Although the COVID-19 pandemic left so many child development centers around the country with no option but to close their doors, St. Mary Villa Child Development Center continued to thrive. It now is preparing an expansion to accommodate the growing need for quality child care.
“St. Mary Villa provides licensed, ‘3-star’ rated (the highest rating awarded by the State of Tennessee) full-time childcare,” according to the official website. “Our formalized approach to child development is centered around educational ‘play’ in a nurturing environment. We tailor programs according to each child’s needs, based on evaluation and strategic planning activities.”
Currently, St. Mary Villa is operating 12 classrooms in the former St. Vincent de Paul School building, teaching 157 children ranging in age from 6 weeks old to 5 years old, with plans to open a 13th classroom in August, to serve some of the more than 300 families currently on the waitlist.
“This is the third time we will have expanded since I’ve been here,” explained Alyssa Garnett-Arno, St. Mary Villa executive director, who came on in 2019. “When I started here four years ago, we were only downstairs, and we only had five classrooms” accommodating about 60 students.
Read the full article in The Tennessee Register
