DAYTON — A new center just opened and it’s aiming to fill the need for childcare services in the Dayton area.
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Miami Valley Childhood Development Centers showed off its newest center serving the Twin Towers neighborhood.
Berta Velilla, President and CEO of Miami Valley Childhood Development Centers, said the area is a “childcare desert.”
“This is such a childcare desert. You’ve heard that, you know, mentioned before,” Velilla said. “This community is at a disadvantage. One of our distressed communities in our area and that’s why we’re here.”
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The $12 million center will serve 250 students and their families with 14 classrooms.
The preschool class size is 17 students and the infant class size is eight. All classes will have three teachers.
“55 percent of our lead teachers have a bachelor’s degree,” Stephanie Hilton, early childhood educator, said. “We offer money for them to get that. I got two degrees through the agency.”
Hilton is not only an educator but a parent as well. She told News Center 7’s Amber Jenkins that educators make the biggest impact after trust is established.
“When my son was in, I knew the teachers well from working there and there was a trust. I knew that we were going to have quality and care,” Hilton said.
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, one of the first things parents will notice about the center is the hills when they drop off students. The hills are there intentionally to keep the center authentic to the neighborhood.
“The reason we have this driveway as a big hill is because we honor the residents of this community,” Velilla said. “They wanted to preserve the view of downtown.”
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