About

Former Whitewater residents Steve and Billie Moksnes have donated $10M to the Whitewater Community Foundation to plan, build and operate an early care and education center to meet the growing child care needs of the Whitewater community.

Project goals

An attractive, centrally-located center with easy access to outside play spaces
A high-quality, play-based curriculum, similar to that of the UW-Whitewater Children’s Center
A center that enhances — and does not compete with — existing providers
A close collaboration with the Whitewater Unified School District
An inclusive fee structure that ensures access for all
ESL programming and support to help non-native English speakers become kindergarten-ready
Competitive teacher compensation to encourage retention

Stretch goals

Programming from birth through kindergarten
An optional dual-language classroom
A replicable model for other communities to follow

Process

Working closely with Billie and Steve Moksnes, this project is being co-led by Kristine Zaballos, a close family member, and Thayer Coburn, a community member.

Driving the project, which is expected to take 1.5 to 2.5 years until the doors are open, are a working group, subgroups, and an advisory board.

Working group: Led by Kristine Zaballos and Thayer Coburn, this group will drive the process of deciding the course of action, task the individual sub groups with their goals, consider the recommendations of the sub groups, and make key decisions. This is a working group, and the expectation is that members will be available for monthly meetings initially and biweekly meetings once the decision-making stage is at hand. Most meetings will be online/virtual.

Subgroups: Key individuals from the working group will be asked to lead sub groups that will do a deeper dive into critical aspects of the project, including site selection and financial modeling, mission and vision, curriculum, outreach, and implementation. Subgroups are free to meet as often and in any way needed to fulfill their goals in a timely manner, as delineated by the working group.

Advisory group: This group consists of interested individuals who represent key perspectives — such as business owners, economic development professionals, childcare providers, or teachers — who are unable to participate in regular meetings but would like to contribute, including reviewing plans as they are developed and offering feedback. No separate meetings are expected, but advisory group members are welcome to join working group meetings.

As the project progresses, a legal entity will be created and a formal board will be formed. At the completion of the project the above groups will be dissolved, and those interested in being involved in the ongoing oversite of the center will be invited to apply to the board.

For questions about this project, email WhitewaterECEC@gmail.com.