A Vancouver mother has launched a website called theshortylist.ca to feature reviews of Metro Vancouver daycares, preschools and elementary schools.

Karen Young Chester, a mother of two preschool-aged children who lives in the Riley Park neighbourhood, said it's difficult to find the right daycare or school because of space shortages in popular facilities, which creates waiting lists and lottery systems. Chester, a stay-at-home mom and freelance video producer, said online information is scarce--statistics are available, along with school rankings, but those numbers lack the personal, anecdotal information she seeks.

"I usually go online to do research and I discovered it's very hard to find any information about individual schools and daycares. It seems like there's this real absence of information."

She asked total strangers at the neighbourhood playground for recommendations and tips when she was searching for childcare for her children. "I suppose this is just a way of taking that playground chat online, so you will have contact with a more diverse set of parents and get more opinions. Really, the opinions and comments from other parents are probably the most important things we use for finding information."

Sites like The Shorty List operate in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, according to Chester, who argues if individuals can easily find restaurant or movie reviews online, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to find information for the care and education of children.

A soft launch of The Shorty List is underway and users can submit reviews, but the full launch won't take place until fall when users will be able to read the reviews and additional information such as test scores, class statistics, satisfaction surveys and useful links. Later, Chester may add before and after school care and extracurricular classes. The site is aimed at parents with children up to age five, but it also intends to attract parents with children up to age 12, as well as teachers and staff members of facilities and schools.

Sharon Gregson, director of Child and Family Development Services for Collingwood Neighbourhood House Society and a Vision Vancouver school trustee, doesn't welcome the idea.

Gregson argues anecdotal sites shouldn't be given too much credence since the provincial government has a system for reporting concerns and documenting safety and quality violations in childcare, which includes preschool programs, through Community Care Licensing. "Personal preferences are one thing, but neutral investigations matched to a public set of criteria are something else and I would say the public is very well served by childcare licensing officers," she said.

Gregson insists rating systems have drawbacks, citing the controversial Fraser Institute's report card, which ranks schools. "We just have to look at what the Fraser Institute does with data to see how manipulations happen and can be made to sound so impartial," she said.

Chester maintains the site welcomes a range of perspectives. "I have to expect that there are parents that are going to have a bee in their bonnet, basically, but you know of all the reviews that have been coming in since the pre-launch site has been live, the vast majority of them have been positive, which is great."

noconnor@vancourier.com