of June, as the local school district may soon sell the entire 8.3 acre property on which it sits. If the property is not sold by that time, the district is planning to rent the entire building to the Fred S. Keller School, which, according to its Facility Manager Christopher D. Manikas, is very pressed for space and wishes to occupy the entire building.
The CEC rents most of the Palisades School building from the South Orangetown Centralized School District (SOCSD), and mainly serves families from the district. (The Fred S. Keller School leases space in the back, where the Oak Tree Playgroup used to be.) About 60 four and five-year olds from Palisades and Tappan come every day for varied play-oriented activities, including arts and crafts, nature studies, music & movement, and indoor/outdoor play. Along with the Piermont Playgroup, CEC is the only non-profit cooperative in the immediate area, and unlike many for-profit nursery schools, has a sliding scale tuition that is affordable for many families.
At the invitation of director Joanne Volpe, 10964 recently visited the school’s Thanksgiving Feast. (see photos on www.palisadesny.com, 10964’s website) The school provides an atmosphere of warmth, happy laughter and close community relationships for the children. Some of the parents of CEC children grew up attending elementary school in the same building (before the school district was centralized). Continuity with the rich history of our hamlet is an important part of what makes this school so special.
Ms. Volpe described how difficult it will be for her to find a new space that would be convenient as to location and suitable in size and layout. They are talking to churches and other organizations locally but have not yet found the right place. She says that the property was recently appraised, and that she was told by the district that the decision to sell will be finalized before the beginning of the December holiday break. She has also been told that the district is looking at selling several of its properties, and that the Palisades lot is #1 on this list, because the building is expensive to maintain.
CEC parents are trying to organize an effort to slow down this process, and even to try to save the building as a school facility. SOCSD school board meetings are held about once a month Wednesdays at 8 p.m. in the library at the South Orangetown Middle School (on Van Wyck Rd. in Blauvelt) and interested people should check the school’s website for specific details. Any Palisades resident who would like to express an opinion about this issue should plan to attend meetings this winter to speak out.
Children’s Enrichment Center—tel: 845-398-3370 or e-mail: cec3983370@aol.com