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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday August 29, 2007 - 13 www.oakvillebeaver.com Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Phone: 905-845-3824, ext. 248 Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: angela@oakvillebeaver.com Back to school a sweet dream for Crescent `Back to school' are the sweetest words Oakville residents Kelly Scott and Liz McNellan have heard in a long time -- a couple of years, in fact. That may seem odd, as the duo operate Oakville's Crescent Nursery School that recently marked its 50th anniversary. Unfortunately, the milestone was not so jubilant as nervewracking, as the school has been in search of a new home for some time -- it missed last school season. However, Scott and McNellan give new meaning to doing your homework and refusing to fail. Their pre-school was out of business temporarily -- and teetered on the brink of closing permanently last spring. So, the duo that operate the school that has offered what some say has been the best nursery school program in town in the east end for 50 years, is now taking their school west. They have finally found a new home at Bronte's Church of the Epiphany and are prepared to move in for the long haul. The east-end nursery school opened in the mid-1950s and though it has had a really rough ride, it will be open for business as usual in September. Not quite usual however. After years of being in the east end, the school has been welcomed in Bronte. Crescent Nursery School offers programs in pre-school to Junior Kindergarten (JK) -- and after finalizing the paperwork for its move to Bronte just this week, has opened its doors for a summer camp for this week. The pre-school first opened its doors in 1955 under Barbara Glover. Operating in a church, it quickly outgrew its space. It soon moved to a location at Spruce Street and Gloucester Avenue in a former pipe-fitting garage. It remained there until June of 1999 when the owner sold the property to a developer and the business to two of her staff, Scott and McNellan. "I went to the pre-school," said Scott, recalling how an old-style Volkswagen bus would pick kids up for school in the days before car seats were mandatory. Later, Scott's daughters, risk on their families, yet going back to the students' families and their staff, "some for the third time, was devastating," admitted Scott. Faced with no location and fuelled with heaps of disappointment and dashed hopes, Scott said she and McNellan agreed to go away and think about closing for good. But that wasn't to be. "I just couldn't give it up. Call me crazy, but I just didn't feel done with it," said Scott, who said that with the school having a great reputation and staff, and even people calling from the U.S. to enquire about the program in anticipation of relocating to Oakville, she just couldn't believe the school couldn't find space in which to operate. "I picked myself up and got out the phone book," said Scott. Then came an unexpected response from the Bronte Road church. "It was well outside of where Crescent has always been, but I came here and I liked it," said Scott. Through the summer, Scott, McNellan and teachers like Kristin Tobin (who were paid by Crescent even when its owners weren't in business) pitched in to spruce up the space and ready it for children. "Liz and I haven't seen a pay cheque in two years. We love what we do," said Scott of the duo's perseverance. Nothing was cast in stone for their new location until early this week when the final approvals were sealed, but McNellan said, "After 50 years in southeast Oakville, now it's Bronte's turn." And it's only a nine-minute drive along Lakeshore Road for those coming from the east end. With all of its teachers armed with their Early Childhood Education qualifications at minimum, and a love of the business that's proven in its owners' tenacity, Crescent Nursery School is all about the experience for kids and a love of learning, said Scott. It's a place where new things are tried and outdoor time is as valued as indoor learning. "Crescent Nursery School is so worth saving...incredible staff and wonderful kids make going to work a joy for me," said Scott. To contact Crescent Nursery School or for registration for programs that start Sept. 5, call 905844-3432. RON KUZYK / OAKVILLE BEAVER BACK IN BUSINESS: Kelly Scott and Liz McNellan, co-owners of Crescent Nursery School and teacher Kristin Tobin at the Bronte Road church where they'll be providing their pre-school program. The new home in the Church of the Epiphany is more than welcome after the 50-year-old pre-school struggled to find a new location. Brinley now 25, Alannah, 20 and Maddy, 15, all attended. The school that offers space in its morning (9-11:30 a.m.) and afternoon (1-3:30 p.m.) programs continues to be popular, according to Scott. That's evident as residents -- even teachers at the school -- have patiently waited until it found a new home to resume participating. According to Scott and McNellan, they bought the business, its client list and equipment from Cheryl Bradley. The school moved to a new location on Morrison Road in 1999, renting space in a small Polish Catholic Church. "Crescent has always enjoyed high enrollment numbers, and after we moved the school and overhauled the program, we always had many more people than we could ever service. It was great to be considered by the parents in the community the "best" early years program out there, or at least that's what we heard," said Scott. However, in 2005 the Morrison Road property was sold and Crescent suddenly didn't have anywhere to go. Its owners tried to purchase a property, but after "Call me crazy, but I just didn't feel done with it. I picked myself up and got out the phone book." Kelly Scott, co-owner Crescent Nursery School months of trying to put together financing it was clear they couldn't do it, so it closed. Scott and McNellan still recall the day when production staff from a television home renovation show arrived to hook up telephone lines as they were conducting classes. The nursery school operators were putting in their last days at the property they said they believed was to be torn down immediately, but an interim arrangement had apparently been struck to use it until its final demise. For the next school season, the nursery school equipment sat in storage while its operators worked in temporary, part-time accommodations at St. Jude's Church downtown and saw their former property remain intact until it was torn down at the end of that school year. A potential location on Cornwall Road seemed like it would work out, but the nursery school operators ran into problems when municipal changes in accommodating students required architectural changes that proved too daunting. Then, an offer to take up residence in a heritage home being renovated for a business purpose on Chartwell Road seemed too good to be true. Again, Scott and McNellan looked forward to finally settling down again and were hoping to open when, as Scott put it, "all hell broke loose." The retrofit ran into problems with neighbouring residents, though it did move through the Town's Committee of Adjustment and through an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing. Then, it took the OMB three months to render a decision. After all that and some 18 months later, negotiations with the property's owner then put an unforeseen end to the hopes of Scott and McNellan to re-open last spring. "Liz and I were emotionally spent," admitted Scott, noting the financial negotiations would have put too much financial burden and