By Jim Kinney | jkinney@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD — Square One child care says it’s “back to Square One,” reopening in a new $15.5 million center on William Street, 14 years after a 2011 tornado destroyed its old building in the neighborhood.
“They are back where they belong” in the South End, said Leo Florian, the longtime president of the South End Citizens Council.
Square One honored Florian on Friday at a ribbon cutting. Also thanked were Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care Amy Kershaw, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, members of the state Legislature, auto dealer and benefactor James E. “Jeb” Balise and the MassMutual Foundation, Red Sox Foundation and The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation.
Square One also bought the older, next-door building with the support of Balise and is remodeling that brick warehouse to serve families.
“We are going to have another ribbon cutting here next year,” said Square One President and CEO Dawn DiStefano.
All were gathered at the school’s outdoor play space with nearby sandbox, ramps and play equipment. All of it, like the interior of the four classrooms, is designed with an eye to young learners under age 6.
“We know that children’s brains at that age are going by the nanosecond,” said DiStefano.
And the environment at Square One’s new facility is built to support those little growing minds. The light fixtures are all different shapes, and the ceilings are built with swirls and curves — no regimented, symmetrical lines.
“That creates curiosity,” DiStefano said. “The kids are trying to figure out, ‘What’s this all about?’”
The classrooms all have big windows open to the outside, too.
“We want them stimulated by the world,” she said. “‘Oh, the clouds are moving!’ ‘It’s raining!’ We want them to see the seasons change.”
And lots of wood. Not as much plastic.
Only one of the four classrooms is open at the moment, having started classes earlier this fall. It takes a year to open a facility like this one in phases, DiStefano said.
The delay is because it takes time to ramp up staffing.
“One of the reasons we are here in the South End is because we want people to come here and join us,” she said.
There is need for more child care workers. Eventually there will be 30 to 35 teachers working in classrooms and about 80 total employees — including administrative and human resources staff for all of Square One’s locations — at the William Street building.
The building’s financing included $4.4 million in New Market Tax Credits from the federal government and $1 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, a Community Development Block Grant and other funding through the city of Springfield.
“You can’t put a price tag on this, because you’re giving young people and their families the opportunity to move forward,” Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said.
Neal, D-Springfield, said he’s championed the New Market Tax Credits for 25 years. The program helps finance projects in neighborhoods starved for investment.
“If there was a lesson that comes out of the pandemic, it’s the number of women who left the workforce and haven’t yet really returned. If women had to choose between caring for children or staying in the workforce during the pandemic, they left the workforce. And ever so slowly, they’ve come back to the workforce, but not in the numbers that they previously did,” Neal said.
