CORE childcare service prepares to begin operations in downtown Strathmore

By John Watson Local Journalism initiative Reporter

There’s a new childcare center opening its doors in downtown Strathmore after nearly a year of renovations and preparation.

The CORE hosted an open house on Jan. 26 to show off the newly completed facility and to answer questions from parents curious about how the service will work as it comes into operation.

Paula Beekman, the owner and operator of the CORE, said the process has been a long time coming and hasn’t been without its challenges, but will be a welcome addition to local childcare operations.

“In the spring, we were eligible to apply for an EOI (Expression of Interest), which was a government grant. When we got the EOI, the government gave us quite a bit of money and it was to start a daycare,” explained Beekman.

“(The government) saw areas in the province that were in need of care and (so) we applied and got that funding which was great … through that process, we found this building.”

Beekman added she had been eyeing up the former postal office for quite some time prior to acquiring the lease and when it was up for grabs, she didn’t hesitate to jump at the opportunity. 

“I took the lease over from another company that wasn’t going to be here. I think in April we started tearing it all down, because this used to be the old Canada Post office.”

“This is our 17th year doing childcare in Strathmore … and we do have another center in the north end of town in Strathaven, which is just out of school care.”

The CORE program, which is being offered through the center, is designed around emergent learning and developing children’s skillsets to prepare them for primary education.

The idea, as Beekman explained, is to look at the individual strengths and weaknesses of the children in their care and address them, as well as preparing to send them into classroom environments.

“It’s a program that was custom built for them and not something I went into a building and had to kind of work around,” said Beekman.

Ideally, the facility will support up to 56 kids who are preparing to enter Kindergarten, with the potential for the facility to eventually begin offering overnight care options.

For parents who may be worried about potential COVID-19 outbreaks, Beekman said each room is set up to operate as its own cohort, such that if a positive case was confirmed among the kids, it would be easy to contain.