Duke To Double On-Site Childcare Capacity
New childcare facility scheduled to open in September
A second child care center will open at Duke later this year, more than doubling the number of spaces for children of Duke faculty, staff and graduate students.
Two buildings on Hull Avenue near Central Campus will be renovated for the new on-site child care center. The center will be managed by The Little School of Hillsborough and operate as The Little School at Duke.
"The addition of The Little School at Duke will be a big step forward in meeting the demand for high quality child care for our workforce," said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration at Duke.
The new school is scheduled to open in early September with 170 spots for children between the ages of 3 months to 6 years. Duke's current childcare center, the Duke Children's Campus on Alexander Avenue, has capacity for 152 students. The tuition at both centers will be the same.
Information about registration and enrollment will be available in May.
The last expansion for campus child care involved the other on-site center, Duke Children's Campus, in 2003. That center was renovated to double capacity from 76 to 152. The Duke Children's Campus is operated by Bright Horizons Family Solutions.
Renovations of the 11,679-square-feet of building space on Hull Avenue will continue through the spring with an expected opening date for The Little School in early September. The renovated buildings will include 11 classrooms and 10 bathrooms.
"The Hull Avenue site is wonderful for a child care center," said Christa Niven, business director and co-owner of The Little School, along with Jennifer Dock. "It has mature trees, natural shade, and the classrooms are centered around a great room for large group activities."
The Little School has been active with the Duke Child Care Partnership since Niven opened The Little School in Hillsborough in 2005. "We have always viewed Duke as a partner," she said. "It has been wonderful to work closely with Human Resources and others at Duke as The Little School at Duke takes shape."
Through the Duke Child Care Partnership, parents who work at Duke University and Duke University Health System have greater access to quality child care at area centers. The Duke Child Care Partnership works with 42 four-and five-star centers that provide priority placement to children of Duke families. All of the centers in the program must maintain a four- or five-star license and be in good standing with the state of North Carolina and the Child Care Services Association. Duke also regularly monitors the centers to ensure standards are maintained.