DENVER – Academy at City Park, a childcare center in Denver’s North City Park neighborhood, is back open after a two-year closure and is now accepting applications for new students.
“They, the owner, decided to redo and remodel all classrooms which, they look so beautiful. Everything looks fresh. Everything looks just brand new,” Academy at City Park Center Director Jessica Bittmann said. “There's such a need in this area. There's not many bigger facilities out there, there's a lot of in-home care. But here at Academy at City Park, we're ready to rock and roll with some of these kiddos and have some fun. Watch them grow, watch them laugh, watch them thrive and succeed.”
Bittman said many parents, who live downtown and want to enroll their kids in childcare centers near their homes, face months-long waiting lists. But Bittmann said, the Academy at City Park has dozens of openings for kids, from infants to 7-year-olds.
“We do have some room, so come on down. We are ready for enrollment...my staff is excited to get the curriculum going,” Bittman said. “We are working on social emotional development, their self-regulation, how to use their words and what is appropriate, you know, ‘no biting.’ You know, 'let's use our words instead those sorts of things.’ So for us to set that foundation, for them to be able to be in regular school for the duration of their life, then we're just setting them up for success.”
Academy at City Park Owner Chad Theis said, the center has been in the neighborhood for decades.
“People my age come in, they went to school here 50 years ago. Their kids went to school here, and then they were saying to me, they really wanted their grandkids to experience this place also,” Theis said. “Yes, I could have knocked the whole thing down and put in luxury condos, which yeah, there's a need for that, but there's a greater need in the community.”
Theis said, last year he followed Denver7’s reporting on the abrupt closure of the Wonder Academy in Denver’s Capitol Hill to make way for apartments.
“I saw the individual people that lost their childcare in such a short period of time, and that's a terrible experience for any family, right? And they had no place to go. And I thought, well, you know, 'if we can get this place back up and running, maybe we can help the community,'” Theis said.
Academy at City Park will host a community event on Sunday, Sept. 29 from 2-6 p.m.