Support The Learning Branch Treehouse Preschool

Hello. I am asking for support to expand my home Preschool in the Western Branch area of Chesapeake, Virginia.

The reason I need your support is to bring awareness and understanding that Early Education is extremely important to our youth. Providing parents options is vital. I have been in the childcare/education field for nearly 15 years. I am also a mother of five children. You could say that children are my life, my passion, and one of my biggest accomplishments! As both a parent and a teacher I set out to start my own school.

I moved to the Chesapeake area more than two years ago and I fell in love with my community. I love the schools, neighborhood, Community Church, and definitely the sports programs. My neighborhood is wonderful for young families. Because of this and my career experience I dreamed of opening my own family day school. I invested a lot of time,energy, and money to create a one of a kind preschool classroom. We enclosed our two car garage and hired a local contractor to help me bring my classroom design to life. I set out goals and started a process that was unfamiliar to me. I knew I needed to get state licensed and also a conditional use permit through the city of Chesapeake to get a level 2 permit in order to start my business venture.

By the time I put in the application for the permit and a sign was set out on my property I started to meet neighborhood opposition. I made informational letters to pass out to the neighbors on my street to reach out and let them know what my plans were. It is important to note that we bought our home in a neighborhood that does not have an HOA or deed restrictions. So it was a great surprise that some of the neighbors that I visited told me that I was violating "neighborhood covenants" that were around when the neighborhood was built in the 80's. Of course I was concerned and soon contacted a city attorney who said that the "covenants" were not recognized by the city.

Nobody regulates or enforces the restrictions and there hasn't been a neighborhood civic league meeting in years. However, I completely understand that neighbors had concerns about the impact my school would have. In retrospect I would have met with the entire neighborhood to share my plans and solutions that I had for any of their concerns. Unfortunately they were given a lot of misinformation and I believe that is why City Hall did not approve my permit request. Although I wasn't able to serve as many families as I wanted I was able to take 5 students (that did not require a permit). For over a year my school has flourished and I feel I have proven myself greatly. I am a kind and courteous neighbor and most do not even know I am around.

My school has had ZERO complaints (noise, traffic, or otherwise) and I have forged strong bonds with the parents and children that I serve. Nearly all of the students are from my own neighborhood or the ones directly next to us. I have an excellent reputation and just through word of mouth my little school has received a lot of growing attention. Because there are so many parents that are working professionals there is a great need for programs like mine. Not only does my program offer exceptional care, safe and stimulating learning environment, a rich curriculum, I teach the importance of servitude leadership.

I would like to partner with local community agencies to do community service projects with the kids. This is a wonderful learning opportunity and creates leadership skills at a young age. They might have small hands but can accomplish big work. My program also keeps parents involved in kids daily activities by offering a live look into the classroom through a camera system and also keeps them up to date with a convenient daily log app. This is such an important component for parents that not every preschool offers. Because of this I now have a long waiting list and feel compelled to try again! If I could obtain this permit and license I would be working closely with the state and would be held accountable to state regulations, keeping safety a top priority. The biggest reason I want to operate a home preschool is to keep the class size low but provide children with enough socialization opportunities. I am only asking for six more children to complete my program.

I firmly believe that my school is an asset to my neighborhood and to the Western Branch community. I just want to emphasize that this permit is not so I can start a big commercial business. It is a small home business that in nestled in a great neighborhood and would not in any way disturb our neighborhood's integrity or disrupt the daily lives of those around me. The best part about failing is dusting yourself off and trying again, advice that I give my children.

So please, help me help our local families!! Help me achieve my dream and realize the unlimited possibilities that my school could have right here in our little section of Jolliff Woods. Thank you!