A private school in Brampton is urgently raising $80,000 to keep its doors open or else it could face eviction at the end of the month.
Polkadots Playland and Montessori Academy opened its doors in 2017, offering programs for children in pre-kindergarten to Grade six, including programming for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but a growing financial debt could result in doors closing permanently by the end of March, and families scrambling for new spaces.
Like many businesses, the academy’s finances took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was first declared five years ago this week, when it was forced to close for months and remain partially open for a period afterward. Ever since, the business has been struggling to fully recover, according to founder and Principal Josette Drummond.
“We fell behind between 2023 and 2025, seven missed months of rent. I owe my landlord $90,000,” Drummond told Now Toronto on Wednesday.
After several negotiations with her landlord over the years, some being successful, the situation took its final hit on March 7 when her landlord locked the doors to the academy, after a rental payment that was missed by one day.
“The lockout gutted everyone,” she said.
Drummond was able to build a case and convince the landlord to re-open the doors for the month while she ramps up fundraising efforts and delivers programs for the March Break.
Earlier this month, Drummond started a Go Fund Me with an $80,000 goal.
“We have been battling since to stay afloat,” the fundraiser says. “We are working tirelessly to explore all options, but we can’t do it alone.”
Families of the students who attend the school quickly jumped into action, and helped her raise $25,000 in just a matter of days, cutting the balance significantly, and keeping the doors open. However, the school still needs to raise $50,000 more by the end of month to pay off its debt and stay open.
ACADEMY IS ESSENTIAL FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
Drummond says the academy offers an integrated learning experience for children with ASD, that incorporates schooling with speech therapy and behavioural therapy, to name a few.
“We started to see remarkable results with our ASD kids as far as language development and social skills, and then just the compassion overall that the neurotypical children develop,” she said.
Lee-Ann Lyons-Bartley understands its impact more than others. She originally pulled her 12-year-old-son out of public school and enrolled him in the program due to Polkadots’ inclusive environment that was built to support children with autism. She says the situation is “sad for everyone involved.”
“He gets therapy at his school day, and he gets the education, it’s just pushing him to actually learn, where we found in the public system, he just wasn’t really getting pushed to learn,” Lyons-Bartley told Now Toronto.
She explained that previously having his therapy exist separately outside of school wasn’t impactful.
“Not having to be carrying him all over the city, right, to be able to get the support that he needs has been a big help for our family as well,” she said.
If the school were to close, she said it would be traumatic for her son and family, and explained that public school would not be the best option. She added that she has already been searching for a new space in the worst case scenario, but keeps coming up short of options.
“It’s a little bit pricier, and they don’t necessarily build in the therapy into the day” she said.
Drummond said she worries most for families, like Lyons-Bartley’s, having experienced similar situations with her own sister who also has autism, but still remains optimistic that fundraising efforts will keep the academy open.
“This is my heart’s work, my life’s work,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to not be doing this on an ongoing basis.”
Drummond is encouraging community members to contribute to fundraising efforts by donating to the school’s fundraiser.
