Cornell Child Care Center : FAQ
Is it true that the university is building a new child care center?
Yes. Because of the shortage of child care options in the community, particularly for infants and toddlers, Cornell has determined that it is necessary to build a new center to support the recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students.
Where will the child care center be located?
The center will be located on the north side of campus, adjacent to the A lot.
How many children will the center accommodate?
The center will accommodate 158 children: approximately 48 infants, 50 toddlers, and 60 pre-school age children.
Who will be able to use the child care center?
The Cornell Child Care Center will serve students, faculty and staff of Cornell University. As space permits, other Cornell affiliates, such as alumni, will be able to use the center. Because of space limitations, the center will not be open to the public.
When will the child care center open?
It is expected to open to children of Cornell employees in late summer/early fall 2008.
What is the anticipated cost for a child to attend the new center?
Cornell's child care center will be competitive with other providers in the community. As soon as the rates become available, we will publish them here and in the Cornell Chronicle.
Will Cornell run the child care center?
No, the center will be owned by Cornell University but will be managed by Bright Horizons Family Solutions.
Who is Bright Horizons?
Bright Horizons, founded in 1986, is a leading provider of employer-sponsored child care, early education, family support, and work/life services. For more than twenty years, they have designed, developed, and managed child care and early education programs for employers that insist on a very high level of quality in their child care centers. Their founders, Linda Mason and Roger Brown, are well known as pioneers in developing employer-sponsored workplace services.
Today, as the leader in employer-sponsored child care with a depth of resources unparalleled in the industry, Bright Horizons mission is to provide the highest-quality early child care and education in the world. They currently manage more than 600 child care and early education centers for more than 700 clients in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, the UK, and Ireland. These programs serve more than 70,000 children and their families.
What is Bright Horizons' experience in a campus environment?
Bright Horizons' has more than 30 higher education clients who have sponsored child care and early education centers, including: Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Iowa State, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Roosevelt University, and the University of South Florida, among many others.
What is Bright Horizons' track record?
Bright Horizons has an excellent track record with its clients, which it attributes to having an understanding of, and dedication to, proactive client service among all constituencies-the families, children, and the sponsoring employer.
Bright Horizons has a parent satisfaction rate of 98%.
Why is Cornell using a for-profit child care provider?
Bright Horizons is an organization with a core mission of helping children and families.
For those parents seeking additional resources beyond those that can be provided through Bright Horizons, the center will have resource listings of educational specialists, medical consultants, nutritionists, speech therapists, and other community professionals who are available to work with children, families, and staff. All of the New York centers are involved with local school districts and agencies that supply resources for children with special needs.
Bright Horizons' program for learning, The World at Their Fingertips, is sometimes supplemented by offering enrichment "specialists" from the local community, including guests sharing their music, dance, and foreign language talents.
When will you begin accepting applications for the Cornell Child Care Center?
We will let you know as soon as we know this date, both here and in the Cornell Chronicle.
How do I get more information about the Cornell child care center?
Check this FAQ frequently, as it is updated regularly with new information.