Effort intended to help ease valley’s shortage of care

By Ann McCreary

In response to a shortage of affordable child care in the Methow Valley, a new morning child care program will open its doors Aug. 24.

Methow Mentoring & Childcare will be located in the Methow Valley United Methodist Church on Highway 20, about halfway between Twisp and Winthrop. The program will operate from 8:30 a.m.  – 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and accept up to 15 children between 2 1/2 and 6 years old.

The need for additional child care in the Methow Valley has been recognized for years, said Carolyn Schmekel, president of the Methow Mentoring & Childcare (MMC) board of directors.

“We want to be able to give this opportunity to people who are single moms or low-income, who simply can’t afford a day care situation when having to work,” said Schmekel.

“Our goal was to make it affordable for any family to consider for their child every day,” said Georgina Tobiska, executive director and the principal teacher of MMC.

The program will cost $20 per day. “That’s about as low as you can find” for child care, Tobiska said.

The reason tuition can be kept low is because the classroom space for the program is donated by the United Methodist Church, which will also provide insurance for the program, said Schmekel.

The church has several classrooms available for the child care program. It will be centered initially in a room that serves as a preschool class during church services. Walls are brightly painted with rainbows and animals, and supplied with a variety of toys, activities and books for young children. Adjoining the room is a bathroom with child-sized accommodations.

United Methodist Pastor Don Ford, who was involved in establishing child care and after-school programs at other churches where he has served, said donating the classroom space made sense for the church.

“Our mission is to provide a safe haven for children and adults. We have this space available so we decided to fulfill the mission of the church with a preschool and after-school program,” Ford said.

After-school need

In addition to the preschool child care program, Tobiska and the MMC board of directors hope to launch an after-school program, which would also be held at the Methodist Church, for children up to age 13 during the coming school year.

“There’s a significant need for after-school care. That’s part of the mentoring process,” Tobiska said.

The after-school program would take place in a large room equipped with a kitchen, where students could participate in preparing food, work on homework, or just relax in a supervised environment, Tobiska said. She said MMC will discuss plans with the Methow Valley School District to coordinate efforts to serve families who need a place for their children after school.

Schmekel said she and her husband, Glenn, founders of The Cove Food Bank in Twisp, were approached last year by Tobiska to discuss the need for more child care in the Methow Valley.

Schmekel said many of the people who visit The Cove for assistance say they are unable to work because of the lack of affordable child care. “They say ‘I have to stay home because I can’t afford to have my child cared for.’”

The groundwork for MMC was being laid last year, with The Cove as the sponsoring nonprofit organization, when a study about child care needs in the valley, organized by the Methow Valley School District, was completed in December.

Researchers interviewed 225 parents, child care providers and employers and concluded that lack of child care was “a crisis dramatically affecting the valley.”

The study found that parents are often unable to work because of lack of child care; employers have trouble finding and retaining staff, in part due to the child care shortage; and families are stressed by the emotional and financial toll of managing child care arrangements.

“Most of us who live here have known for years that it’s been a great deficit in the community — not having an adequate amount of affordable, quality child care,” said Tobiska, who has three children, ages 2-12.

“The study confirmed what our organization was already working on and addressing,” said Tobiska. “To try to make a living and find affordable care is what we’re trying to address.”

All-day not possible

MMC had initially hoped to provide all-day child care, but state licensing regulations related to the church facility — such as a requirement that all classrooms have exits directly to the outdoors for all-day programs — made that unfeasible.

MMC received a $2,500 grant this year from the Methow Valley Fund for program development.

Tobiska has a background in community outreach, and has led mothering and girls groups. She said she had help in developing the curriculum for the preschool program from Susan Gottula, a reading specialist and former preschool and elementary teacher.

“Though I will be the primary teacher in the initial preschool classroom, Susan and some other teachers are waiting in the wings to be available for more classes if a large enrollment proves that need,” Tobiska said.

“The preschool program is structured around positive discipline and a nurtured heart approach,” Tobiska said. A parent handbook says the program will encourage values including charity, empathy and community. Activities will focus on artistic expression, imagination and cooperation.

The church grounds provide a playground and 10 fenced acres for walks and exploration, Tobiska said.

For information about the program, contact Tobiska at (509) 449-8637, or email georginatobiska@gmail.com.