CAMPBELL COUNTY, Va. – For many Brookneal parents, childcare can be hard to find because the area is considered a “daycare desert.”
“One of the parents I spoke to would get up at 4 a.m. and would drive all the way to the other side of Lynchburg to drop their children off, to come back here to be at work by 6 a.m.” said Nicole Crews, an early childhood education teacher.
That’s because, according to Crews, the closest childcare facility is about 30 miles away.
“That’s not just hard on the parents, it’s hard on the children to have to get up and be ready that early in the morning. My heart broke for that family.”
But the search will soon be a little easier
Crews will teach a new class at the Brookneal site opening in a few weeks in the lower level of the Patrick Henry Memorial Library.
It’s a partnership between Campbell County Public Schools, Lynchburg Community Action Group, and Smart Beginnings of Central Virginia which is part of United Way.
Smart Beginnings received a $1.25 million grant from the commonwealth’s Early Childhood Foundation to reach underserved parts of the region.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for this area, and part of our goal is to have children ready for kindergarten and create a smooth transition from preschool to school,” said Kimberly Maddox, childcare quality coordinator for Smart Beginnings Central Virginia.
Gerin Martin, early childhood coordinator for Campbell County schools, says the new center is five years in the making, and it’s vital for children ages three and four to have a social experience.
“To learn something is to talk about it, to learn something is to interactive with it, and to interact just solely with a screen and not having that one-on-one, high-quality interaction does have an impact,” said Martin.
They’re offering in-person classes and tuition is free. School leaders say the facility can accommodate 8 students due to COVID-19 guidelines.