EVERETT — The YMCA of Snohomish County celebrated a new early learning center in Marysville with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.
The Marysville Family YMCA Early Learning Center will officially open in September, said Peyton Tune, president and CEO for YMCA of Snohomish County. The facility’s goal is to provide affordable child care for up to 68 children, ages 1-5.
A Washington State Early Learning Facilities grant of $2.2 million and nearly $1 million in federal support funded early construction. Individual donations and funding from smaller foundations provided the remaining money for the $4 million remodel.
The previous 4,000-square-foot building, which held a Youth Development Center for teens, was expanded into a 6,500-square-foot, four-classroom space. A larger existing space in the Marysville branch was repurposed for teen programming, Executive Director Gina Casagrande said in an interview.
The center offers financial assistance and accepts state child care subsidies. Nobody is turned away based on economic circumstances, Tune said. The Y charges on a sliding scale, based on need. So, the center must cover the costs for some families.
“Every year, every Y in the country has a community campaign,” he said in an interview after the event. “Last year, we raised about $1.7 million in our community campaign, and every nickel of the community campaign — it doesn’t pay for the electric bill, it doesn’t pay for Gina’s pens and stationery, it doesn’t pay for coffee in the lobby — every nickel of it is a war chest to then be deployed to offset those costs.”
The curriculum offered teaches gross motor and fine motor skills, how to use language as kids become verbal and how to navigate social settings, Casagrande said.
“What we are developing is not babysitting, it is not daycare,” she said. “It is early learning and preparing children.”
Licensed teachers and staff will use the Teaching Strategies Creative Curriculum to help children reach growth and developmental milestones, readying them for school, Casagrande said.
Each early learning center also has mental health support and a behaviorist on staff for children with complex needs and neurodiversities, Casagrande said. Also, a family support specialist can help parents find third-party subsidies and navigate financial assistance.
Snohomish County is a child care desert within a child care desert state, said County Council member Jared Mead in an email. “I’m so grateful to be a part of this amazing project through the YMCA that aims to address this dire need of childcare accessibility.”
“You know where the gaps in the community are,” Tune said. “We don’t have a solid safety net for families to have a safe place with your kids, and so you’ve got all these gaps. And the Y has been a tremendous leader in the area of licensed after-school programming.”
Snohomish County YMCA’s after-school programming serves about 1,300 kids a day, Tune said. Its outdoor camps serve another 1,000 children. The goal is to have a similar capacity for early learning education.
The YMCA’s goal is to open at least six early learning centers, Tune said. “The goal is to have a licensed, affordable early learning center in tandem with each of our membership centers.”
Previously, Snohomish County YMCA’s only early learning center was the Heatherwood YMCA Early Childhood Education Center in Mill Creek. The Everett YMCA closed its early learning center when it moved to the Colby Avenue location in 2019.
The YMCA plans to open another learning center next year, Tune said. He declined to disclose the location.
In addition to Mead, council member Nate Nehring attended the event.
“As the Chair of the County Council and a YMCA Board member, I’m thrilled to have this new early learning center located in North Snohomish County,” Nehring said in an email. “This facility will bring affordable and accessible child care to serve families for generations to come.”
Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring also took part.
“The Marysville YMCA is such a valuable part of our community,” he said in an email. “I am so grateful for this incredible addition of their new early learning center that will serve critical needs for so many of our local families.”
Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com; X: @BTayOkay
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