The Fort Worth Independent School District’s plans to provide infant and toddler care at its Morningside Elementary campus have been put on pause amid an ongoing facilities study, which is expected to result in school closures within the district.
The proposed early childhood center at Morningside was to be the first space of its kind in Fort Worth ISD with plans to open at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year in August. District officials recently confirmed to the Star-Telegram that the center, intended to provide child care for children up to 3 years old, will no longer open at that time.
“FWISD is committed to supporting a strong early childhood educational system. We are actively assessing programs and potential locations as part of our comprehensive master facility planning process. We will keep the community informed with updates as this process progresses,” District spokesperson Jessica Becerra said in a statement.
Fort Worth ISD’s ongoing, $2 million facilities study comes as enrollment is steadily declining in the district. It’s expected to be finished halfway through this upcoming school year and include recommendations for school closures. The district recently weighed a consolidation proposal to downsize seven middle schools into three larger campuses, but the school board didn’t move forward with it. District officials said there’s a chance those campuses could still be eyed for closures as a result of the study.
Plans for the $6.8 million proposed center at Morningside came forward after voters approved a bond in 2021 that would fund four early learning centers across the district in areas where affordable, high-quality child care was needed. The Morningside site was proposed to have five classrooms, but it was unclear how many children would have been accommodated and whether the district or an outside organization would operate the center. In October, district officials said the design phase for the 9,217-square-foot space was almost 20% complete, and the goal was to finish construction this summer.
The center’s operations would have been similar to Hargrave Elementary School’s early childhood center in neighboring Crowley ISD, which offers the federally-funded Early Head Start program for infants and toddlers from low-income families. The center is run by Child Care Associates, one of the largest child development organizations in North Texas. Although Child Care Associates had no formal role in Fort Worth ISD’s proposal at Morningside Elementary, staff at the organization gave Fort Worth ISD administrators a tour of its operations at Hargrave Elementary’s center.
Child Care Associates CEO and President Kara Waddell declined to comment for this story.
Retha Wilson, owner and director of Like My Own Childcare center located down the street from Morningside Elementary, told the Star-Telegram she was somewhat relieved to hear about the district’s project being put on hold. If it opened in August, there was a potential for her business to take a hit as a result of local families choosing to enroll at the school instead. The beginning of the school year is typically her busiest time for new enrollments for Wilson, as she serves children from 6 months old to 12 years old.
“Maybe that will bring more business to me. Maybe I have a better chance to pick up some more business,” Wilson said of the pause.
Although Morningside Elementary’s ZIP code, 76104, is not considered to be a child care desert, the neighboring 76115 ZIP code only has 23 child care seats per 100 children of working parents, according to Children at Risk, a statewide child advocacy organization. A child care desert is defined by the organization as an area where the demand for child care, for newborns to 5-year-olds, is at least three times greater than the supply. There must be at least 30 children in the area for it to qualify as a desert.
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