MISSOULA — A possible solution to the shortage of child care and barriers for providers continues to develop in Missoula.
The Missoula Child Care Advantage (MCCA) program and its partners celebrated the beginning of construction at Cold Springs Elementary School with a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023.
The construction at the building that once held Cold Springs Elementary School in Missoula is expected to wrap up by February.
The budget for the project is around $500,000 and includes renovating six classrooms and adding a bathroom and kitchenette to each room. The renovations will transform each classroom into a space for a childcare center.
MCCA providers will be able to move into their spaces come January or February, and enrollment will begin in the spring.
The groundbreaking ceremony was an opportunity for United Way of Missoula County and Zero to Five — which are spearheading the project — to thank their sponsors and supporters which include Clearwater Credit Union, Missoula County Public Schools, the Jackson Contractor Group and the Headwater Foundation.
MCCA coordinator Sally Henkel said the celebration reminded her of the community support the project has.
“There doesn't seem like there's anything quite like it, and so people are really intrigued by like, how it's gonna go and following it along and also championing it from afar,” she said.
The Cold Springs Elementary School building will hold the pilot program for MCCA and will open in June of 2024. Providers at Cold Springs will have a network of support from Zero to Five for business dealings such as waitlist management and payroll.
Zero to Five hopes the support will encourage more childcare centers to open and ease the stress on providers.
“It's incredible, you know, it starts as an idea, you work on it, you chip away at it and you meet with all these people and they support you and everybody's behind the project, and it's really not until you have moments like this where people are actually all together, seeing it for the first time and celebrating these moments with you that you realize it like how big this project is, and how innovative and amazing all the community backing behind it is." - Missoula Child Care Advantage coordinator Sally Henkel
