Eight King County organizations will receive $3.7 million in grants to build and renovate childcare classrooms, adding urgently needed capacity for families and children. Funds are made available from King County’s Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account (PSTAA) and administered by Enterprise Community Partners. Grantees were selected following a highly competitive application process, demonstrating continued demand and need for early learning facility investment.
The funding will support predevelopment, renovation, and construction work across eight projects, including the renovation of existing space to expand capacity and new construction. The investment is projected to create 30 new classrooms and 470 additional childcare slots, 338 of which will be subsidized, including 38 for infants. Classrooms will serve children ages 0-12 depending on the program. Of the eight awarded projects, two are co-located with affordable housing and three are paired with other community facilities.
Addressing the Need Across King County
For families across Washington, the math is stark: more than 300,000 children ages 0–5 don’t have access to high-quality, affordable early learning. In King County, roughly 4,500 children are eligible for subsidized care and still can’t get a spot because the facilities simply do not exist. Every classroom created by these investments helps make it possible for children to access needed care.
Grantees include:
- Denise Louie Education Center, Seattle
- Goldenstars Early Learning Center, SeaTac
- K&S Futures Kent Kangley, LLP and EuropaKids Preschool, Kent
- Kiddie Academy, Renton
- Little Pioneers Academy, Kent
- Neighborhood House, Burien
- University of Washington Rainier Valley Early Learning Center, Seattle
- YMCA of Greater Seattle, Tukwila
Creating New Opportunities in SeaTac
For Goldenstars Early Learning Center, the grant means moving an expansion project in South King County from the planning stage straight into construction. With this support, Goldenstars will build two additional school-age classrooms and convert its former school-age space into a new preschool classroom, creating 52 new childcare slots in total.
Goldenstars Director Faisal Mohamed says the transformation addresses a significant childcare shortage for working families in the community. “For many of the working families we serve, access to quality childcare is often the deciding factor between simply getting by or thriving,” he said.
Mohamed also credited Enterprise’s technical assistance, alongside the funding itself, with helping the organization make more informed decisions as it prepares for construction. These classrooms are expected to be completed in late 2026, serving communities in SeaTac.
“This expansion is an investment in children, families, and the future of our entire community,” Mohamed said.
Supporting Children and Teachers Alike
In the Mount Baker neighborhood of Seattle’s Rainier Valley, the University of Washington’s College of Education is building a learning environment designed to simultaneously serve children and the educators who care for them.
The new Rainier Valley Early Learning Center (RVELC), developed in partnership with operator Launch Learning and designed with community input, will combine classroom space for young children with a professional development and adult learning hub, giving early learning professionals in the area accessible pathways to advance professionally through earning degrees and certificates.
The Enterprise PSTAA grant will help fund the construction of classrooms, and the facility’s IT infrastructure, allowing UW students studying early learning to seamlessly access research-based training both in person and virtually.
“By centering programming around the strengths, identity, and culture of the Rainier Valley community, the learning center aims to help children, families, and early learning professionals thrive together,” said Nick Terrones, UW’s director of community relations and project manager. UW Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, and Social Work will be co-located with the RVELC and will provide preventative and screening services for children and families – those enrolled at the RVELC and in the surrounding community.
Enterprise is proud to support these eight projects, which will have a profound and lasting impact on children, families, and educators across King County.
