Catoosa Daycare Closes Leaving Parents Scrambling

A Catoosa daycare is closing after the property was sold. It is one of only two full-time daycares in town.

The Disciple Discovery Center will be closing its doors on September 30th, leaving some parents scrambling to find new arrangements for their children. The daycare is operated by the First United Methodist Church of Owasso. Pastor Jim Cinocca sent a letter to parents saying the Catoosa property had been sold and the daycare would be closing at the end of September. He declined to speak on the matter and staff members say they were told not to comment on the closure.

In the letter, he states “Over the last three years we have earnestly looked for a way/location for DCC to continue operating past the date when the property sold. We were not successful in finding a solution.”

You can see the full letter here

Sarah Hammers’ two sons go to Disciple Discovery Center daycare almost every day. She said all four of her kids used to attend the daycare, but the oldest two aged out. She tells us the closure isn’t just upsetting, it’s a huge burden since they don’t have many other options

She and her husband are devastated to learn the daycare is closing in just two months. 

“It’s an awful loss for the community, just to wrap it up,” Hammers said. “It could not have happened at a worse time when we are already struggling with inflation of everything, it’s one hit after another.”

She says not only does her family count on the daycare in the summer but during the school year too. Catoosa Public Schools has a four-day class week, meaning Sarah’s kids need a safe place to stay every Friday.

“I’m going to get emotional, it’s life-altering for us parents who are already struggling trying to make up for that Friday,” Hammers said.

She said she is making daily calls to find a new facility for her kids, but it’s hard when there is only one other daycare in town.

“It’s definitely hard, it was hard enough to find this daycare, Catoosa doesn’t have a whole lot of options,” Hammers said.

We called the other full-time-only daycare in Catoosa to see if it has any openings for children in October and was told it’s too soon to know, but right now it is full.