There are few waiting lists at Bowdoin as long as the one for the College's Children's Center. There are 53 children currently enrolled in the center and more than 60 on the waiting list, turned away because of space limitations
"It is a fairly long list," Director of the Children's Center Kristen Gold said. "And we add a new name to it almost every week."
Lauded as one of the best childcare facilities in the state, Bowdoin faculty and administrators?and some local parents as well?are hoping to send their kids to Children's Center if and when a spot opens up.
The center has four different programs, each for children of a different age group: an infant program, a younger toddler program, an older toddler program, and a preschool.
The philosophy of the center is one aspect that contributes to its quality.
"We're all about learning through play and individual developmental milestones for each child," Gould explained in an interview with the Orient. "We focus on what we call an emergent curriculum. We take what the children are interested in at the time and develop it into what our curriculum will be for a week, a month, or a few months depending how long their interest is active and they are having fun."
Formerly located in modular trailers, the Children's Center now occupies a new building, designed specifically for the center, on South Street.
According to its Website, "the Bowdoin College Children's Center was founded in the fall of 1988 in response to the strong need for a high-quality early childhood program for children of faculty, staff, and residents of surrounding communities."
Bette Spettel was the center's founding director and was in charge of the Children's Center for its first 11 years.
In the late 1980s, Bowdoin was getting a lot of pressure from faculty to open up a childcare center, according to Spettel.
"To their credit," she said, "they responded to it."
Spettel was brought in to start a childcare program, and the Bowdoin Children's Center opened its doors in September 1988.
As with any childcare center, figuring out the budget for the Children's Center was complicated, Spettel said in an interview with the Orient. She explained the difficulty as the "trilemma" of early childhood care.
"You want to get your costs affordable to the parents who need to be taking advantage of this center," she said. "You need to pay your staff well enough so that you can get quality caregivers and you need to provide a high-quality program, so your numbers can't be huge. So you've got these three things that are all tugging at each other."
In a field of work that pays very little, caregivers at the Children's Center are paid quite well and have an above-average benefits package, according to Gould and Spettel. In an industry that sees a lot of turnover, many caregivers have been at the center for years?some have even been working there since its inception.
According to Gould, the caregiver to child ratio is lower than state requirements?that is, each infant, toddler or preschooler gets more individual attention than mandated by law.
All these factors, as well as the center's philosophy, contribute to its high quality and long waiting list. They also add up to a relatively high tuition.
The 2006-2007 monthly tuition rate for a five-day slot for the infant program is $909. A five-day slot costs $881 and $852 for the younger toddler program and older toddler program, respectively. Preschool costs $738 a month.
"The Children's Center is an expensive model to operate," Vice President for Planning and Development William A. Torrey explained, "and we know that it is only possible, primarily, for faculty and administrative staff [to send their kids there], which we regret."
Torrey, who had two kids go through the center, oversees its operations and is on its advisory board.
As expensive as tuition may be, through subsidies, Bowdoin does help keep the cost of the childcare at the center down, Torrey explained.
"The College is probably subsidizing the center in the range of roughly $50,000 to $75,000 a year," Torrey said. Bowdoin also pays for utilities, maintenance, cleaning, and insurance, he added. The College also picked up the tab for the construction of new building in 2002.
"We feel that the subsidy that we have is the most we can afford to give the center at this point," Torrey said.
When recruiting faculty, it may be money well spent. The Children's Center is a resource to members of the faculty with young children and a potent recruiting tool for bringing professors with infants or toddlers to Bowdoin.
"There's no question that it's an added attraction for both faculty and staff," Torrey said.
When Assistant Professor of Government Laura Henry visited Bowdoin and interviewed for a job at the College, she was given a tour of the Children's Center and was very impressed. Not long after her family arrived in Brunswick, a spot in the young toddler program opened up and her son, Leo, was able to take it.
"We didn't have to be on a waitlist or anything?it was just good luck," Henry said.
Leo is now in preschool and, according to Henry, really enjoys his time at the center.
"We have really felt that the Children's Center is a great resource for childcare," Henry said, lauding the staff members and the creative activities that take place there.
Henry has found the center to be helpful in another way.
"The great unexpected benefit of the Children's Center is that it brought us into a whole community of faculty members and other people from the Brunswick community," she said.
"We have our own little community here," Gould said. "The sense of community Bowdoin provides is just great."
A benefit of having the center on campus is that it serves as a resource for students. As part of the psychology course Infant and Childhood Development, some students intern at the center.
The relationship is mutually beneficial, Gould said. Some students come in to the center to teach the kids.
Emily Goodridge '08 goes to the center every Friday and gives the preschooler mini-lessons in Italian.
"There is a really warm and friendly environment there," she said. "The center is a really fantastic place."
So fantastic, in fact, there are 60 kids lined up at the door hoping to get in.
"We've a wonderful problem in that we've got...one of the best staffs, one of the best programs, without a doubt, of any childcare facilities in the state and probably one of the best in New England?and people want to have their child go there," Torrey said. "It's a continuing balancing act trying to get as many kids into the program as you can."
Neither Bates nor Colby have a childcare center.