Allison Monteleone oversaw a staff of 21 at Eastminster Child Care before the pandemic. Now her team is just six.

With that loss, the number of children in their care has fallen by more than half.

"Our waitlists are very long," she said.

But a new influx of cash from the private sector could help Eastminster and other early childhood education centers throughout Pittsburgh stabilize business operations, improve staffing numbers and serve more families.

Duolingo, the mobile learning company headquartered in Pittsburgh, announced Wednesday that it will invest $1 million in a new "Early Learners First” program designed to expand access to quality child care for the Pittsburgh community.

It will include up to $80,000 in direct funding for nine providers in the region as well as coaching and, eventually, tuition grants to qualified families.

"It's a wonderful opportunity," Ms. Monteleone said.

Margins are tight in child care, with centers limited in how much they can pay teachers while still providing an affordable service for clients.

Davis Family, one of the nine recipients of Duolingo funds and support, serves 12 children in Homewood, an underserved neighborhood where many families receive subsidized care, owner Tamia Davis said.

She tries to give discounts and provide flexibility for delinquent families to ensure nobody drops out, which can be difficult for a business with already slim margins. The funding from Early Learners First will mostly go toward staffing, Ms. Davis said, to "keep them here and keep them happy."

"Being a small business, you hope someone will help you with something, because it's a struggle," she said.

Multiple levels of government have stepped up in recent years with grants and funds to bolster the struggling industry.

Former mayor Bill Peduto launched a $2 million fund in 2019 to upgrade child care facilities. Pittsburgh Public Schools last year received $2.56 million in grants from the state's Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program. In April, $600,000 in federal funding was earmarked for child care centers in Allegheny County, according to U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio.

But some federal aid tied to the pandemic is set to expire at the end of September, which could leave thousands of Pennsylvania kids without reliable care.

The crisis is especially acute in Duolingo's backyard of East Liberty, said Kendra Ross, the company's head of social impact.

"We are the epicenter of the highest need areas in the city," she said. "And child care plays a huge part of that."

Ms. Ross grew up in Pittsburgh and attended the city's public schools. She said high quality child care eases the burden on families and leads to better outcomes throughout a child's education. At the same time, many providers make a “sacrifice” to work for paltry pay and limited benefits.

Duolingo’s first funding round focused on nine centers with high ratings from the state because even those centers were “precarious,” Ms. Ross said.

“This year is really about stabilizing the quality we already have,” she said. “And then hopefully, whether it be through us or with other partners, we can help get other centers to the high quality ratings.”

Less than 50% of child care centers in Pennsylvania meets high-quality standards, according to the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.

More companies need to recognize the importance of early childhood education and commit to funding a piece of the puzzle, said Cara Ciminillo, executive director of Trying Together, a nonprofit partnering with Duolingo on the Early Learners First program.

"There is a misstep between our community and our investment in the value of that work," she said, noting that this investment starts to correct the scale.

Evan Robinson-Johnson: ejohnson@post-gazette.com 

First Published: September 22, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: September 23, 2023, 1:40 a.m.