The Wait Is Worth It, Parents Say

Seatle Post Intelligencer – February 15, 2007
By Paul Nyhan

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Parents' 15-hour preschool wait illustrates lack of good child care

The doors wouldn't open for 15 hours, but they started lining up Tuesday evening, prepared to wait all night in their camp chairs and sleeping bags. They weren't there for U2 concert tickets, the latest "Harry Potter" novel or even an Xbox 360.

They were there for preschool.

By Wednesday morning, parents stood 32 deep in a line that stretched around the corner, eager for one of just 13 spots in Nature Kids Preschool at Discovery Park, one of the best preschool deals in Seattle.

They waited because Nature Kids spend at least an hour a day walking trails, counting crabs on tidal flats or playing in meadows. They stood or sat all night because it offers one class with 13 kids, two trained naturalists as teachers and three rooms.

And they camped out because this preschool costs $3,716 for an entire academic year of half-day classes.

The Rolling Stones-worthy line highlights one of a Seattle parent's biggest headaches. Demand for high-quality and affordable preschools and child care outstrips supply.

Parents plan before birth, hop on waiting lists soon after bringing a baby home from the hospital ... and they worry.

"It's unfortunate that the rat race has come to 3-year-olds," said Sanjay Kapoor, who arrived at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to grab the second spot in line. "You can learn things through nature."

It is also a straightforward deal. If you get there early enough, you will probably get in because the Seattle Parks and Recreation-sponsored preschool offers spots on a first-come, first-served basis.

The parks department supports schools with similar tuitions in 10 other communities around the city, though none offers the unique nature emphasis found at Discovery Park.

The line means that the two-year-old school is no longer the city's secret bargain preschool, where kids have 560 acres to learn how to count, sing and play. Tuition is low, in part because the school doesn't pay rent.

Parents also lined up Tuesday night because they have fewer options these days. The number of licensed child care facilities dropped 11 percent over the past five years in King County, according to a report by the Washington State Child Care Resources and Referral Network.

The line of parents "is a beautiful and practical illustration of the desperation parents are feeling," said Elizabeth Bonbright Thompson, the network's executive director.

In Olympia, lawmakers are debating a child care rating system proposed by Gov. Chris Gregoire that advocates hope will improve quality.

Despite the competition, at Discovery Park parents were quiet and polite. They passed around brownies and trashy magazines, dropped off by a sympathetic parent with a child already enrolled at the school. They slept, listened to music and chatted.

The long wait in the dark did not guarantee a spot. Eric McConaghy arrived at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday and wound up first on the waiting list.

"We were confident," McConaghy, 36, said as he headed off to work after filling out his paperwork.

McConaghy isn't out of the running. Last year, the school took about half of the families from the waiting list, said school director Natalie Fuller.

"Not all hope is lost," Fuller told parents Wednesday morning.

Despite the long wait, some parents kept things in perspective.

"He is still going to get into college," said Sarah Jansen, referring to her son.

They also kept their sense of humor about their first night waiting in line for admission.

I "used to make fun of people like me," Jen Keeler said.

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