ONTARIO — Natasha Repp believes providing child care is more than just a business. It’s an investment in children and their future.
Repp, founder and CEO of Clover Hill Early Learning Center, has nearly three decades of experience in early childhood education. She opened her center in November 2023 because she believed there was a need for more high-quality child care in the community.
She has witnessed firsthand the role high-quality child care plays in preparing children for their transition into the classroom and even adulthood.
Ninety percent of brain development is complete by age 5, according to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Although brain development continues into a person’s mid-20s, those first five years are critical to long-term learning potential.
From birth to age 3, children’s brains are being “hardwired,” Repp said.
“That’s when their attachments and relationships are established,” she said. “If you have a child that is limited in establishing those relationships and being with other children — having that social/emotional interaction — that plays a very big part in their lives and how they transition as they get older and into adulthood.”
Knowing the impact of quality child care — and the need for more slots — Repp decided to open a second learning center.
She said enrollment is filling quickly for the coming location, estimated to open in Ontario in July or August of 2025.
“We’re bursting,” Repp said. “It’s a good thing. But we’re still not fulfilling the needs of the community, so that’s why we’re opening another program.”
How a lack of care sets students (and schools) behind
Research and clinical experience show that brain development, social-emotional and cognitive skills are dramatically influenced through children’s earliest relationships with parents and other caregivers, according to ZERO TO THREE.
Christie Krumlaw, director of Ashland’s YMCA child care program, said child care can also help expand children’s horizons.
As a private preschool, Krumlaw said Ashland’s YMCA program enrolls students who come from several different economic classes, family structures and ethnic backgrounds.
“They get to meet all these people that maybe in their world, they wouldn’t necessarily meet,” she said.
When children arrive in kindergarten, it isn’t difficult to identify the students who attended preschool, Repp said.
“They adapt better,” she said. “They understand structure and when teachers are giving instruction on expectations and objectives — what they’re wanting the children to learn.
“Children who haven’t had preschool, it’s a learning curve. They’re coming in from being at home or with grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, whoever they’re with, to a whole new environment with lots of kids,” she said.
“Preschool is invaluable. I think it’s very important to give a child the best start.”
— Natasha Repp, founder/CEO of Clover Hill Early Learning Center
Curriculum and activities may look slightly different among child care providers.
At Repp’s center, play-based learning is a staple. Music, literacy, writing and other activities are main focuses — designed to help children hit early learning content standards prior to starting kindergarten.
Children who lack exposure to these developmental opportunities may feel the impact as they age, Repp said.
Quality matters
High-quality child care provides numerous opportunities for children, but not every family has access to reap the benefits of these programs.
While there’s no universally-accepted definition of quality child care, experts typically point to factors like well-trained and well-supported staff, age-appropriate curriculum and supportive and nurturing teachers.
In Ohio, early learning and development programs are evaluated through Step Up To Quality, a three-tier quality rating and improvement system. The system recently transitioned from a five-star to three-level rating model (gold, silver and bronze).
These programs are staffed by skilled workers who have been trained in the social, emotional and language pieces of child care — and can advise parents on early interventions, if necessary.
“If they (kids) walk into a classroom and immediately feel unsuccessful, that colors their future.”
— Peg Tazewell, executive director of Knox County Head Start, Inc.
Continued professional development is also common for workers in these programs.
Programs labeled “highly rated” are those achieving the silver or gold levels, according to the Ohio Department of Children and Youth.
While achieving a silver or gold rating involves a considerably larger amount of paperwork, Samantha Barrick, director of Milestones Learning Center of Ashland, said the rewards for children far outweigh the office work.
“They really need to see that we are teaching through the things we are doing, that the play kids are doing is intentional,” Barrick said. “That holds our teachers more accountable.”
A strong start
What is the impact to society when accessible, high-quality child care is unavailable?
Research shows that low-income children can be harmed by low-quality care, according to the First Five Years Fund — a bipartisan advocacy organization focused on increasing access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education.
The First Five Years Fund cites analysis from Dr. Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal at the University of Pittsburgh, which explains the amount of time children spend in low-quality care arrangements is related to elevated levels of externalizing behavior problems.
That can make it more difficult for teachers to do their job, said YWCA Data Manager Susan Martin.
“If a teacher gets a large number of children who are not ready to be in that environment, (they are) spending more time correcting behaviors, dealing with social emotional issues,” Martin said.
“That really drags down what capacity they have for all of the children in that classroom, which of course, affects their schooling as they continue on.”
Peg Tazewell, executive director of Knox County Head Start, Inc., said children learn valuable life skills at high-quality centers that go beyond the academic side of programs.
Skills like buttoning a jacket, tying shoes and opening a lunch shouldn’t be overlooked, Tazewell said.
“If you send a child to public school and life skills haven’t been taught yet, you have a real problem,” she said. “And for kids, if they walk into a classroom and immediately feel unsuccessful, that colors their future.
“A strong start can make a real difference in families’ lives and the trajectory of families,” she said.