CCRI Daycare Center Being Moved Out for Goldman Sachs

Governor Gina Raimondo's Administration, who announced in March that Goldman Sachs was coming to Rhode Island to assist small businesses, is slated to be plugging Goldman Sachs staff into the longstanding space that has been home to the daycare center run out of the Knight Campus building at CCRI in Warwick.

“We are thrilled Goldman Sachs is bringing this program to Rhode Island, providing a unique opportunity to help us move our state forward by strengthening our local businesses – the backbone of our economy. 10,000 Small Businesses will build on the comprehensive package of tools we have launched to support entrepreneurs, create jobs, and ensure everyone can make it in Rhode Island,” said Raimondo in a Goldman Sachs press release.

Daycare Forced Out

According to the Providence Center, the CCRI Daycare Center, which currently serves thirty-six children, is being forced to move. "We were notified in March that CCRI had other plans for the space," said Owen Heleen with the Providence Center, who runs the Imagine daycare center at CCRI. "It will be closing in June. We were there seven years, I believe. That was the only space they had available [at CCRI's Knight Campus] and we're working hard to develop a new spot."

"The Providence Center delivers services at eleven locations around the state," said Heleen, who noted that Imagine was their only daycare. "The situation is you can't put an early education center just anywhere, you need high quality space. We're close to finalizing the contract in a new place for September."

According to faculty at CCRI, the daycare is being move for administrative office to house Goldman Sachs personnel. "I inquired if the new President shut down the day care center, and I got no response," said CCRI English Professor Steve Forleo. "I understand the [day care] staff must be out in June and renovations will begin to accommodate a new counseling center which could include the new Goldman Sachs' business initiative."

"To me, this is about shutting down a daycare for more administrative expansion," said Forleo, who is the faculty advisor to the student newspaper, The Unfiltered Lens. "Where's the community in that?"

"Imagine Preschool is a unique early childhood learning center located at the CCRI Knight Campus in Warwick, preparing children ages 3-5 years old. Imagine instills a love of learning, and an excitement about school that creates the foundation for successful learning," said the CCRI website about the program. "Full-time CCRI employees and full-time CCRI students may take advantage of scholarship opportunities for their children."

CCRI President Dr. Meghan Hughes' Chief of Staff Alix Ogden refuted Forleo's claims on Thursday, saying the daycare, which announced its departure after eight years the same month as Goldman's arrival, would be used for "student-services" once vacated, but could not provide further specifics.

March Kickoff for Goldman Sachs

The kickoff to the new Goldman Sachs initiative was with great fanfare. "CCRI will be the first community college in New England to host this program, and we are proud to be the educational anchor to help Rhode Island’s small businesses reach their full potential. The announcement illustrates what can happen when public-private partnerships form to create opportunity, and it’s an inspiring example of how CCRI can make a positive difference in our state’s economy," said CCRI President Dr. Meghan Hughes in a message to the CCRI community. "Our Business Department faculty are at the heart of this initiative."

"Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation are committing $10 million in capital and philanthropic support to help create jobs and generate economic growth in local small businesses," boasted the company in their release entitled, "Goldman Sachs Launches 10,000 Small Businesses in Rhode Island."

In April, it was announced the Goldman would pay the federal government more than $5.1 billion in penalties tied to wrong doing tied to the U.S. economies collapse in 2008. "The Justice Department, along with federal and state partners, announced today a $5.06 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs related to Goldman’s conduct in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2007," said a Department of Justice press release issued in April, 2016.

Updated Thursday 11:10 p.m.

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