A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held March 11 for Gretchen's House-Marquette, the newest satellite location for the Ann Arbor-based childcare provider, which is offered in partnership with Northern Michigan University. It is located close to campus in Messiah Lutheran Church, with its own secure entrance, three classrooms and two playgrounds.
“Thank you to our partners at Northern,” said Gretchen's House Executive Director Heidi McFadden. “They have been so wonderful to work with, and because of that partnership, we have a high-quality child care center that's new to this community, and we are open to both Northern students and employees, as well as community members. We're also excited about our partnership with the Great Start Collaborative, and I'm excited to announce we have Great Start readiness program slots available in our preschool program.”
“It was probably four years ago when we started having very specific conversations about how to address the childcare challenges faced, not only by our families at NMU but also the Marquette community,” said Rhea Dever, NMU vice president of People, Culture and Wellbeing. “So what a wonderful partnership opportunity it was that was brought to us by a former member of our faculty, Rachel May. We're obviously very excited that we were able to make an investment that has made a difference for our NMU families, as well as our communities. So thank you, because we know there was a ton of really hard work that's gone into getting this space renovated and beautified and made into a really amazing high-quality child care center for all of these wonderful young kids who will hopefully grow up to be Wildcats one day.”
The Marquette center opened in July 2024, making it the 11th in Michigan operated by Gretchen's House. Northern's partnership guarantees employees and students priority access to high-quality child care at a reduced rate. It was first announced by NMU President Brock Tessman in August 2023.
“I am proud to announce this partnership with Gretchen's House, and to make such a critical investment in high-quality child care for our university and our community,” Tessman said in a previous press release. “Alongside NMU's participation in the Tri-Share and WeeCare child care programs, this new partnership reflects our growing commitment to address key quality-of-life issues facing our faculty, staff and students.”
NMU invests $250,000 annually to subsidize child care costs at Gretchen House for NMU employees and students.
According to its website, Gretchen's House has been providing child development programs for infants through school-age children since 1985. Its programs are licensed by the state of Michigan and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Gretchen's House implements the HighScope active-learning, research-based curriculum in infant/toddler and preschool classrooms.
