LETTER: Diverting mission of Castine daycare would be ‘enormous loss’ for children

By Linda Austin and Jeb Hallett

We have been involved with the Castine Children’s Learning Center for a decade since our next door neighbors, W.G. and Nancy Sayre, first envisioned a wonderful community resource to support families in the care and education of their pre-school family. We watched as the Sayres shared their vision and began an ambitious fundraising campaign from individuals and businesses, though they  themselves were the largest donors. We watched as WG and Nancy led many volunteers in the building of a magnificent building that is a wonderful asset for the community that has lifted our town’s property values. They spent several years themselves in hard labor laying the foundation, raising walls, completing the roof and interior, painting, and landscaping. 

The pandemic began just as the school was opening, creating monumental administrative issues for the new school. Nonetheless, the Sayres persevered and the school has thrived thanks to the extraordinary commitment, discipline, and hard physical work the Sayres have provided. On many weekends we have seen WG and Nancy personally cleaning the building. To this day, they are at the school on a daily basis, often filling in for teachers on break. WG has helped us in many ways, such as taking down large trees on our property, and always asks us to donate to the school in lieu of paying him.

We understand that this issue began as a conflict with employees. Work conflicts are very common, and they are often bitter. Conflicts are to be expected. What is unique about this situation is that one-sided accounts of an interpersonal conflict have been disseminated in the community and now threaten the actual mission of the organization.

Lost in this conflict is the experience of the children. We have heard from parents and observed ourselves that the children greet the school leader with cries of “Miss Nancy!  Miss Nancy!”  We have seen the wonderfully creative projects in art and science they do, ranging from learning how to tap a maple tree to designing a windmill. In the summer, Nancy and WG walk them to the tennis courts for lessons. The curriculum emphasizes collaborative teamwork by the children, and Nancy’s ideas are stimulated by the national and international early childhood education conventions she regularly attends, most recently in Italy. 

There are few in the last century who will have left a tangible legacy such as the school that WG and Nancy built. They did not do this alone, and we among many have supported their effort because we believed the mission was vital. We know that the Sayres are honest, principled, unselfish, purpose-driven people. And we believe that a preschool is an essential resource for young families whom the town needs as future citizens. It would be an enormous loss for the little people of our community and a blow to all who have loved and supported the school if its mission were to be diluted or diverted.

—Austin and Hallett are seasonal residents of Castine.

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