NEDERLAND, Colo. — The community of Nederland gathered Thursday afternoon to sign well wishes on the final beam for a new childcare facility, marking a major milestone in addressing the town's desperate need for early childhood care.
The celebration comes as families in the town face a severe childcare shortage that has forced some parents to make difficult career decisions.
Jamie Curry, a mother of three, experienced this firsthand after having her youngest child last year.
"Ultimately, I had to resign from that position, from being a teacher, and now I can only work part-time at the school because child care was so difficult to find, especially for an infant," Curry said.
Nederland's childcare crisis reflects a broader problem across Colorado's mountain communities.
The waitlist at the town's only preschool currently has 89 names, with 50% of those families needing care within the next 6 months.
The town is addressing this challenge by building a new childcare facility, New Explorers Learning Center, from the ground up.
Jennifer Karowe, board president at Teens, Inc., the youth organization that will operate the facility, emphasized the community-wide support for the project.
The Early Childhood Education Center was made possible through an ongoing partnership between TEENS, Inc., the Town of Nederland government, and community donors.
"It's not just parents or grandparents," said Karowe. "It's community members who don't have kids, or their kids are grown up and long gone, but they're really supportive of us, and so it takes a village, and that's what I'm really grateful for."
Once complete, the new facility will triple the amount of licensed childcare available locally.
State Senator Janice Marchman, a Democrat who represents Boulder and Larimer counties, and who was at Tuesday's topping-off ceremony, said the facility's opening will benefit both children and parents by creating workforce opportunities.
"This is going to be a workforce opener for people. So many in our community up here end up working either remotely or they head down the hill, and that's where they put their kids into daycare," Marchman said.
The building is set to open in fall 2026.
Curry said two of her youngest children will attend.
"We are so grateful for the community to have a place for all of the growing families to go soon," she said.
