What is the relationship of the child care centers to Harvard?
How do centers decide who gets a space?
If I am student enrolled at Harvard, am I guaranteed a slot for my child?
If I am staff or faculty member employed by Harvard, am I guaranteed a slot for my child?
If I live in Harvard housing, am I guaranteed a slot for my child in a child care center in that complex?
If I am not affiliated with Harvard, may I apply?
How do I apply?
When should I apply?
If I apply to one child care center, have I applied to them all?
When do centers make enrollment decisions?
What are my chances of getting a slot?
How long are the waiting lists, and what does my position on a waiting list mean?
How can I increase my odds of getting a slot?
Why can’t centers just add another child to a group or create one more room?
How easy it to move from one child care center to another?
Do slots ever open up mid-year?
Where do my tuition payments go?
How do the centers set their tuition rates?
Is there any financial aid available to help pay for child care?
What are the differences among the centers?
If my child doesn’t get a slot in one of the Harvard Centers, where else should I look?
If my family doesn’t choose to apply to a Harvard affiliated child care center, where else should I look?
What is the relationship of the child-care centers to Harvard?
Six non-profit, independent child-care centers are located in University space. Five are on the Cambridge campus and one is in the Allston section of Boston, near the Business School Campus. See map. These child-care centers give preference to Harvard affiliates. Each center is an independent nonprofit organization with its own board of directors. Each center makes its own curricular and enrollment decisions.
In addition, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health a limited number of slots in two Longwood Medical Area child-care centers. Please visit the Harvard Medical Center Office of Work and Family for more information.
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How do centers decide who gets a space?
Each center offers spaces to current families first, giving returning children and siblings priority because all believe in the importance of continuity of care for families. Preference is then given to Harvard faculty, staff and students, and other affiliates.
If I am student enrolled at Harvard, am I guaranteed a slot for my child?
No. Families must apply, and children are enrolled on a space-available basis. Each child care center sets its own enrollment dates and procedures.
If I am staff or faculty member employed by Harvard, am I guaranteed a slot for my child?
No. Families must apply, and children are enrolled on a space-available basis. Each child care center sets its own enrollment dates and procedures.
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If I live in Harvard housing, am I guaranteed a slot for my child in a child care center in that complex?
No. Families must apply, and children are enrolled on a space-available basis. Each child care center sets its own enrollment dates and procedures.
If I am not affiliated with Harvard, may I apply?
Yes. Members of the community may participate on a space-available basis.
How do I apply?
Call or send an e-mail to each individual child care center to request application materials. Make an appointment with the director to visit the centers you would like to consider. Follow that center’s application procedure to apply.
When should I apply?
You should apply as early as possible. It’s a good idea to apply as much as a year or more in advance. But please note: Even if you are applying “late,” it would be a mistake to assume that every center is always full and that it’s not worth applying. This is a very mobile population and things can change quickly.
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If I apply to one child care center, have I applied to them all?
No. Families must apply to each center individually.
When do centers make enrollment decisions?
The timing varies from center to center, but is typically between March and May, and then ongoing until all slots are filled.
What are my chances of getting a slot?
The child-care centers are very popular and receive many applications. Certain classrooms may fill up quickly. Even if you are applying “late,” however, it would be a mistake to assume that they are always full and that it’s not worth applying. This is a very mobile population and things can change quickly. The Office of Work/Life Resources typically encourage families to apply to a center you think you might be interested in, while educating yourself about other options.
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How long are the waiting lists, and what does my position on a waiting list mean?
Waiting lists don’t tell us much. Families may have their names on several lists at the same time, and they may leave their name on a waiting list even once they are enrolled elsewhere. Centers are unlikely to give you an actual number on their waiting list, as the number of families in the categories ahead of you may change. In addition, you may be waiting only for a full time space, and someone who applied after you and wants a part-time spot may get offered a space first if that is what comes open (or vice versa). In each category, date of application is the determining factor from one application to the next. A center may tell you that it estimates a certain number of applications ahead of yours for a certain age group at a given moment, but history shows that it is not a great indicator of who gets a spot.
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How can I increase my odds of getting a slot?
Apply early, and stay flexible. In centers where there are several possible schedules, the more flexibility you have the better your chances of getting an offer.
Why can’t centers just add another child to a group or create one more room?
Child-care centers are licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. Group sizes, adult-to-child ratios, and the number of square feet required per child are all regulated by law.
How easy it to move from one child care center to another?
The child care centers are not part of a single system. Once you have signed a contract with one child care center, you have made a commitment to that center. There is no way to “transfer” from one to another. If you want to withdraw from a center, you must follow its procedures and adhere to its policies, which is likely to mean being responsible for tuition until the end of the contract.
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Do slots ever open up mid-year?
Each of the centers requires parents to sign a contract. The majority of enrollment is focused around the academic calendar, with new enrollment concentrated in the fall. While there are sometimes mid year enrollments, most children remain in their programs for the length of the contract.
Where do my tuition payments go?
The revenue for all six centers is generated by parent tuitions and fees. Families’ tuition payments fund the budgets of the child care centers; payments do not go to Harvard. The centers are independent 501(c)(3) – non-profit corporations. Eighty-five to 92 percent of the child-care centers’ total budgets go to personnel costs: salaries and benefits. Because the centers are individually incorporated non-profits, they pay small-business rates for their benefits, and negotiate and pay for their own health plans and insurance policies.
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How do the centers set their tuition rates?
The centers, guided by their parent-run boards of directors, have invested in recruiting and retaining skilled and experienced personnel. An overwhelming body of evidence connects educated and experienced caregivers, together with small group sizes and low teacher-child ratios, with high-quality early childhood programs. Across the six centers, three-quarters of teachers have BA, MA or higher degrees; salaries are higher than normative given longer teacher tenure; historic turnover is low; many group sizes are smaller than both National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) standards and Massachusetts regulations; and teacher/child ratio is better than required by both NAEYC standards and Massachusetts regulations.
Despite this longstanding commitment to quality and ongoing efforts to recruit and retain the best staff, the child care centers are faced with a national trend toward a shortage of educated and experienced caregivers, and the pressure of maintaining livable salaries, benefits and providing necessary professional development opportunities.
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Is there any financial aid available to help pay for child care?
Some of the child care centers make a limited amount of internally generated financial aid available each year. Consult individual centers for more information. Some of the programs also have spaces supported by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care for income-eligible families. Please consult with individual programs to see what these options are.
Benefits-eligible faculty, staff and postdocs may be eligible for one of several child care scholarship programs. Please see HARVie for more information.
Doctoral/Ph.D. students may be eligible to apply for limited, pilot funding in 2007-2008 for use at one of the six affiliated child-care centers. Please e-mail worklife@harvard.edu.
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What are the differences among the centers?
Each of the child-care centers was founded in slightly different circumstances at a different time. Their physical spaces, population served, geographic location and original charters have contributed to shaping the organizations. There are some obvious differences: For example while they are all parent governed programs, two centers are co-operatives, meaning parents are required to contribute to daily operation of the center, and the other four are not. One center serves hot lunch. Each center has a slightly different schedule and calendar. Their buildings and outdoor spaces vary. But beyond these surface differences, each center has its own personality. Spend some time looking at their materials, then make appointments to visit. Only you can judge whether a child-care arrangement will work for your family.
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If my child doesn’t get a slot in one of the on-campus centers, where else should I look?
There are several state and local resources that can help you identify other group child care options.
For lists of licensed family day care providers and group child care centers in your community, visit the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and use the "finder" function in the bottom right navigation bar.
The Child Care Resource Center, serving Cambridge and surrounding communities, can help you identify group child care providers that may have space. Child Care Choices of Boston can provide the same services for Boston and Brookline.
If you are a current employee of Harvard University, please visit HARVie to learn more about benefits and services available to you. These include: a preferred-vendor arrangement with a nanny agency, a range of back-up and emergency child care benefits that can be used together with regular child care or to phase in to regular childcare, and tailored resource and referral services.
If you are a graduate student, please contact us at worklife@harvard.edu.
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If my family doesn’t choose to apply to an on-campus child care center, where else should I look?
There are several state and local resources that can help you identify other group child care options.
For lists of licensed family day care providers and group child care centers in your community, visit the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and use the "finder" function in the bottom right navigation bar.
The Child Care Resource Center, serving Cambridge and surrounding communities, can help you identify group child care providers that may have space. Child Care Choices of Boston can provide the same services for Boston and Brookline.
If you are a current employee of Harvard University, please visit HARVie to learn more about benefits and services available to you. These include: a preferred-vendor arrangement with a nanny agency, a range of back-up and emergency child care benefits that can be used together with regular child care or to phase in to regular childcare, and tailored resource and referral services.
If you are a prospective employee, student or visiting scholar, please call the Office of Work/Life Resources 617-495-4100 to be directed to local and university resources.
If you are a graduate student, please contact us at worklife@harvard.edu.
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