More angels will be filling up the Catholic day care

Intermountain Catholic

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Guardian Angel Daycare in Draper recently expanded.

DRAPER — "Let the children come to me," can be read in a mural at the Guardian Angel Daycare Center in Draper, and that’s exactly what they are doing.

After six months of construction and right on schedule, the 9,000-square-foot expansion of the day care is complete.

Eight new rooms – two each for infants, 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds are more than ready and receiving their new and old students.

"It’s been a challenge, but it has been a good challenge, because it’s like a dream come true," said Maria Carrizo, director of the day care.

The dream started when Willow Rapella, a former day care employee, entered Carrizo’s office and said her father had left her a large estate and she wanted Guardian Angel to expand. Carrizo was thrilled because the plans for an expansion were underway, but they were planning to take out a loan for the cost.

Because of the donation, the day care added some equipment to the expansion.

"We bought 18 new high chairs and 12 cribs," said Carrizo.

To be able to cover the new needs of the day care, 13 staff members have been added to the Guardian Angel Day Care team.

"We have three new employees in the infant room, three new employees in the 2- and 3-year-old room, and we are thinking of hiring seven more, for a total of 22 employees," said Carrizo.

Before the expansion the day care could take six infants; now they will be able to accommodate 24. In the case of the 2- and 3-year-old room, before they could accommodate 10 children and now they can accommodate 20.

But that does not mean that they are losing quality. The teacher ratio for the infants is 1:3; for toddlers, 1:5 and pre-K3 and pre-K4 are 1:10. According to Carrizo, the new environment is appropriate for each child in their different stages of life.

Adequate supervision, trained teachers a homey environment for infants as young as 6 weeks of age and children as old as fifth grade in the after-school programs are the ones who, together with the professional staff, make Guardian Angel day care a good option for working parents.

"There are a lot of people searching for good quality child care and that’s what we are all about," said Carrizo. "I am very pleased that we have been able to live this great experience."

As the director of advancement at Juan Diego Catholic School, Molly Dumas said, "Draper is growing. We want to do more than just child care; we want to have God and prayers in our day care."