After approximately seven months of renovation and expansion, the Otter Creek Child Center facility, located at 150 Weybridge Street, is set to reopen its classrooms on Dec. 1. The project represents a major step in the broader community effort to address the child care shortage facing families across Addison County, including Middlebury faculty and staff.
According to the nonprofit organization Let’s Grow Kids, Vermont’s child care system is stretched thin: Though approximately 21,131 children under the age of five in Vermont are likely to need some form of childcare, only 12,380 full-day, full-year slots exist for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, and just 8,090 meet the state’s high-quality standards. That leaves 61% of infants likely to need care without a quality option. The average two-child household spends around $26,000 a year on childcare, and educators earn a median of $39,315, often without benefits — below a livable wage.
The renovation will allow the two locations under Otter Creek — College Street Children’s Center and Otter Creek at Inn on the Green — to merge into a single facility that doubles their combined capacity from 69 to 139 child care spots, having added 12,000 square feet to its size. The expanded center will be fully staffed, employing a total of 24 classroom teachers, six “floating” educators, three program directors and a family & engagement coordinator, according to reporting from the Addison Independent.
The new design, created by a contractor specializing in early-learning facilities, features classrooms and spaces tailored for infants and toddlers. New features include toddler-sized toilets, expanded parking, a kitchen equipped to serve more than 400 meals per day and covered playground porches that allow outdoor play in all weather.
Founded in 1984 and directed by Linda January for the past 14 years, the nonprofit has provided infant, toddler and preschool education for children up to five years of age. Middlebury serves as a hub for childcare resources in the region, and according to January, at least half of Otter Creek’s students are children of college faculty or staff, who are given priority on a waitlist more than 200 names long.
“That is our goal with the expansion — that our enrollment reflects the community around us,” January said in an interview with The Campus.
The college has supported Otter Creek for decades through financial contributions. According to Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration David Provost, the college has contributed over $360,000 annually for more than 10 years through the United Way of Addison County, with much of that funding directed toward Otter Creek.
“We have a responsibility as the largest employer to help solve community problems,” Provost said in an interview with The Campus. “Otter Creek will also have no costs going forward on the capital expansion, which will allow them to use all their financial resources to pay good teachers and to offer benefits.”
The $11 million renovation was partially funded by a $6 million anonymous alumni gift to the college, earmarked for community initiatives, according to Provost.
Beyond the college's support, countless organizations and individuals have also been instrumental in advocating for policy changes in order to provide families with the financial support they need to afford quality child and infant care.
Cheryl Mitchell, who served as the Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Human Services in Vermont for 10 years, has long championed policy reforms to expand early-education funding.
“Over the years, we got quite a few pieces of legislation passed that have gradually worked towards really improving the situation for families with young kids, including universal Pre-K, in which families, no matter their income, are eligible for 10 hours a week of free, high-quality Pre-K,” Mitchell said in an interview with The Campus.
Mitchell also mentioned the impact of Act 76, a Vermont law enacted in 2023, funded by a payroll tax called Child Care Contribution, that drastically increased funding for the state’s childcare system to subsidize the accessibility of childcare and increase wages for educators.
“Being a nonprofit allows us to really diversify our income as much as possible, and not just solely rely on tuition,” January said. “With more and more families receiving assistance through the Vermont Childcare Financial Assistance Program, more and more of those tuition dollars are coming from the state and not from families’ pockets.”
Recent federal policy changes have also made child care more affordable, according to January. In Oct. 2024, eligibility for child care subsidies expanded to families earning up to 575% of the federal poverty level, benefiting many middle-income Vermonters. At Otter Creek, the share of families receiving state aid has risen from 44% to more than 60%.
The increased subsidies have boosted the center’s budget by over $100,000, allowing for significant pay raises. Since January’s arrival in 2011, base-level teacher salaries have increased by nearly 50%, and all staff now receive comprehensive benefits.
“I think Otter Creek will become a real example for what can be done with some perseverance, and the fact that it took so long to happen will be reassuring to other communities to not give up,” Mitchell said.
The ribbon cutting for the reopening is scheduled for Nov. 15.
