Brooke Scott told the Wasatch County School District Board of Education Thursday, Aug. 27, that she used to struggle to find childcare.
She teaches orchestra at Rocky Mountain Middle School and the newly opened Deer Creek High School. For Scott, the end of each school year meant conversations about how to balance the needs of her son and her music students.
But the new childcare center at Deer Creek has changed the game for her and two-year-old Benjamin.
“The daycare is one of the reasons that I could go back to teaching full time this year and help start our orchestra program at Deer Creek,” Scott said.
With some help from mom, Benjamin shared his support for the childcare center as well.
“Do you love school?” Scott asked. “Yes!” Benjamin said. “I love school, hi Ms. Hayden!”
Benjamin is one of eight toddlers at the center. There are also eight infants and 16 preschoolers. Scott said having Benjamin close by gives her peace of mind.
“I love that my son is at school with me, that I can pop in on him during lunch, and that there is quality care provided at an affordable rate,” she said.
Monthly tuition is $650 for infants, $600 for toddlers and $550 for two- to five-year-olds. That’s compared to Utah’s average of $1,180 per month for childcare, according to nonprofit advocacy group First Five Years Fund.
Rocky Mountain Middle School teacher Brian Clark shared a similar sentiment as Scott. He and his wife Abby Clark, who teaches at Heber Valley Elementary, have two kids at the center.
“This has been a game changer for us to have affordable, competent people where we know we can trust the staff, and we know they're getting a quality education every day,” Brian Clark said.
The childcare center is only for teachers this year, and there are already children on the waitlist. The district hopes to expand so other staff members’ kids can participate in the future.
Superintendent Garrick Peterson told KPCW the facility was an effort to retain high-quality teachers.
“Several teachers that had kind of left our district have come back to our district now that we have that option for affordable daycare,” he said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Aug. 28.
The district also hopes to add another educational element to the facility. High school students who want to work in childcare can receive college credit and hands-on experience through certain courses.
