POTSDAM – Building Blocks Daycare will be temporarily closing and will not provide daycare services starting Monday, Jan. 19, according to a press release issued today.

The daycare center, located at 6604 Outer Market Street behind the Snell Office complex, plans to reopen, but an exact date has not been determined.

Daycare officials said repairs to the building and a review of financial records now that new management is in place can take place more easily if the center closes temporarily.

Daycare Director Marianne Jadlos and board members decided Friday evening, Jan. 16 to temporarily close the daycare’s doors to address code and financial discrepancies, the press release said.

Jadlos requested a state Office of Children and Family Services licensing officer visit the daycare to ensure the daycare was compliant in its policies. The officer and code official who toured the facility at OCFS request visited the building Friday and determined physical work needs to be completed in the building – molding around windows, ceiling vent covers and numerous other items, the press release said.

Financial records also need to be reviewed now that new management is in place, day care officials said.

“The daycare is working diligently to resolve these issues as quickly as possible, so we can provide the great quality and loving care we are known for,” said John Youngblood, acting board president.

“These physical tasks can be done easier without the children in the building. The health and safety of the children we serve is paramount and we want to ensure our facility is in the best condition to continue to serve our local families and children.”

We realize this decision will be difficult for guardians and parents of the roughly 60 children we serve, so we are reaching out to our families through a variety of avenues. The board and management are reaching out to families through email, phone calls and with the assistance of local media.

For many years, the daycare center was located behind A. A. Kingston Middle School. Before that, it was housed in a building at the corner of Leroy Street and Lawrence Avenue.

Jadlos’ more than 23-year career has revolved around caring for and educating children. She previously served as a teacher and principal. “We want to be the best we can be, rather than just squeaking by,” Jadlos said.

This morning, in his role as acting president of the daycare center board of directors, Youngblood sent out a letter to parents, guardians and the community. The letter follows:

Dear Community Members:

We are in the process of restructuring our daycare, which includes the administration and numerous policies.

We take pride in providing quality daycare for the children and families of St. Lawrence County, and remain even more committed to continuing and improving these services.

Unfortunately, we will need to close the doors of our daycare for an indefinite period of time, as we will need to update our daycare policies, implement necessary infrastructure upgrades, and restructure all of our electronic databases to allow us the ability to more smoothly do the following: communicate with families, receive payments, distribute bills, notify parents of any health or safety concerns, as well as re-establish our relationship ties within the community through newsletters and advertisements for our daycare.

Re-structuring our daycare and establishing new management as well as policy upgrades will be intense and time consuming, hence our decision to make the day care inactive (no rendering of daycare services) for a time frame to be determined in the near future.

Parents or guardians of children who receive subsidized daycare should get your time sheets signed and submit them to the daycare by next Friday, January 23, 2015.

We recognize this last minute temporary closing of our doors will be a great inconvenience to you, and we truly apologize for the difficult situation in which this decision might place you and your family, but rather than delay these improvements and necessary reorganization, we would rather provide you the quality daycare service we would be proud of and you deserve.

We hope to not lose one child, family or staff member, but if you decide to leave Potsdam Building Blocks Daycare, we wish you the very best and would be so pleased to see your eventual return, assuming we still have the available space. We will be in touch with each of you next week with an update.

Until the doors to Potsdam Building Blocks Day Care reopen, you may contact the St. Lawrence Child Care Council, at (315) 393-6474, for referrals to licensed and registered childcare programs. Thank you for your trust in our daycare, and best of luck to each of you.

Sincerely,
John D. Youngblood, Vice President (Acting President)
Potsdam Building Blocks Board of Directors