We are pleased to report that the Board of Directors of the Door County Community Foundation, Inc. has unanimously agreed to embrace the Northern Door Children Center’s Essential Campaign and administer it under their corporate umbrella.
Contributions should be directed to:
Northern Door Children’s Center Essential Campaign
c/o Door County Community Foundation, Inc.
222 North Third Avenue
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
All contributions will be held by the Community Foundation and restricted solely for use by Northern Door Children’s Center as a part of the Essential Campaign. For more information, or to discuss a gift of stock or other appreciated assets, contact the Community Foundation at (920) 746-1786.
Northern Door Children’s Center Essential Campaign is a component fund of the Door County Community Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. Hence, all contributions are deductible to the fullest extent as allowed by law.
As a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, Northern Door Children’s Center has a volunteer Board of Directors. Many of the board members have served as long as ten years. They are a multi-talented group representing parents, grandparents, business owners, public school teachers, retirees and members of the local clergy.
Our Board is a very “hands-on” group of individuals who are involved with long-term planning and who keep an eye on the big picture of Northern Door Children’s Center’s operations. The Board meets monthly and also periodically participates in long-term strategic planning events. Once a year, they host an annual open meeting and invite families and members of the community to attend.
Northern Door Children’s Center is honored to benefit from the counsel and wisdom of an experienced volunteer Leadership Team. Their insight and advice have helped shape the scope of this project and will be invaluable as the renovation process expands and reconfigures the Center.
For more information about the NDCC Essential Campaign and the Phase 2 building renovations, please contact Karl Wise, Essential Campaign Team Chair, by email at jkwise948@gmail.com.
c/o Door County Community Foundation
222 N 3rd Ave, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
- Our current facility (after the completion of Phase I) is licensed to serve 130 children ages 6 weeks through 11 years old.
- Upon completion of Phase II, we expect to be licensed for up to 160 children.
- We currently serve 16 infants, 27 toddlers, 26 three-year-olds, 18 four-year-olds, and 58 school-age children in our Camp Cool summer day camp.
- We employ 3 full-time, regular administrators, 12 full-time, regular teachers, and 3 part-time support staff (bookkeeping, maintenance, cleaning). In addition, we have a staff of regular substitute teachers who work in the programs regularly. We employ 5-7 seasonal staff (usually college students or teachers for the summer season).
- We are a seasonal business with summer and fall being our busiest times. That is changing and more year-round workers are requiring full-time, year-round child care for their families.
- We currently have a waiting list of 21 infants and toddlers and 3 three-year-olds.
- Our original facility is 9400 square feet. The Essential Campaign will add approximately 4,000 square feet and reconfiguring interior spaces for maximum benefit.
- We operate Monday through Friday, year-round, with the exception of 8 holidays.
- We follow state-mandated child/teacher ratios and strive to add additional staffing when possible to keep the ratio as low as possible. Low child/teacher ratios increase the quality of care/education.
- Parents who have children enrolled at NDCC work in professions across the spectrum, from remote workers for large corporations to local tradespeople and hospitality/tourism workers. Over our 37-year history, we have had a multitude of professions represented in our families.
- Our educational programs include an Infant/Toddler looping program, a Three-year-old kindergarten, a Four-year-old kindergarten, and Camp Cool School Age Program.
c/o Door County Community Foundation
222 N 3rd Ave, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
In 1986, a busy group of Northern Door parents decided it was time for their young children to have a child care center of their own. At first, the parents took turns caring for each other’s children as a parent cooperative. In a short amount of time, it was apparent that child care involves more than simply providing food and games for children. Quality child care requires early childhood professionals who are specially trained in helping young children thrive.
That was how Northern Door Children’s Center was born.
The first home of the Center was in the Old Sister Bay School House. Thanks to the financial support of the community, and the remarkable generosity of Judith Blazer in particular, a state-of-the-art child care facility was opened in 1999 and licensed to serve more than one hundred children from age 6 weeks to 12 years old, operating year-round with a full-time teaching and administrative staff. Cindy Trinkner-Peot was named Executive Director in 2000.
While our existing home was legitimately “state-of-the-art” when it was opened nearly 25 years ago, both technology and educational techniques have changed considerably over the years. Further, as one of only three licensed child care facilities in the County, and the only one dedicated to serving those who live and/or work in Northern Door, the demand for our services continues to climb.
That’s why it’s so critical that Northern Door Children’s Center expands. This $3.6 million capital campaign will dramatically improve our ability to serve the children of the workers who serve our community. Phase I is $1.2 million of new construction that will enable us to offer an expanded 4-year-old kindergarten curriculum up to 50 children in partnership with the Gibraltar School District. Thanks to an initial $1 million gift to the campaign from a generous new friend of the Center, construction on the 4K part of the Center has already begun. Phase II is a $2.4 million reconfiguration and expansion of existing space, including enlarging both the infant and toddler classrooms.
Your contribution makes certain that we can serve the children of the people who serve you and the entire Northern Door community.
c/o Door County Community Foundation
222 N 3rd Ave, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
The primary purpose of Northern Door Children’s Center is to provide high-quality child care services for children through a stimulating and accepting environment. We strive to provide a balanced curriculum with activities and opportunities to enhance and develop each individual child’s physical, social, emotional, creative and intellectual development.
All curriculum is developed and based on Creative Curriculum, the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards, the Pyramid Model for Social-Emotional Education and the Teaching Strategies Gold standardized assessment, performed three times per year for each child. Lesson plans are developed weekly to meet the needs of each child and each classroom.
Northern Door Children’s Center boasts a core group of early childhood educators and administrators who work year-round. Each summer, our staff increases as the number of children grows. College students, usually studying education or human services, join the Northern Door Children’s Center staff during these busy summer months, and some return year after year. Turnover is quite rare at Northern Door Children’s Center, with many of our dedicated staff employed here for ten years or more.
Research tells us that the higher the level of education in the teaching staff, the higher the quality of the early childhood program. Each teacher who joins the Northern Door Children’s Center staff and who does not already hold a four-year degree in education must begin work toward completing a degree as a condition of employment.
Thanks to a scholarship program through the state of Wisconsin, our teachers are able to attend college online and complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. With the scholarship and assistance from Northern Door Children’s Center, our teachers pay only a small fraction of the cost. In addition, we provide regular in-house training specifically tailored to meet the needs of our staff and students.
Our highly educated and qualified teaching staff are the number one reason the educational experience we provide at Northern Door Children’s Center is the very best for our students and their families. And our talented administrative staff offers ongoing support to the teaching staff, resulting in a strong, cohesive team.
A contribution to Northern Door Children’s Center Essential Campaign will ensure that our essential early care and education center will continue to fill the needs of the youngest members of our Northern Door community.
c/o Door County Community Foundation
222 N 3rd Ave, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
c/o Door County Community Foundation
222 N 3rd Ave, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235