SPOKANE, Wash. — A local nonprofit is opening a new early learning center in hopes of alleviating the urgent need for childcare in our area.
On January 17, The Raze Early Learning and Development Center will celebrate breaking ground on it’s new facility in North Spokane.
The center is part of a local nonprofit of the same name dedicated to addressing Spokane County’s need for more high quality early childhood education, especially for those most underserved communities.
“If you don’t have a healthy early learning childcare and learning ecosystem, you don’t have workforce development. You don’t have economic vitality and upward mobility,” Kerra Bower, Executive Director of Raze Early Learning and Development Centers said.
A recent state report shows more than 70% of children under the age of five in Washington are in need of childcare, currently only 29% are licensed to receive it.
The issue is familiar to Spokane mom, Emilee Rosenau.
“Having to be away from her, it’s not my first choice. I would love to stay home with her for the first couple years of her life, but I’m a working mom,” said Rosenau.
She said striking the balance between work and her child’s needs has been difficult.
“I do love my career and I spent a lot of time in college to get my degree, so it’s important to me that I can get working on it. But, being able to have childcare and work and make that be good for her and myself… it is a challenging thing,” said Rosenau.
The eventual facility will offer 170 new slots for children ages 4 weeks to 12 years.
“It s a project that I started researching back in 2019. This is our culture. It’s a culturally-based preschool and development center based on Black excellence and joy,” Bower said.
Of the 170 spots, 40 will be reserved for working families. The center will also provide before and after-school care with transportation. It will operate Monday-Friday, 5:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m., ensuring flexible hours for working caregivers’ schedules.
Raze also offers onsite mental and behavioral health supports, culturally responsive and individualized curriculum and family engagement and partnerships.
The hope is for the center to open its doors in September 2025.
For more information on Raze Early Learning and Development Center, visit razethenarrative.com.
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