Major child care expansion project complete

Otter Creek Child Center cut the ceremonial ribbon on its newly completed renovations that will allow it to ramp up staffing and add 77 childcare slots.

Otter Creek Child Center’s 12,000-square-foot addition will allow the organization to increase staffing, add new classrooms, serve 77 more children, and be fully ADA compliant.

The Growing Tree, a full-day childcare and preschool program for children ages 32 months to five years, recently opened in the Addison Community Center.

There are now nearly 400 Addison County children enrolled in Universal PreK (UPK) programs — 158 of those from the Middlebury area alone. This is a number that could grow significantly next year even as the number of Addison County children continues to d … (read more)

I recall my family’s struggle with childcare years ago. Paying to be on wait lists, commuting in separate directions each morning, short notice sick days — not to mention cost. Childcare is certainly another Vermont challenge exacerbated by a small and ag … (read more)

An oft-repeated African proverb posits that it takes a village to raise a child. In Salisbury, it took a community to launch a new childcare center.

The almost immediate impact Act 76 has had on Vermont’s childcare industry is not only hopeful but demonstrates how a targeted government program can help solve a problem in the marketplace.

A recent, massive infusion of new money into Vermont’s childcare system through a new law has helped create 1,000 new slots statewide and spurred a renaissance in the industry here in Addison County, which had sustained major losses in childcare offerings … (read more)

Longtime childcare worker Ashley Bessette of New Haven was recently appointed as the Addison County Universal Pre-K Coordinator. She is replacing the previous UPK coordinator, Meg Baker, who will be taking on a new role at the University of Vermont.

As of June 2024, the Otter Creek Child Center’s expansion project officially began construction at 150 Weybridge St in Middlebury.

“Working with kids is some of the best therapy around. Their curiosity, innocence, and unconditional love is so heartwarming,” said Ashley Bessette.

Progress toward Vermont’s childcare solution is underway as Act 76 rolls out. This year, over 7,000 more families will become eligible for childcare tuition assistance from the state. Here’s what you need to know.

The shortage of child care is the fault of Vermont because of all the regulated rules that caused the closings of child care providers in the state.

State rules governing public water systems could drown a plan to establish a new childcare center in a portion of Salisbury’s former elementary school building.

The project, dubbed the “Community Children’s Center Expansion Project,” calls for a new, 6,900-square-foot addition at the OCCC, along with renovations to the existing building and related site improvements.