GASPORT — All available spots at the Treehouse are claimed for the current school year, so a waiting list is being kept by the operators of the community-supported, Hartland Bible Church-based before- and after-school program for Royalton Hartland Central students in grades K through 6.
Just into the 2025-2026 academic year, 30 students are participating in the state-licensed child care program, before and / or after school, and it comes at no cost to their parents.
Prayer/Bible time, a snack, gym time and art/craft time are the Treehouse daily routine, and director Debi Smith believes the students look forward to it.
“They’ve been a blast. They just love being here,” Smith said. During the time set aside for prayers, when they’re encouraged to say what they’re thankful for, “some might say, ‘being here,’ or they’re thankful for a certain staff member. That tells me they’re getting what we intended.”
Treehouse opened at Hartland Bible Church, 8110 West Ave. practically around the corner from Royalton Hartland Elementary School, this past January. It was the church’s way of responding to the school district’s loss, effective with the 2024-25 academic year, of Covid-era funding for a before- and after-school program.
Noting the community’s “angst” — because reliable, affordable child care is harder to come by in a rural community like Roy-Hart — senior pastor Jon Goodwin said HBC’s board of trustees authorized him to seek “outside funding” for a professional program at the church that would be free of charge to parents.
The original aim was for a September 2024 opening of Treehouse, but to comply with state Office of Children and Family Services requirements for licensed day care facilities, the church had to undertake facility updates including security improvements.
HBC’s pursuit has been embraced by the school district since the beginning, Goodwin said. Students in the program are bused to school from the church in the morning and dropped off there after dismissal.
According to Goodwin, EDF Renewables presently is covering about half of Treehouse’s operating budget. Covering the other half in 2024-25 were the Grigg Lewis Foundation, Confer Plastics and individual donors. Covering the other half this school year are Confer Plastics, Reid Petroleum Inc. and individual donors.
Donations to Treehouse are kept in a separate bank account to fund program expenses including staffing and supplies, Goodwin said. HBC does not charge rent.
Since January, Treehouse has grown in both enrollment and staffing numbers. Originally the program was accepting students through fourth grade and upon its opening had seven children registered.
Now it’s taking students through sixth grade — an acknowledgement that some younger middle school students aren’t ready to be home alone yet, Goodwin said — and has increased its staffing to five child caregivers: the full-time director and four part-time assistants covering mornings or afternoons.
The staffing is such that if an employee is out sick, the state minimum — one adult per 10 children — can still be met and Treehouse stays open, Goodwin said. That way parents aren’t left to scramble on short notice.
District parent Melanie Schifferle has two of her children going to Treehouse on Thursday afternoons, the only time during the week when neither she nor her husband are sure to be home from work ahead of the kids arriving after school. Schifferle said she learned about Treehouse through Roy-Hart Elementary and signed up her 5- and 9-year olds starting with the new school year. “This is very helpful for parents,” she said. “It’s so hard to have one parent definitely home at times.”
Looking to the future, Goodwin said his focus is on growing Treehouse’s “scholarship fund,” meaning the donations that cover its operating budget.
“It’s really taken off,” he said. “We hope to accommodate 40 students next year. … We want to get to the point where this is a long-term solution for the community.”