TEACHERS STRIKE:
Parents scramble to find child care on first day of job action
East- side community centres fill up with students with nowhere else to go. West- side facilities remain quiet. BCTF president Susan Lambert vows to resist looming government bill to quash job action.
Day 1 of B. C.’ s teachers’ strike on Monday saw hundreds of children fill east Vancouver community centres, while attendance at some others in the city’s west side remained in the single digits, or even empty.
The disparity highlights the city’s economic divides, some say, and the resources available to parents in each.
“Three days of not being able to find child care could mean loss of employment really quickly down here [ in the east side],” said Sabine Tanasiuk, child care and family programs coordinator at Ray- Cam Community Centre on East Hastings Street. “Parents don’t often have secure jobs they’ve been working 25, 30 years at. It’s often new employment ... and there is very little tolerance for absenteeism on the parents’ part.”
More than 200 children attended Ray- Cam on Monday, with 55 in licensed child care and up to 200 in the community centre, Tanasiuk said.
Child care opened at 7: 30 a. m. and the community centre at 9 a. m.; both closed at 10: 30 p. m. Extra staff were brought in to supervise children during physical activities in the gym, computer programs, games and arts and crafts.
Funded by the province, city and grants, Ray- Cam does not charge for service. Over a three- day period, the facility could incur up to $ 18,000 in expenses not planned for in any budget, Tanasiuk said.
Meanwhile, on the city’s west side, the Marpole/ Oakridge Community Centre had no one sign up for its range of programs and nearby Kerrisdale Community Centre was running its 9 a. m. to 3 p. m. yoga and art classes at less than half its 15- child capacity.
In Burnaby, only 10 kids showed up for an all- day adventure camp that was organized for the teacher walkout.
Back in east Vancouver, dozens of parents brought more than 100 children to Strathcona Community Centre and elementary school, where free breakfast and after- school programs were stretched together to help parents secure child care throughout the day.
Outside the school, parents and members of the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council, a grassroots neighbourhood association with about 1,000 local residents, stood in the rain with their children’s teachers.
“Families with resources can afford to send their kids to private schools, they can afford to pay for tutors and music lessons,” said community organizer and local parent Aiyanas Ormond.
“Whereas, [ in] lower- income families, kids really rely on a solid public education system and, frankly, teachers that go the extra mile.”
The father of two local publicschool students said parents have formed a tightly knit community and are helping each other cope with the walkout.
“I have a couple of my son’s friends coming over to hang out later today,” Ormond said.
Ron Suzuki, head of programming at the Strathcona Community Centre, said the centre is stretching its normal breakfast program from 9 a. m. — it usually starts at 7: 30 a. m. — into the lunch hour to try to accommodate as many needy kids as possible.
“Regardless of the teacher’s job action, we’re still in business,” Suzuki said. “We’re going to make sure that any child that is hungry is fed.
“If there’s children from other schools that show up hungry they will be fed. Not only that, but from 9 a. m. to 3 p. m. we’re going to be operating supervised programs.”
The gym was open all day and arts and crafts classes were offered in addition to the normal after- school programming, which lasts from 3 p. m. to 6 p. m.
The centre regularly feeds 90 to 150 students daily and also feeds children on weekends and holidays through a backpack lunch program, Suzuki said.
However, he expressed concern that attendance could double by today or Wednesday, testing the centre’s capacity.
In Richmond, 135 kids were enrolled in day camps on Monday across six community centres including the Richmond Olympic Oval and Cambie and South Arm community centres.
Kim Decker, a spokeswoman for the City of Richmond, said there is “definitely space” remaining at each centre, with facilities ranging from being around half- full to nearcapacity.
Some have lots of physical space and will simply bring in more staff to run programs if the volume of registration spikes, she said. Day camps running from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m. ranged from $ 21 to $ 30 each day.
In Surrey, about 300 kids ( half the capacity) took advantage of full- day activities offered by several community centres, according to Coun. Linda Hepner. Adventure camps and other activities range in price from $ 20 to $ 42.
In Vancouver, few children showed up at strikebound schools, and the district extended thanks to parents for making alternative arrangements during a difficult situation.
“It was quite manageable for our administrators,” district communications manager Kurt Heinrich said Monday.