When the Child Development Center first started in 1998, there were only six infants in occupancy. Today, the CDC currently cares for 43 children, ages six weeks to 5-years-old, with six faculty and staff members on the priority waiting list. For the first time in its history, however, the CDC will not be able to accommodate all of those on the list.
The CDC began in 1998 when then Eugene McDermott Headmistress Liza Lee and CFO Mary Pat Higgins.pushed for the creation of the CDC. Both Lee and Higgins thought the CDC would provide a faculty and staff benefit that would be valued in the future and one that could be offered to other area schools. Initially, there was only one portable, but in 2005 another was added.
Angel Duncan has been the Director of the Child Development Center since its conception, and worked as a Teaching Assistant in Lower School prior.
“Our mission is to provide quality, onsite care for faculty and staff’s children so that they can feel that their children are being taken care of,” Duncan said.
But because the CDC has reached its limit, faculty and staff who are expecting a child this year do not have a 100 percent guarantee that their child will have a spot for the 2016- 2017 school year.
Upper School English teacher Jennifer McEachern is currently on the waiting list.
“I called them last spring when I found out I was pregnant,” she said. “I was hoping to get it for this spring because I will be back [from maternity leave] for April and May, but they were full for this year.”
The CDC cannot grant faculty and staff official spots because an infant’s advancement from class to class is based on development rather than age.
“I am just in limbo right now. I have my baby Jan. 2, and then I’ll know in April whether or not he’ll have a place at the CDC next year,” McEachern said.
The fact that Hockaday has a CDC was a deciding factor for McEachern when she was considering workplaces.
“That was definitely part of my decision,” McEachern said. “Having your baby on campus kind of changes the dynamic of being a working mom.”
By state law, Texas childcare centers are required to have at least 30 square feet for every child the center is licensed to serve. Due to these laws, the CDC is unable to accept any more children.
Part of Coats’ job is to oversee the financial aspects of the CDC. Her primary concern lies with the state of the two portables.
“They’re atrocious,” Coats said. “We really need a building. However, the quality of care is not defined by the facilities. Our program is excellent and the teachers and staff do a great job with what they have.”
The idea of a building specifically for the CDC has been considered. However, moving forward with specific plans was pushed back until the completion of the Centennial Campaign, which focused on teacher endowment and Centennial Center (Science Building and Arts Center) funding.
“Once the Centennial Campaign finishes, we will look for a major donor for the CDC, we have initial, high-level architectural drawings,” Coats said. “The new facility outlined in the drawings will expand our capacity from 43 to over 60 children.”
Coats’ plan is to maintain the portables in their current condition and to continue the investment into the CDC until an opportunity for renovations arises.
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