Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said that the opening of Micron’s new Early Learning Center in Boise, was just the first step in a long process of addressing the need for childcare in the Treasure Valley but emphasized that it’s an important first step.
According to CBS2 reporting, Mayor McLean said “there is so much more we can do in this community to follow the lead of [Micron] in creating a childcare facility like this. It was just two years ago that President Biden signed the Chips and Science Act, and in that time, so much has happened in this community to grow opportunity.”
Speaking at a ribbon cutting event today, August 15, 2024, McLean was joined by Idaho Governor Brad Little in expressing hope that the Center would become a model for childcare locally.
“This is the right thing to do as we compete for the best engineers, families, and workers,” Little said. “In the creation of world class semi-conductors, this is going to be critical.”
Day-to-day operations will be run by the YMCA, Duro explained, who will apply what he described as a “vast pool of institutional knowledge” about childcare in the Treasure Valley.
“I can tell you what, it is a great day at your YMCA,” David Duro, President of the Treasure Valley YMCA said. “This center is the next step in a long partnership that the YMCA has enjoyed with Micron. Together we have supported children and families, taught them skills, tech, and shared hope they’d become lifelong learners.”
The Center is built exclusively to serve the children of Micron employees, who will be able to receive care and education there up until their first year of school. Despite that exclusivity, plans are already in place by the Treasure Valley YMCA to open a new childcare facility in downtown Boise, to be announced later this month.
That facility, set to feature a cooperative model, seeking to partner with local businesses for “childcare slots.” Duro said that the YMCA’s partnership with Micron informed many decisions regarding the yet-to-be-announced Boise center.
For Micron, the Center is both an opportunity to be “a part of the solution,” and provide “peace of mind for our existing workforce,” April Arzen, Chief People Officer at Micron said. “Employers are just now realizing if we don’t help become a part of the solution, we won’t be able to access the talent we need.”
