Building a space for The Children of Haida Gwaii

In the fall of 1978, with permission and advocacy from Miles Richardson Sr., Helen McPhee started up The Child Centre at the non-status hall in Skidegate Landing.   It started as a private business and for the first two years she worked a job at the local bar simply to keep the center going.  After the first year of its existence, Helen was able to relocate The Child Centre to its current location in The Community Club in Queen Charlotte. 

In 1980, a small group of committed parents supported Helen’s efforts by forming the Queen Charlotte City Child Center Society and Helen became their first employee.  Thirty-seven years later, The Child Centre continues to operate as a non-profit early childhood program for local children from Queen Charlotte and Skidegate. After decades of commitment to the school Helen has finished her time here and has passed on the role to multiple wonderful teachers. The school has a longstanding reputation of providing excellent preschool programs, after school care and early childhood learning opportunities which would not have been possible without Helen and some very dedicated board members over the years. Today, it operates as a multi-age preschool for ages 2-5 years of age with an emphasis on nature-based learning and play!