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Mostly Cloudy Church care center closes permanently
The Early Learning Center at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church — a staple in the Baldwin community for nearly 30 years — shut down last month because it couldn’t compete with the public schools, officials said.
In September, Maritza Lopez, the learning center’s director, noticed a drop in enrollment, and three months later, the decision was made to end the program, which had served the community since 1995.
The reduction in enrollment was attributed to the expansion of universal pre-K in public schools and working parents’ need for full-time daycare.
“Sadly, a beloved part of our St. Peter’s community, the Early Learning Center, closed at the end of 2023,” Angela Rios, the church’s deacon, said.
Rios added that all the students who were part of the learning center have integrated into other programs that the church offers, including Jesus Care Bears for preschoolers and kindergartners, as well as the Sunday school program, which is available for ages 3 to 13.
“We are happy to report that all our students are now in other programs and are doing well,” Rios said. “We are looking forward to seeing our students and their families again at St. Peter’s in all the youth and family events held throughout the year, including weekly Sunday school and confirmation classes.”
Rios noted that while it was sad to say “goodbye” to the center, she understands the importance of pre-K programs in public schools. She added that the center’s loss would have a mostly nostalgic impact on the community.
Some community members shared memories of the program on Facebook. Baldwin resident Chelsea Nicole, whose daughter attended the learning center from 2018 to 2020, said she was sad to see the “wonderful school” close. Nicole also said she and her two sisters were enrolled in the school when it first opened.
“We were heartbroken,” Nicole said after they found out that the center would close. “I have two sisters, who are aged 24 and 28 and I’m 32. We all attended St. Peter’s ELC as well. So I couldn’t imagine sending my child anywhere else.”
Nicole described how the school had shaped who they are today, and she said her sister was thankful for the friends that she made at the center. According to Nicole, the center provided small classes, and personable, loving teachers who treated the children like they were their own.
“ELC was very safety conscious,” Nicole said. “My daughter also has a seizure disorder, and they accommodated her needs greatly. I was able to go back to work and feel that my daughter was safe and in good hands.”
Nicole said that maybe if the learning center offered a longer day program to prepare the children for kindergarten and provided the parents with all-day childcare, then the center may have been able to stay open. However, she ultimately believes that the closing was “just a product of the times.”
Community member Nancy Lee also enrolled her three children in the center, responding on Facebook to the news of it closing as “sad.”
“I was a little sad as I said, as all three of my kids attended the school,” Lee said. “And they (ELC) were a big part of the neighborhood and community.”
Lee said that the center could have possibly hosted fundraisers to keep it from closing.
“It’s tough nowadays,” Lee said. “Everything is just getting so expensive.”
As an alternative, the Baldwin School District offers universal pre-K at Just Kids Early Childhood Learning Center, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. five days a week. To learn more about the program, visit BaldwinSchools.org/prek.
