Waitsfield Children’s Center to close in mid-July
August 10, 2024 | By Lisa Loomis | The Valley ReporterEditor’s Note: This story was originally published in The Valley Reporter on July 3.
Photo courtesy of Waitsfield Children's Center on Facebook
After almost 50 years of providing child and infant care for local families, the Waitsfield Children’s Center has closed its doors, due to the same challenges that many child care centers face: finding and keeping high-quality teachers, paying staff a livable wage while offering affordable child care for local families. That’s the bad news.
There is some good news, however. Neck of the Woods child care center in Waitsfield will be able to accommodate all staff and all families who’d been at the Waitsfield Children’s Center, according to Neck of the Woods founder and executive director Moie Moulton.
Small Margins
Board member Allison Borchers said the issues facing Waitsfield Children’s Center (WCC) were not unique to that facility. Navigating the needs of a small business, child care licensing, building maintenance, and operating within the small financial margins that exist are difficult, she said.
“While none of these challenges are unique or new, the past year has presented WCC with several hardships concurrently. WCC has struggled to maintain sufficient teaching staff and leadership while confronting costly upgrades needed at its aging facility. Continuity of high-quality care for families and employment for teaching staff has been WCC’s top priority when considering options. After seeking help within the Mad River Valley community and beyond, the timing is such that WCC has made the decision to close during a window when Neck of the Woods (NOW) is willing and able to assist in absorbing interested staff and WCC families. NOW is able to accommodate the children from WCC by delaying some scheduled construction projects in order to open an extra classroom,” Borchers said.
Borchers said that the decision to close WCC was not made lightly and pointed out that it is not an ideal option to have fewer child care centers in The Valley.
Childcare is infrastructure
“But WCC is grateful to have the support of the community and in particular Neck of the Woods in helping to maintain child care spots in
The Valley. Safe, high-quality child care is basic infrastructure for a thriving community. Investment in child care means more jobs and inclusive economic growth. It means better futures for children and more productivity for working adults,” she said.
“As WCC’s board has worked with NOW during this transition, it has felt the respect Neck of the Woods holds for the Waitsfield Children’s Center, its long history, and its extensive efforts to remain open. NOW is sad to see WCC close, as having multiple child care center options for families supports a more diverse community and their needs. WCC and NOW will work with resources around the community and the state to support those families who will be seeking other options for child care,” Borchers added.
She said that she and her fellow board members were hopeful that Vermont’s 2023 Childcare Bill will offer more financial support to families and child care centers and will prove to be important in supporting the viability of other child care centers in Vermont and encourage new centers to open.
Not in a vaccuum
“And child care does not exist in a vacuum – it is more clear than ever that continued development of community infrastructure and planning to support housing affordability for indispensable workers like teachers is also important,” she pointed out.
In 1979, what is today the Waitsfield Children’s Center moved into the downstairs space of the newly constructed Founders Hall, owned by Our Lady of the Snows. Over the past 45 years, generations of Valley children have spent their days playing and growing at the center, teachers have started their careers caring for WCC’s children, working parents have volunteered their time and resources and many others have contributed to the long-term success of the center.
“WCC is grateful to the families who have been a part of WCC, to the teachers who have guided and nurtured the youngest members of our community who spent their days at WCC, to the members of the WCC Board of Directors over the past five decades, and to the partners and members of the community at large who have supported WCC,” Borchers added.