For 55 years, Rosa Lee Young Childcare Center has been woven into the fabric of Rockville Centre. It was founded as a 501c3 to give every child - regardless of background - access to a high-quality early learning experience.
On June 26, it is at risk of shutting its doors forever.
The RLY parent community is doing everything it can to ensure that we don't lose this critical community institution. Parents have already generated private donations to help cover most staff costs through June, but more support is necessary to stabilize its operations.
Institutions like Rosa Lee Young are not built overnight. They are built through decades of trust — trust earned one family at a time, one child at a time, across more than half a century of service.
The school is facing hardship for a few reasons that have compounded over time:
- a decrease in enrollments due to the introduction of UPK
- necessary, but unplanned building upgrades (new AC and fire system)
- rising costs and dwindling government funding and assistance
We are raising money that buys the school time to stabilize and explore possible paths forward — whether that means grants or government funding, a partnership with neighboring providers, or a new model that preserves what Rosa Lee Young has always stood for: a place for children to thrive.
All funds raised will be used to keep RLY operating through the remainder of the school year (June 26) while parents and the board explore solutions to save the school from closing forever.
Time is not on our side and every dollar counts. Thank you in advance for your generosity!
