Chesterbrook preschool closing one location
After 25 years, Academy shuts 1 of 2 Naperville sites
Chesterbrook Academy preschool on South Naper Boulevard in Naperville is shutting down after 25 years.
School officials say low enrollment is to blame.
In an email sent to families, administrators announced that Friday would be the private facility’s final day.
“Despite our best efforts, much like many early childhood schools across the U.S., we have been unable to grow enrollment in a way to best serve this school community,” the message sent out Nov. 14 read.
School officials did not return multiple requests for comment.
The closure does not affect the Chesterbrook Academy located at 1587 Oswego Road in Naperville.
The South Naper Boulevard facility, available to children ages six weeks to pre-kindergarten, opened in 1998. It’s part of the Campbell, California-based Spring Education Group, a network of more than 230 private schools serving students across the U.S., internationally and online.
There are 10 remaining Chesterbooks in Illinois, including the second one in Naperville.
Naperville resident Zhenzhen Yang, whose two children go to the preschool, said transferring to the Oswego Road location was not an option because it’s too far away to accommodate Yang’s and her husband’s work schedules.
Yang’s children, ages 3 and 5, have been students of the South Naper Chesterbrook for the past two years. When she first saw the school’s closure announcement in her email last month, she was caught by surprise, she said.
“I was just shocked,” she said. “It’s a good school. The teachers are nice. We were surprised there wasn’t enough enrollment. … It’s just really sudden.”
Yang said finding new child care on such short notice has been difficult.
“Most schools we called couldn’t take us because they had to find positions for both of my kids,” she said. “Some told us that we could wait a few months for an opening, but we couldn’t do that because we really, really rely on childcare as working patents. We don’t have anyone else that can take care of our kids at home.”
Emmit Smith is also taking his 3-year-old son outside the Chesterbrook network because its other location is out of his way, he said.
“Starting over is the main thing that’s going to be difficult for us,” said Smith, whose son has been going to Chesterbrook for two years. “I don’t know how (he) is going to adapt to the new classroom, the new teachers.”
Speaking highly of Chesterbrook’s curriculum and atmosphere, Smith said, “It’s really kind of sad . ... It was the perfect choice for us. (My son) was really learning things.”
In the academy’s closure notice, administrators — including Principal Stacy Borwick and Spring Education Group Regional Director Dawn Bonilla — thanked families for the last two and a half decades. “For many years, our preschool has had the pleasure of serving the Naperville community,” they said. “Through it all, helping our students grow and learn has always been our highest priority.
“Even during difficult times, we have appreciated the tremendous efforts of staff and parents to keep our community of learners growing and thriving. … We greatly appreciate the opportunity you have given us to educate and care for your children.”