The preschool has been a huge part of the Monrovia community for 70 years and  the transitional pastor Sid Buzzell and the Session elders of First Presbyterian Church are chosing to suddenly close the preschool in just a few weeks. The teachers were given no notice and will be left unemployed, some of who have been there for 40 years. It affects 60 families currently enrolled or were enrolling.

After struggling through the pandemic, the school has remained open and safe for these families. The School received a grant to stay open and parents have been paying tuition and are okay with tuition increases. Conversations with staff have not led us parents to believe this is due to finances, but the Session is not explaining their decision to disrupt early childhood education teaching about love of neighbor and kindness in the community.

Parents and staff of the preschool were told the following: “We are planning for the future growth of our church and its place as a beacon of Christianity in our community. As part of this process, the Session has spent many hours and prayers contemplating the preschool as well. It has been a fixture in our local community for many years. We have come to the conclusion that we will re-evaluate whether or not a preschool ministry will play a role in our church and the community. For these reasons, we have decided to close the preschool at the end of the school year in June. At that time we will be dismissing the director and the staff...” (Dated April 27th for a preschool close date on June 1st, for full letter see picture attached)

As parents we are disturbed and shocked. We have not been given a chance to problem solve as parents. It feels like this decision was made without considering the consequences to these families and the community. Before staff is without jobs and families are without childcare, we are asking for transparency and a chance to problem solve this with the church. We are asking for a reversal of this decision and the opportunity to meet with session to discuss further plans for the preschool by May 19th, 2021.