SINGAPORE: A group of parents is now banding together to save a beloved preschool from closure because of low enrollment. As the saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and for the past few weeks, a “village” has been pulling together.
Pre-School-By-The-Park @ Li Hwan at Lorong Chuan’s Golden Hill Estate has nurturing and educating young minds for 17 years, giving them a safe environment where they are loved, cherished, and challenged.
If the school’s founder and teachers, as well as the kids themselves and their parents, had their way, the school would keep on going forever.
In the past, a school, or any other endeavour, could survive and maybe even thrive on word of mouth alone. However, we live in different times, where living costs are higher, and the first stop for many prospective parents is online. A school that doesn’t have a presence on the web can very easily get passed over.
This seems to be happening with Pre-School By-The-Park. A few short years ago, it had a waiting list. After the COVID-19 pandemic, however, things began to change. The school now faces a situation with many challenges: the older kids are graduating, there are fewer new enrollees, and to add insult to injury, the rent just went up.
Parents to the rescue!
Not ones to easily throw in the towel, more than 50 parents (including those from alumni families and even prospective families) of Pre-School By-The-Park are now working together tirelessly to keep this beloved school alive.
One of the mums who is leading the charge, Nicole, who has two children under the age of two, told The Independent Singapore, “We have families handing out flyers on weekends, parents helping with website revamps, video making, and even offering fences and doors of their own homes for ad banners that they print out of their own pocket!”
This is how much they believe in the school, and are asking others in Singapore to join them.
Their help is certainly well-timed aid for school founder Loy Wee Mee, and the teachers of Pre-School By-The-Park, who, like many of their generation, have never needed to rely on marketing or online savvy. And indeed, why should they? Their skills lie in shaping the young minds that, in turn, help shape Singapore’s future, which is why they are so deeply appreciated by the school’s parents.
The parents have shared the school’s target on their IG page.
How can you help?
See more of what the students at Pre-School-By-The-Park @ Li Hwan are doing on their Instagram page here.
You can also DM them on IG @parentsbythepark to arrange for a school tour.
Spread the good word about this school by sharing its pages. This little bit of kindness costs nothing and could have tremendous ripples. The important thing is that parents of little children are reached and that they realise that they can bring their kids home to Pre-School-By-The-Park @ Li Hwan. /TISG
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