Altadena child care is rebuilding after the L.A. fires, but road ahead remains rocky

It took nearly a year, but the families of B’nai Simcha Jewish Community Preschool have found a permanent campus in Pasadena after the Eaton fire destroyed their site, a rebirth that has given hope to the battered child-care industry in the region.

Their move represents both the struggles of child-care providers and the strong support that has converged in Altadena and Pasadena to help them with fire-related needs in a way that offers solutions to strengthen the industry.

“That we were able to find a spot so close to where we were and that this building is in use as a day care again — that feels really good,” said Carina Hu, director of the center, now located in a shuttered child-care facility on Garfield Avenue.

Child care in Altadena has been turned on its head since the Eaton fire: 56% of Altadena’s 50 child-care homes and centers were damaged or destroyed, affecting more than 1,000 child-care spaces for children. The fire hit as the already fragile industry was trying to stabilize amid a string of difficult changes: The COVID-19 pandemic increased costs of providing services and worsened staff shortages. Then the state’s rollout of public school transitional kindergarten made enrolling 4-year-olds more difficult.

Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School in Pasadena — with its emphasis on early childhood education, social work and business — stepped up in collaboration with its partners to help providers replace materials, pay staff and keep children enrolled with tuition support. With groups including the Pasadena Community Foundation, Child Care Directors Alliance and the city of Pasadena, it has distributed nearly $2 million to 43 providers with fire-related hardships through grants of up to $45,000.

Carina Hu, center, greets the students after they arrive at the B’nai Simcha Jewish Community Preschool in in Pasadena.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

“We have responsibility to be what I think colleges and schools can be, which is a place that people can gather to solve problems, a place where we can use our own resources to benefit the community and show up,” said Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School President Breeda McGrath.

But the community work did not stop after the aid was dispersed.

Now, the college aims to create a sustainable future for child care in the region by helping providers establish a shared services model to distribute support among the regional child-care network. The model would allow providers to pool resources and share administrative functions, such as human resources and technical support, lowering some operational costs.

“Phase one was direct funding: helping these child cares reopen,” said Jeannine Bogaard, the vice president of community impact at the Pasadena Community Foundation. “But equally as important is taking advantage of this moment to help child cares go forward in a more productive and more strengthened way together as a team.”

Susie Luo plays in the sandbox with the toddlers outside at the B’nai Simcha Jewish Community Preschool in Pasadena.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

The project is in the beginning stages of a multiyear process. The team is researching how the model has succeeded in other states and evaluating need and interest among providers.

“It’s a complex idea,” McGrath said. “If it wasn’t, everybody would be doing it. And so that’s where it’s really essential to build it with stakeholder input and explore whether or not it’s something that would really work here.”

The shared services model could extend beyond business operations and centralize professional development or allow providers to share curriculum and materials, said Amanda Danks and Nathan Burroughs, senior and principal researchers at the American Institutes for Research who have studied the model. Danks recalled one network that used the model to put together a library of materials.

Having access to shared teaching tools could reduce the stress and cost for providers, she added.

Regaining some stability

Though much lies ahead to reach full stability, financial support has made a big impact on child-care programs in the region, allowing them to avoid shuttering as they slowly reestablish themselves.

“We definitely would not have made it through this year without the grants that we received,” said Danielle Svihovec, who runs Woodbury Preschool Village in Altadena. “Like there’s no question. We would have had to close our doors.”

The Pacific Oaks College grant helped Woodbury recover from smoke damage. Svihovec had to replace much of the materials that once decorated the cluster of cottages that make up the center. Air filters needed to be replaced, the carpet torn out, toys thrown away and wood chips exchanged for rocks. Enrollment dropped as families moved away either temporarily or for good. The center received $45,000 from the Pacific Oaks College grant, which is used for payroll and tuition relief.

But there’s still more to go to return Woodbury to how it once was. Enrollment remains under capacity at 85% for a center that once had a one-to-two-year waitlist. But, it’s a significant improvement compared to 50% capacity last year.

B’nai Simcha was struggling with enrollment since before the fire. It opened an infant classroom two days before the old location burned, pivoting to younger children to account for the loss of 4-year-olds to TK. Currently, the center has filled 31 of its 77 total spots.

The $45,000 it received in grant money allowed it to retain parents by offering free tuition to families. That effort has also been funded by Jewish Federation Los Angeles, which is paying half tuition for families affected by the fires.

Children play inside the B’nai Simcha Jewish Community Preschool on Jan. 26.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

It’s been a huge help, according to Tina Poppy, whose 4-year-old son attends the preschool. The family, which is commuting to the center from Highland Park, is currently rebuilding their home.

“We would be struggling to pay,” Poppy said.

Now at a permanent site, the center is working on increasing enrollment, focusing on infant care — its goal before the Eaton fire.

This article is part of The Times’ early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to latimes.com/earlyed.