'What Joy In Children's Faces' Seen At Learning Center In Fairfax

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Four government officials visited the Main Street Child Development Center in Fairfax City on Friday to see how recent state, local and federal funding is being used to provide affordable childcare for working families.

Carol Lieske, Main Street's executive director, welcomed Virginia First Lady Pamela Northam, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (Virginia), Del. Dan Helmer (40th District), and Jeff McKay, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairman, to the center, which has been providing early childhood education programs for nearly 50 years.

"Our mission is to provide high-quality, comprehensive early childhood education and support services to children and their families, and that's regardless of income," Lieske said. "Most of our children are from families of lower income or low-to-moderate income."

As a community, not-for-profit childhood development center, Main Street faced many hurdles due to the COVID-19 pandemic and not all of them were financial.

Katherine Pardo, Main Street's director of finance, said Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans proved to be a critical resource during the pandemic.

"When we closed our doors for two months in March, we didn't know if we were going to have the money to keep our staff, which back then we had 31 employees," she said.

Even though Main Street's doors were closed, the staff remained in constant contact with its students and families, many of whom did not have a support system in place other than the center to answer questions during the pandemic.

The PPP loans allowed Main Street to retain all of its employees during the pandemic. That way, the center could continue to be a support system for the low-income families it served.

"We're also a private organization, and we rely on donations and grants," Leiske said. "So, we were able to get some really wonderful support from our individual donors, and even our foundations and some of our corporate grants."

Main Street received a sustainability grant from Fairfax County though the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation.

"In the last year, many of our centers were closed for weeks or months, and then they reopened with a few students, a handful," Kaine said. "COVID-19 has made parents anxious and they're trying to figure things out. We've done some things together to try to help our centers get through this tough time."

In March, Kaine voted to pass American Rescue Plan, which provided $39 billion to child care providers through the Child Care Development Block Grant Program. He also introduced Child Care for Working Families Act in April, which would expand access to preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds, and increase compensation and training for child care workers.

The four visitors had the chance to talk to some of the teachers about the work they do at the center. They also visited a classroom where Northam read a book to a group of children and Kaine led a singalong of "You Are My Sunshine" while playing the harmonica.

Friday's visit gave Main Street an opportunity to show off how they've been educating the children and preparing them for a lifetime of learning and success, Lieske said.

"What joy was in the children's faces," Northam said, when asked what stood out about Friday's visit. "To see their amazing enthusiasm for learning in-person here in this school. Not only are they safe, they're learning. They're being challenged by their peers and their wonderful teachers, and making great progress."