Desperate for day care: How empty TK-12 classrooms can help fix Californias child-care crisis

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Set us as preferred Declining enrollment in California public schools is spawning a new and growing partnership that is helping to keep child-care centers in business — vacant classrooms are being filled with toddlers and babies.From Los Angeles to Solano counties, nonprofit day-care operators see underused facilities already centered on children — spacious blacktops with ample room for portables, empty classrooms and even entire closed campuses — as a way to expand services to families desperate for infant and toddler care, the 0-3 age group in which there are critical shortages of slots in California.School districts, looking for ways to keep neighborhood campuses open amid dwindling enrollment, see future students in the little ones on site — and an opportunity to build family loyalty without having to operate the programs themselves.“The school, it’s a very trusted place for the communities,” Early Edge Executive Director Patricia Lozano said.

“If we can add all these elements … I think it’s just making it more accessible.”Engage with our community-funded journalism as we delve into child care, transitional kindergarten, health and other issues affecting children from birth through age 5.Recently, centers have completely taken over two campuses in San José and Vallejo.Another is expected to open soon at a vacant East Palo Alto campus.

Nonprofits operating within existing school sites have also continued to expand.One organization based in the San Gabriel Valley has expanded its child-care program to more than a hundred elementary schools over the years, recently opened three more classrooms and will continue to grow as districts signal a need.Los Angeles Unified — confronted with possible school closures amid enrollment drops and fiscal woes — is poised to amplify the trend with its recently approved plan to expand its early education footprint through partnerships with local ...