About

WHO WE ARE

Campus Child Care, Inc. (CCC) is a private, non-profit organization, founded in July 2017, to merge the six previously independent centers serving the Harvard community on the Cambridge and Allston campuses. CCC was formed to provide the overall administrative services and support to centers so that the leadership of the centers can maintain their focus on the quality of experience for children, families, and staff. CCC has streamlined administrative functions, strengthened collaboration across centers, and improved long-term strategic planning. CCC has an operating agreement with Harvard for the services it provides and in some centers, holds contracts with the local community to provide subsidised care for several of its residents.

Child care centers at Harvard, which opened from 1964 to 1976, were developed by and for the people they serve. The six centers that currently comprise CCC have a rich history on the Harvard campus. Each of the centers has served Harvard families’ infants, toddlers, and preschoolers for decades, and therefore is highly attuned to the specific culture and needs of the Harvard community. In the near future, a new CCC center will open on the Allston campus, slated for occupancy in 2021.

One of the most important principles of the merger was that each of the centers continues to maintain its name, its unique culture and personality as well as its approach to programming and staffing. Environments and curriculum look different across the centers — each represents the specific needs and desires of the children, families, and staff who are enrolled. Each of the CCC centers provides the highest quality of early childhood education and care in partnership with families. Yet each center is special in its own way. CCC respects the diversity of children’s and families’ needs so we encourage each center to develop its own character and responsiveness within the parameters of highest, evidence-based standards in the field.

CCC is committed to inclusivity of children and families. Beyond adhering to legal requirements, CCC strives to be culturally responsive and find ways to work across boundaries of race, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity to embrace and support our diverse families and workforce.

WHAT WE DO

CCC provides high quality early childhood education and care for children ages 2 months to 5 years whose families are affiliated with Harvard University and its host communities. Child care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers is available year-round on a full-time or part-time basis. Each of the centers is conveniently located at the Harvard campuses in Cambridge and Allston. Families are actively engaged in the centers to not only assure the best care for their children, but also to build robust communities of caregivers who create strong connections around the center’s programming and social activities. We find that these child and family relationships often last decades – and sometimes even among the second generation of families who are now enrolled.

Rich early childhood experiences at our centers combine the best of classical education and current research in the field. In our classrooms, you will see materials from the Montessori tradition, children teaching and learning from each other in the spirit of Vygotsky, and documentation inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. At the heart of our program is Piaget’s philosophy that through play, and at their own pace, children are best able to make new skills and concepts their own. Our teachers provide environments designed to spark curiosity and support play, then observe children closely to discover what captivates their students. Each team of teachers reflects upon their observations, and plans curriculum that responds to children’s theories, play, emotions and the larger environment, while introducing new skills and supporting age-appropriate problem solving. This well-planned curriculum may emerge and develop over days, weeks or even years.

We communicate daily with parents about their child’s day so that they fully appreciate their child’s experience individually and as part of the classroom group. We convey to parents that we know their children intimately and fully through our careful observations and documentation. In addition to our conversations at drop-off and pick-up, we provide daily written communication forms for infants and toddlers and weekly written summaries for preschoolers.

In addition to highly qualified staff, each center has an active Center Council. The three primary functions of the Center Council are to: 1) advise the Center Director on key decisions regarding the operations of the center; 2) communicate with the CCC Board of Directors; and 3) build community within the center.

Center Councils meet on a regular basis to stay engaged in all the significant aspects of the centers’ operations and activities.

Board of Directors

CCC is governed by a Board of Directors composed of currently-enrolled parent representatives of each of the CCC centers and subject matter experts. The Board of Directors meets quarterly. There is regular, transparent two-way communications between the Board of Directors and each of the Center Councils.

Board

center rep Benjamin Enke
center rep Mina Cikara
center rep John Levin
center rep Caroleen Verly
center rep Rosemary Hilliard
center rep Micah Schwartz
center rep Peter Koellner
at large Sandy Alexander
at large Ellen Mahoney
at large Aaron Hartmann
at large Meg Rithmire
at large Kelly O'Shea

Center Directors

BGCCC Margaret Coleman
HYCCC Paula Jarausch
OSDC Kate Cambell
PTCC Nicole Pearson & Debbie Tomsho
RCCC Nicole Lavargna
SFPCC Trecia Mayo
WACC Patty Pirone

Ex Officio

Exec Director Katy Donovan
Finance Manager Liz Keating
Harvard Rep Sarah Bennett-Astesano

CCC Centers

CHILDREN ENROLLED

School Network

EARLY CHILDHOOD PROFESSIONALS

Year Established

Get In Touch

Campus Child Care, Inc. (CCC) is an independent, non-profit corporation serving Harvard University and the surrounding communities. We provide the very best quality care and education for young children and their families.

Executive Director

Katy Donovan
(617) 945-1658
execdirector@campus-cc.org

Physical Address

8 Story Street Suite B70
Cambridge, MA 02138

Mailing Address

Campus Child Care, Inc.
P.O. Box 380354
Cambridge, MA 02238-0354

Contact CCC

Non-Discrimination Policy

CCC is committed to inclusivity of children and families. Beyond adhering to legal requirements, CCC strives to be culturally responsive and find ways to work across boundaries of race, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity to embrace and support our diverse families and workforce.