On Thursday morning, February 15th, parents were informed that after 90 years in service, the St. Kate's Early Childhood Center will be closing on May 24th.

This abrupt closure comes without any prior warning to families or staff. All of us are shocked and devastated by this decision.

A message from the St. Kate's CFO, Tracey Gran, indicates that the decision making process took years yet there was zero involvement of ECC stakeholders (parents, teachers, ECC staff) in the process:

"the operations and finances of this center have grown increasingly difficult to manage...The evaluation of the viability of the ECC was undertaken over a number of years, and was not a light or quick decision."

No opportunity was given to either staff or families to provide feedback, share information, or discuss possible alternative routes, which is extremely disappointing.

As parents we are asking University Leadership and Board of Regents to reconsider this decision, or at the very least, delay the decision longer than 3 months to allow parents to secure alternate childcare options.

If supporting families, children, and the larger St. Kate's community means something to you, we sincerely ask that you sign on in support of saving the ECC.

- Thank you from all the ECC Families