NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Child Care of the Berkshires has been undergoing several initiatives to update its facility in the Sarah T. Haskins School.

 

The most recent project is the replacement of its boiler, which was made possible thanks to $50,000 of earmarked funds from the state budget that state Rep. John Barrett III secured. 

 

Barrett visited the child-care agency on Friday to see the dark cyan boiler, highlighting his contribution with a plaque saying, "Representative John Barrett Honorary Boiler — Keeping Kids Warm for Years to Come."

 

"We are really dedicated to giving children of all income levels a really high-quality experience, and a lot of that is space. It makes a difference. It truly does," said Amy Hall, Child Care of the Berkshires president and CEO. 

 

"If a classroom is warm, then kids are going to be comfortable, then they're going to be able to learn. So this boiler helped us keep things a lot better, like the heat is much more even in the building, so the kids are warm, and they can just play and learn and be kids."

 

Barrett has had a close connection to the building since early on in his political career, starting in 1984, when elected mayor of North Adams. 

 

When he first came into office, the building was not in very good shape, he said. 

 

He highlighted how the Child Care of the Berkshires, at the time run by Anne Nemetz-Carlson, was a trailblazer in the education industry and demonstrated child care's importance to a community. 

 

"I think that more than anything else, they became the poster child for the importance of child care here in the Berkshires and throughout the state. They've done a great job at making sure that people were starting to talk about it a long time ago," Barrett said. 

 

"When I first entered the Legislature, there was not a lot of talk about child care. It has now come to the forefront and is now recognized as a very important component of getting a good education for these children, giving them the opportunity that they might not normally have." 

 

The increase of awareness of the importance of childcare has increased because of the great need, Barrett said. 

 

It is important to recognize that in many families both the husbands and wives are working. Additionally there are a lot of single parents, he said. 

 

"There was a need, and very simply, it's made a difference," Barret said. "This has allowed the cost to be kept down for a lot of people too that would not normally have the opportunity to send their kids to an organization or get child-care service." 

 

Child Care of the Berkshires leases the former school building from the city of North Adams and is responsible for its maintenance. It has invested more than $2 million public and private funds into the building to date, including a $1.75 million facelift that included the construction of an elevator.

 

The cost of the lease is waived by the city because of the public service it provides, Mayor Jennifer Macksey said. 

 

She emphasized the importance of the funds that allowed the agency to get the boiler, emphasizing how the building needs heat to provide a good place to learn and thrive. 

 

"The reality is, some of our kids in the city don't have warm homes, so this provides them resources and a good place to learn and thrive," she said. 

 

"Barrett has always been behind education in North Adams 150 percent, and then some from when he was an educator, to his time as mayor, and now as a state rep. So he's a great partner for us on many fronts, but especially in education." 

 

Child Care of the Berkshires also received an Early Education and Out of School Time grant in the amount of $483, 000 from the state Department of Early Education and Care. 

 

This funding will cover the cost of new flooring for two classrooms, which will be done while they are closed in February and March, a new roof, to be installed this summer, and a cedar fence along the playground facing State Street. 

 

Part of this funding was also put toward replacing the gym floor in December.

 

Child Care of the Berkshires was established in 1969 as a small center. Since then it has grown into two locations: the North Adams space with seven classrooms serving about 80 children and another in Adams with two classrooms for preschool and school-age kids, Hall said. 

 

Over the years, it expanded services to also include family support programs, such as a Parent-Child Plus program, which supports 90 families, an early literacy program, and a young parent program. 

 

Additionally, it offers parent education, operates a family center that provides a clothing exchange and free diapers, and manages a network of independent family child-care homes.