News

Children and workers at closing daycare find other options

Dana Metzker, a substitute teacher at the Tomorrow’s Hope Child Development Center, on Monday helped sort through the few remaining supplies at the daycare center.

By Amy McCraw, Published: December 16, 2024

The leaders and parents at an East Flat Rock daycare that is closing Friday say they are feeling a little more Christmas spirit after all the children and employees found spots at other childcare facilities in the area.

Other facilities are also accepting equipment and supplies from the Tomorrow’s Hope Child Development Center, Director Terry Maybin said.
“We’re just saying God was in this,” Maybin said. “It’s much better than we thought. I’m sleeping better now because everyone is going somewhere.”
The daycare, which has been open in East Flat Rock for the past 25 years, notified parents in early November that it would close on Dec. 31 after it received an eviction notice from Hope United Methodist Church. The church, on Spartanburg Highway at West Blue Ridge Road next door to the daycare, had leased the building to Tomorrow’s Hope.
The church informed the daycare in a letter dated Oct. 29 that it must leave the property by Dec. 31.
After receiving the eviction notice, Maybin, at the time, said she was concerned that parents of the 32 children remaining at the center might not have time to find other options for daycare in Henderson County.
But she said this week that all the children and daycare workers had found opportunities at other facilities.
The preschool at Mt. Pisgah Lutheran Church in Hendersonville opened two rooms that were closed after four of the eight staff members from Tomorrow’s Hope agreed to work at the Chimney Rock Road school, Maybin said. That program also took 15 to 20 of the children from Tomorrow’s Hope. Other familes found slots and staff found jobs at other centers.
“I never dreamed there would be that may spots available,” Maybin said.

Supplies go to center destroyed by Helene

Once all the children and staff found other options, Maybin turned her attention to finding a home for “25 years of stuff” including supplies and playground equipment at the daycare.
Yancey County took six loads of supplies, including furniture, toys and playground equipment, after the county lost two childcare centers to Hurricane Helene. Other items went to facilities in Henderson and Buncombe counties. Atkinson Elementary School also took some supplies it needed after sustaining damage in the hurricane, Maybin said.
Maybin said she also hoped to make donations to the Samaritan’s Purse charity and the Back On Track Resale Store and Addiction Ministries in Hendersonville.
Any funds left over will be donated to local non-profit agencies, she said.
The daycare informed parents in March that it intended to close in August 2025.
In a letter in March informing parents of the decision to close, daycare leaders said that the church’s relationship with the daycare had changed from one of ministry partners to a landlord/tenant situation. The church, the letter said, intended to expand services to homeless people on the property. Rising costs associated with renting space for the daycare from the church also played a part in the daycare board’s decision to close the facility, according to a board member.
The daycare began phasing out its classes after making the decision to close. It continued to care for 32 children when it received the eviction notice in November. At the height of its 25 years in East Flat Rock, the daycare served 86 children.
Leadership at the daycare set the 2025 closing date to give parents and staff time to find other child care and work options, Maybin said.

Stephen Abel, the father of a 2-year-old who attends Tomorrow’s Hope, said at the time the closing was announced that the decision to close in December left his family and other parents in a bind. He said this week that his son will be starting at Mountain Fundamentals on Dec. 30.
On Monday, a few children who remained at the daycare took afternoon naps while Maybin and other workers sorted through the remaining supplies in one room. A notice on the center’s front door informed visitors the center will close at 5 p.m. on Dec. 20, and wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
As she considered the remaining supplies that need to be donated and the fast-approaching last day for Tomorrow’s Hope, Maybin said she was pleasantly surprised that all children and staff found a home before Christmas. Maybin said she plans to retire after serving as the center’s only director for the last 25 years.
“It all turned out good,” she said.