By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — For 20 years, St. Alphonsus Early Childhood Education Center offered daycare and preschool, especially for children in the city’s west end. On Sept. 1, the center closed permanently, Father Corey Close, pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish, said in a letter to parishioners.
In his letter, Father Close thanked Father David Steinle (the parish’s pastor at the time) for “the foresight to open a daycare, which came to be known as the St. Alphonsus Early Childhood Education Center. For 20 years, it has proudly served as a Catholic ministry in the west end.”
“… After consulting with the parish finance council, which unanimously voted in favor of closing the center due to financial difficulties, it is with sadness that we must make this announcement,” Father Close wrote.
The center’s last day serving children was Aug. 29. It has been an “honor and a joy to serve this community for over 20 years as a daycare, as well as a parish school long before that. We are hopeful to continue our ministry in the west end by other means,” Father Close wrote. He thanked all who have served, volunteered or contributed to the school or enrolled their children there. “We wish all of you only the best, and pray that God’s work continue here at St. Alphonsus Parish for many years to come!”
At the time of its closure, the education center offered infant through school-age care. Before and after school care was available, but not transportation to school. Daycare was available for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years old. The center offered care during school closures and summer breaks as well and previously offered preschool. Thirty-one families and 60 children were a part of the center at the time of its closing.
