DDDC hosted Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, Sen. Jim Burgin in event focusing on child care, early education in NC
Photo: Members of the The Task Force with Sen. Jim Burgin back center and Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, front center {Contributed Photo}
Davidson-Davie Community College hosted Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, Sen. Jim Burgin in an event focusing on the future of child care, early education in NC
THOMASVILLE– Davidson-Davie Community College served as a fitting site to host Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt and North Carolina Senator Jim Burgin, co-chairs of the North Carolina Task Force on Child Care and Early Education. The college is one of 15 out of 58 community colleges in the state that has its own fully operating child care center.
After Task Force members and staff toured the Davidson-Davie Community College Child Development Center, Lt. Gov. Hunt and Sen. Burgin led a Task Force meeting that included a guided discussion with Davidson-Davie leaders. The session offered representatives at the college an opportunity to share successes and challenges of operating an on-site child care facility alongside academic programming.
“The Task Force is focused on listening to communities and understanding what it really takes to deliver high-quality child care across North Carolina,” said Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt, Task Force Co-Chair. “Davidson-Davie shows what’s possible when education and child care come together, and visits like this help us shape real solutions for families and our workforce.”
Jenny Varner, president of Davidson-Davie, noted the unique opportunity at the college – having a full child-care center next to academic programs.
“That is perhaps the greatest bonus for us; our students are taking early childhood education courses on campus and we have a learning lab right here,” Varner said. “We have the ability to show our students and have them train in that learning lab, so it makes it a little different than independent child care centers in the community – and you can’t replace that experience.”
But, she added, there are still gaps not being filled on campus and many gaps out in communities. That’s precisely the mission of the Task Force on Child Care and Early Education. Established in 2025 by Gov. Josh Stein, the Task Force works to improve access to affordable, high-quality care and aims to deliver innovative and rewarding child care benefits to the workforce and communities.
The college, for example, is a prime location to learn more about what works and what needs improvement. It’s an academic space with real-world opportunities – and is tasked with maintaining high quality practices for students while running a professional child care center, noted Sonja Eley-Ghee, director of the Child Development Center at Davidson-Davie. “Our teachers are responsible for maintaining licensing requirements, delivering curriculum and dealing with relations with families while meeting the diverse needs of their children.”
That poses significant challenges, such as staffing capacity, Eley-Ghee explained. “When a practical student or an observer walks in, they have to wear an additional hat of being a mentor and a structural model. That alone, on their already full day, takes time, emotional capacity and reflective practice. … At the same time, we make sure we are delivering and being professional. (Students) get to see firsthand, not just what they are reading in a textbook, what early childhood education looks like.”
Dr. Bill Steed, member of the Davidson-Davie Board of Trustees, added that there are many underserved families who can’t afford child care and while “we’re not solving it yet, we talk a lot about it. Down the road, the long-term goal is how do you prepare kids to do better in life with the college model; we’re addressing that. We feel very good about what’s going on here.”
“There are really rewarding things that are going on in child care and early education in the state,” added Samantha Cole, NC Commerce Child Care Business Liaison. “It’s a challenging issue and it can be difficult sometimes to see pathways forward around problems that are really big and challenging. … (Davidson-Davie) has a moving commitment and delivers amazing child care and early education services on campus to the children of faculty and staff, as well as your students and members of the public.
