BB&N’S FAMILY E X P A N D S W I T H N E W “ C O O P E R AT I V E ” D AY C A R E FA C I L I T Y By Peter DeMarco
LOWER SCHOOL TEACHER CRIS WEST IS RIGHT ON TIME FOR HER AFTER-SCHOOL FACULTY MEETING. FOREMOST ON THE AGENDA: DID MYLES, HER THREE-MONTH-OLD SON, HAVE A GOOD NAP TODAY? The meeting, so to speak, is at BB&N’s new Family Cooperative early childhood center, where BB&N teachers from all three campuses gather at the end of each work day to scoop up their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. As West cradles Myles in her arms, she waves to other incoming parents—some of whom she had lunch with in the faculty dining room earlier that day. The Cooperative was opened this fall to give BB&N faculty and staff an affordable, in-house solution to their childcare needs. Located in the lower level of the 46 Belmont Street building, which underwent a complete renovation, it boasts all the accoutrements of a state-of-the-art daycare facility, from a community room to cubbies, from book nooks to “open” bathrooms where adults can peer over a wall to monitor a classroom while changing a baby’s diaper. ÕÌ Ì i «iÀ>Ì Ûi] Ü V à V À« À>Ìi` >à > «À wÌ] à Ài Ì > Þ ÕÀ >ÛiÀ>}i `>ÞV>Ài program. With a curriculum chosen by BB&N teachers, a board of directors made up of BB&N faculty, and its “cooperative” mantra of parental volunteerism—enrolled BB&N faculty and staff members are involved in everything from fundraising to cleaning to organizing snack time—the operation is a new branch of the school. “The research you have to do about what daycare to send your kid to is overwhelming,” West Ã>Þð º9 Õ >Ûi Ì >Ûi > } ` wÌ] > ` Ì i À } Ì wÌ v À Þ ÕÀ V `° / i LiÃÌ Ì } >L ÕÌ Ì i
«iÀ>Ì Ûi Ü>Ã Ì >Ì ` ` ½Ì >Ûi Ì w ` > « >Vi v À ° i >` > « >Vi À } Ì iÀi°» School-provided daycare programs are rare, but BB&N wasn’t alone in debuting one this fall: MIT’s David H. Koch Childcare Center also opened to rave reviews. By providing convenient, quality, and affordable childcare, schools such as MIT and BB&N hope to retain faculty members tempted to leave after having children, as well as attract more candidates for job openings. When new Middle School art teacher Stephanie Moon was interviewing for BB&N last spring, she was astounded to learn that a daycare program was in the works. “When I heard it was a possibility, I just kept wishing that it would come true,” said Moon, whose 11-month-old daughter, Nienna, is enrolled. “As a parent and working professional, I would absolutely say it’s a major perk. Had there been another school of a similar nature to BB&N that had a daycare program, and BB&N didn’t, I probably would have taken a job there.”
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