Excerpts from letter to Trumansburg Village Planning Board from Community Nursery

The Trumansburg Community Nursery School (TCNS) was founded in 1959 by a group of parents who wished to provide a play-school for their children. Since then, the school has expanded to a half-day program with classes for 2- to 5-year-olds and is now a charter school incorporated by the NYS Board of Regents. For almost 60 years, TCNS has provided education, parent support, and community events and connections for local families, enriching the lives of nearly 2000 children.

While the Presbyterian chapel was an ideal location for our fledgling program, it now hinders us from meeting the needs of our community. Neither our classroom access nor playground meets ADA standards, meaning we cannot accommodate disabled students and parents. Our present location has no dedicated drop-off area, leading to safety concerns for families and congestion during busy traffic hours on Main Street.

Several years ago, our board and staff determined that a dedicated building would best ensure our future health and service to the community, allowing us to add classrooms, hours, and programs. Community involvement and family connections are central to our mission, so our priority is to remain within the village, within walking distance to local organizations and businesses.

As a small non-profit with an all-volunteer board, embarking on a capital campaign is daunting. TCNS receives no public funds, operating entirely on tuition and private donations. Our affiliation with INHS and the 46 South Street development will make our building eligible for Community Investment Funding. This is an extraordinary opportunity, one rarely available to a small community program like ours.

The potential location of our new school at 46 South Street is ideal for TCNS. We will be close to the school and library. Our children will be able to explore the development’s natural areas and paths. Being in a residential neighborhood will allow us to continue to foster community with parenting classes, reading programs, and playgroups. Families will have easy access to our programs by foot, stroller, and wagon. Our goal of three classrooms and a community space in the new building allow us to expand hours and programming to meet more families’ schedules.

We’ve seen scholarship requests steadily rise over the past five years, most coming from families already living in the school district. We work hard to make sure all families have access to our program regardless of ability to pay and will continue that tradition in our new building. We also know young families are looking for homes in the Trumansburg area. Sometimes it takes years for them to find a reasonably priced home that doesn’t require major renovation. All the while, many are burdened by the stress of financial concerns, working multiple jobs or long hours to make ends meet.

As advocates for children and families, TCNS supports taking steps to ease family stress and allow parents more time with their children. We believe the affordable housing proposed at 46 South Street would ease the burden on local families and allow them to become more active in our community. This benefits not just TCNS families but the community as a whole. High-quality affordable housing coupled with TCNS’s high-quality programs will benefit us all by building relationships between neighbors and contributing to a vibrant Trumansburg.

 

Trumansburg Community Nursery School