Coronavirus Closes Syosset Nursery, First Time In 55-Year History

SYOSSET, NY — For the first time since Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency, parents will not be able to send their children to Faith Nursery School in Syosset.

With enrollment at 25 — about half capacity — for the fall, the school board recommended to the Church Council that the school close in the fall, Pastor Rebecca Sheridan told Patch in a phone interview Monday. The decision was finalized Sunday.

The nursery, which opened in 1965 and has opened every year since, hopes to reopen in the fall of 2021, Sheridan said. Teachers did not have their contracts renewed, including one who has been with the nursery for decades.

"It’s a very difficult and sad time for many of our teachers, some who have served us a long time," Sheridan said. "Twenty or 30 years in one case. It’s just a shock for us not to reopen."

Many parents and staff hoped the coronavirus crisis would be solved or at least subsided by the fall. When that didn't happen, parents began making alternative arrangements for their 3- and 4-year-olds.

"For families at this time, it’s a very difficult decision to take the risk to go outside the home and send their children to school," Sheridan said. "It's a very difficult decision now for schools and staff."

Parents took to Facebook groups to share their thoughts on the closing. Many reflected on the positive memories the nursery gave their children.

"So sad to hear Faith Nursery School will not re-open," a mother of two daughters who attended the nursery said. "A casualty of COVID-19. So many wonderful memories and teachers that truly cared. Brings tears to my eyes as I write this."

Another parent said her kids also loved Faith Nursery School, and it helped her meet other parents.

"My kids loved Faith," a second mom said. "Met some good mommy friends there as well."

Faith Nursery School's closure, however temporary, illustrates a national struggle for Americans.

More than 41 million American workers ages 18 to 64 cared for at least one child in 2018, according to The Brookings Institution, a liberal leaning nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. Nearly 34 million of those workers cared for at least one child under 14, and many more rely on school and child care than parents of high school-aged children.

"Working parents who rely on child care and school not only comprise a substantial share of the overall U.S. workforce, but also work disproportionately in fields such as education, health care, social assistance, finance, insurance, public administration, management, and professional services," the organization wrote in a July analysis of the impact of the coronavirus. "In these industries, at least one in five workers depends on child care and schools."

Countless numbers of schools and nurseries were forced to close at the outset of the pandemic, thrusting parents into a situation where they must now provide both daytime child care and work. Unsurprisingly, many of those parents are having difficult finding child care now. A survey published in April by the Bipartisan Policy Center found that just 22 percent of essential workers said they were able to continue using their previous care arrangement during this time. About three in every four parents were concerned about their child’s potential exposure to COVID-19 when they returned to child care, and about half were concerned their current or previous provider would no longer be open.

For Faith Nursery, despite the setback, enrollment was at nearly 100 percent in the months before coronavirus took hold. The school is confident it will reopen someday.

"We hope to reopen when the situation is safer for families to return," she said.

In the meantime, the school has shifted to minimal staffing and will still give tours throughout the week.