February 26, 2008

From the BTCCC Board of Directors

Dear BTCCC Parents:

On Monday evening, the Board held an emergency meeting with the Center’s Executive Director Cristy Burrell to discuss last Friday’s fire at BTCCC at Reed School and learn of the progress that is being made to restore preschool and childcare services.

We can assure you that every effort is being made to resume childcare as quickly as possible. There have been many positive developments, and the situation continues to develop rapidly. Cristy and her staff are investigating a variety of alternative spaces, and working closely with the state licensing board to ensure that the alternative spaces are appropriate and workable. At this time, we are optimistic that we will have licensable space available to use for our after-school care program as soon as Monday, March 3. We are still looking into different options for the preschool program. As soon as arrangements are finalized, updates will be sent to you by e-mail. BTCCC has received tremendous support from Christine Carter, the superintendent of the Reed Union School District, for which we are very grateful.

In the meantime, please continue to follow Cristy’s instruction to provide your own childcare if your child is in Pre-K, Kindergarten, First or Second Grade during this week.

We understand that this extraordinary event may be extremely unsettling, problematic and stressful for you. As parents of children at BTCCC, we fully appreciate your situation and concerns, and thank you for the patience and support you have shown to Cristy, the staff and to us individually. Soon, we hope to remedy the disruption that this has caused.

What Do I Tell My Child?
Please let your child know that we are working as quickly as possible to bring them back together with their friends and teachers. While it will be a different setting for awhile, they will still have lots of fun learning and playing together.

If your child is unusually upset by this experience, please let Cristy or the staff know as they may have some suggestions to help.

What Can I Do?
We have heard from many of you that you would like to know how you can help. Shortly, we will post a list of needs at our web site for which we would gratefully accept donations (cash or in-kind). A registry has been established at Target, providing an easy mechanism for giving. As the next steps become clearer, we will alert you to other needs. If you can help, just send us an email and we will contact you.

An Amazing Staff That Has Lost Much
While Cristy and her extraordinary staff handled the fire with incredible professionalism, safely removing our children from the building and playground before any danger, they also have worked nonstop since the fire.

In the days that have followed, Cristy, Samantha Suen, and staff have worked around the clock assessing damages; removing and assembling records and files that were salvageable; and meeting with the school district, state licensing agency, insurance company, architects, builders and many others in order to restore services.

While this event has imposed hardship for some of us, it also represents a significant loss to the teachers and staff who have worked at the Center for many years. Important files, years of photos, useful teaching aids, favorite books, educational computers, one enormous television that provided lots of fun, loving memories, and much more were lost. Some teachers also lost purses and other personal belongings in the fire.

Our hearts go out to all the children, families, teachers, staff, and community members who are now grieving the loss of our building and all that it represents. We have been humbled by the outpouring of support and offers of help, and will thankfully accept your offers of charity, energy and kindness as we move forward to restore our Center. Finally, in the midst of all the work of rebuilding, we pause several times a day to consider how fortunate we are that not a single person was injured in the fire. For this we are truly grateful.

If you have any thoughts, concerns or ideas that you would like to share, please contact Susan Lee, our president, at 415-703-5876 or susan.lee@doj.ca.gov.

Please visit this blog for updates.

Thank you again for your support and patience.

Sincerely,


The BTCCC Board of Directors

Susan Lee, President
Mary Hayden, Treasurer
Karen Halsey, Secretary
Jennifer Caleshu, Director
Christina Hoppe, Director
Annie Jackson, Director
Windy Linden, Director
Tina Warren, Director