Need child care? Early Learning Center on campus has preschooler openings

In our Best Place for All efforts, we are proud to partner with the Lena Pope Early Learning Center to provide more than on-site child care — a full-day early learning center for more than 80 children. It has three immediate openings for 3-year-olds and five immediate openings for 4-year-olds. For families who qualify, sliding-scale tuition rates are available.

The center, at 3620 Modlin Ave., is open to everyone in our community, but these openings are being offered first to UNTHSC employees and students.

Lena Pope staff members use evidence-based curricula and social-emotional learning to prepare children for kindergarten and beyond.

The staff-to-child ratios:

Infants — 1:4
Older Infants — 1:5
Toddler — 1:6
PK1 (ages 3 to 4) — 1:7
PKs (ages 4 to 5) — 1:9

Each room for the various age groups features age-appropriate learning materials and play opportunities. For children who can play outdoors, there is an adjacent outdoor play area. For the older ones, the play area is also adjacent to the UNTHSC Community Garden, where the children have a plot for growing vegetables and/or flowers.

A central kitchen serves all the age groups. For children from age 2 upward, meals are served in their room, family-style, to help the children learn mealtime skills such as pouring milk.

Hours for the center are 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Lena Pope is committed to providing access to quality early learning for all children, and maintains a 50/50 split between private-pay families and families who qualify for sliding-scale tuition rates and subsidized child care.

Private pay rates are determined annually by comparing tuition costs of 10 to 15 area child care centers and setting a rate that is below the midpoint.

Lena Pope’s current private-pay weekly rates are:

• Infant: $280
• Toddler: $255
• Pre-K: $232

To learn more about enrolling children in the open spots for 3- and 4-year-olds, please contact Mariah Esquivel, Early Learning Center/UNTHSC Campus Director, mariah.esquivel@lenapope.org or 817-569-6255.