Cold Spring church operated day care for 57 years

The Community Nursery School and Learning Center operated by the First Presbyterian Church of Philipstown will close in June after 57 years, in large part because of the loss of 4-year-olds to prekindergarten programs launched by public schools with state aid.

Community Nursery opened in 1968 at the Cold Spring church on Academy Street as an "affordable alternative," the school said in a news release. It was directed for much of its history by Rosemary Rodino, whose 38-year tenure ended with her retirement in 2023.

"We are grateful for the rich history of the school and the efforts made by students, teachers, parents and church volunteers for helping the school to thrive for so long," the Rev. Brian Merritt, the pastor at First Presbyterian, said in a statement. "This was a very tough and emotional decision for us." The Sunday morning service on June 8 will be dedicated to the school.

Because of state regulations, Community Nursery operates for just under three hours in the mornings. It considered expanding to a full-day program but found it too expensive to comply with the licensing requirements, said Laura Reid, who serves on the oversight committee for the school. She said the school has 16 students enrolled but that 10 will turn 4 by Dec. 1, making them eligible for pre-K programs such as those newly offered by Haldane and Garrison.

"We're applauding the fact that Universal pre-K has come to the community, but unfortunately it means that the Community Nursery School is not viable," she said. "We would be losing most of our 4-year-olds."

St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Garrison has a preschool that has operated for 64 years, since 1960. Like the Community Nursery, it runs for just under three hours in the morning. It has 24 students but saw a dramatic drop in 4-year-olds when the Garrison School across the street launched a pre-K program two years ago, said Betsy Alberty, its director.

The school, which has space for 30 children, had 14 four-year-olds then and now has five. In response, St. Philip's began accepting more 2-year-olds. "We had to be flexible," Alberty said.

Ilana Friedman, the director of the preschool at the Beacon Hebrew Alliance, said pre-K has not had such a dramatic effect because all but one of its 13 students are 2 or 3 years old.

The rise of pre-K at public schools has impacted licensed day cares, as well. In years past at Stacy's House, a preschool operated by Stacy Labriola at her home in Philipstown, as many as half of the children were 4. Today, only two of 16 are that old. "It's free - you can't compete with that," she said of pre-K programs.