In the last 18 years, Wilkes County has lost 56 child care programs, 67% of its child care capacity. This year, thanks to a scrappy community effort, local leaders saved the county from losing another.

Sharon Phillips and her daughter Katy Hinson, owners of PlayWorks Early Care and Learning Center, cut the ribbon on their new location inside Wilkesboro United Methodist Church in April, expanding their business after months of wondering whether they鈥檇 survive at all.

鈥淚 consider what happened there a miracle,鈥� said Todd Maberry, former managing director of the , a project at Duke Divinity School focused on helping churches assess their communities鈥� needs and find new ways to meet them. The center, which is closing this summer, helped the Wilkesboro church decide how to use an empty wing to help address a local lack of child care and bring in new revenue.

The specifics of the initiative, called 鈥淏ig Building, Little Feet鈥� 鈥� both the people behind it and the speed at which they raised more than $600,000 as the five-star program faced eviction 鈥� are specific to this community. But the model itself, Maberry said, has lessons for the entire state.

鈥淭here鈥檚 not one of the 100 counties that doesn鈥檛 have a church that has an empty educational wing sitting there,鈥� Maberry said. 鈥淭his can be a blueprint.鈥�

With  and bipartisan state leaders , local leaders like those in Wilkes County are convening, collaborating, and raising money to make things work for their neighbors in the meantime.

鈥淐ommunities need to think outside the box,鈥� said Michelle Shepherd, executive director of , the local  partnership. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the biggest takeaway. These children deserve quality child care, and what does that look like, and what do communities have to offer?鈥�

A child care need, a church need

In 2023, Phillips and Hinson were touring every vacant building in town.

They were looking for a larger space to expand their 10-year-old business and help fill child care gaps. That year,  funded by the Leonard G Herring Family Foundation found that the county needed 836 additional child care slots, almost double the capacity it had. The report鈥檚 findings, released by the Wilkes Economic Development Corporation (EDC),  in the business community.

鈥淭he child care study revealed what a crisis we were in,鈥� Hinson said.

Hinson and her mother were already struggling with a balance familiar to child care owners. They did not have enough revenue to pay teachers much more than minimum wage, couldn鈥檛 raise tuition without pricing out families, and were unwilling to cut costs by lowering quality. Stabilization grants funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act were expected to dry up, leaving a large gap in the budgets of .

鈥淲e just kind of felt like we had done all we could on our own two feet,鈥� Phillips said.

Phillips and Hinson were coming up short in their search. 

鈥淲e had knocked on doors, we had toured all the vacant buildings, we had been to town officials,鈥� Phillips said.

Then they started conversations with a local entity with its own financial struggles: Wilkesboro United Methodist Church. 

鈥淥ur church has dramatically shrunk 鈥� especially post-COVID,鈥� said Gilbert Cox, who has attended the church since 2008 and was the chair of its finance committee at the time. 

Cox recalled holidays when he first joined with people overflowing into the aisles and Sundays with regularly full pews. A couple of years after the pandemic, the church was lucky to have 50 members attending services.

鈥淭his is a very common story for a lot of congregations in the country, particularly in North Carolina, particularly in rural places, where mainline churches have just been decimated by a pandemic, by disagreements,鈥� Maberry said. 鈥淎nd Wilkesboro is not immune to that.鈥�

Plus, more than 90% of the church鈥檚 space was sitting unused more than 90% of the time, Cox said.

鈥淓ventually, what was an asset was going to turn into a liability,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he maintenance of it, and it stored more and more. I think we found five pianos. There were two in a closet we didn鈥檛 even know about.鈥�

The church entered a six-week 鈥渄esign sprint鈥� with the Ormond Center called the Community Craft Collaborative to figure out a different path forward. The process aims to helps churches better understand their community through data and interviews, and then encourages them to come up with an idea to experiment with.

Through a conversation with the EDC, Cox learned about the child care study鈥檚 findings. The organization connected him to Phillips and Hinson, who had recently reached out in their search for a new home.

By the end of the sprint, the church presented its idea: house and expand PlayWorks. Phillips and Hinson toured the church鈥檚 facilities and heard from the church鈥檚 leadership that they were on board.

鈥淗ow could we take what is becoming a liability, and better connect to the community?鈥� Cox said.

鈥楢 gut punch鈥�

In April 2024, a contractor gave an estimate on the building renovations necessary to meet regulatory standards. It would cost about $1.6 million. Everyone involved agreed: 鈥淚t was insurmountable,鈥� Cox said.

The potential collaboration felt like it had died, and Phillips and Hinson were back to square one.

鈥淓verybody ghosted,鈥� Phillips said.

While they were already down, they were hit with what Phillips described as 鈥渁 gut punch.鈥� In June 2024, the program received an eviction notice from its landlord, a local theater company that wanted to repurpose the space. PlayWorks had to be out by September. Their hunt for a new building became a make-or-break endeavor.

鈥淚 can just remember thinking, what are we going to do? What are we going to do? We don鈥檛 have any choices,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淚 immediately called Michelle at the partnership.鈥�

Shepherd, who had been the executive director of Wilkes Community Partnership for Children for about a year, said she immediately understood the urgency. With a background in K-12 education, Shepherd had spent her time at the partnership learning about just how dire her county鈥檚 child care needs were and developing relationships with a whole new sector of educators.

鈥淲e just couldn鈥檛 let them fold,鈥� she said.

Shepherd鈥檚 leadership was a game-changer.

鈥淲hen she wouldn鈥檛 give up, I wouldn鈥檛 give up,鈥� Phillips said.

Through a $15,000 grant from the Ormond Center, the church paid an architect for renderings, moving forward without knowing whether things would work. Through a stroke of luck, a local contractor was called in to do the building鈥檚 measurements who was interested in bidding on the project. This time, the estimate came in at about $600,000.

鈥淢ichelle says, 鈥楧on鈥檛 give up,鈥� so it breathed new life into the possibility,鈥� Cox said. 鈥淓ven though the church didn鈥檛 have $590,000, Michelle 鈥� she deserves all the credit 鈥� she said, 鈥楲et me see what I can do.’鈥�

Time crunch

Everyone got busy. Hinson and Phillips asked their landlord for an extension on the move-out date. The church began a deeper process with the Ormond Center to map out the details of the project. Shepherd, with no fundraising experience, started making calls.

鈥淲e all stepped out in faith that it would happen,鈥� Hinson said.

The child care study helped Shepherd tell potential donors the story of the community鈥檚 need, she said, and explain the importance of child care for workforce participation.

鈥淭his was not some 鈥楤etty Froo Froo鈥� project; this was a necessity for our community,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat really played on the heart of business people in the community.鈥�

Hinson and Phillips got an extension from their landlord for their move-out date to November, and then to April 2025.

Once Shepherd received the first big 鈥榶es鈥� 鈥� a $250,000 donation from an anonymous community member 鈥� others started following. 

鈥淭hat was my big driver, that we can鈥檛 tell these kids, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got to go home,鈥� and parents that they can鈥檛 work that really want to work,鈥� she said.

She reached out to people with a connection to PlayWorks, who understood the importance of the high-quality care and education it provided for children and families. She received donations from dozens of individuals, including a large contribution from private donor Janice Story and funds from church members and partnership employees.

She also reached out to foundations and community groups, securing grants from the Carson Foundation, the Leonard G Herring Family Foundation, the Cannon Foundation, the North Carolina Community Foundation, and United Way of North Carolina.

The effort did not receive any local or state public funding.

鈥淎ll of a sudden, Michelle had almost a half a million dollars in a matter of almost weeks,鈥� Cox said.

The Ormond process provided real estate and zoning expertise, as well as  to help the community tell its story. It was rooted in 鈥渁sset mapping,鈥� Maberry said.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got a church with empty space, we鈥檝e got an incredible child care center that is flexible and can move, and we鈥檝e got a local nonprofit that鈥檚 committed to the well-being of children in the county,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hose are great assets. They can begin to look at, 鈥極K, well, there鈥檚 a child care crisis, and one of the better ones is about to go away. How do we solve that?鈥�

Shepherd said her mother was a salesperson, and always told her that salesmanship requires a good product and a powerful 鈥渨hy.鈥� She had both.

鈥淲e had people that gave $50 up to $250,000,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t truly was a community, dollar-by-dollar fundraiser.鈥�

Making it to opening day

From November 2024 to March 2025, the team reached their goal. The local contractor agreed to start construction before all the funding was secured to help Phillips and Hinson reach their move-out deadline.

There were many obstacles. The team almost had to call off the project once again when they realized the extent of the plumbing needs to have appropriate sinks in each room. They coordinated between sanitation, the county inspector, fire safety, and the state child care licensing under the Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE).

鈥淭here was not a single source that you could go to who could give you all the answers,鈥� Cox said.

PlayWorks closed on March 20 and 21, a Thursday and Friday, plus the following Monday. In that long weekend, they moved with the help of family and friends and set up every classroom. On Monday, the center had its final sanitation inspection and a visit from DCDEE. They opened their doors to children on Tuesday.

The execution of the move, Phillips said, was a miracle in itself. Through the months of ups and downs, she kept thinking of the families she serves and the educators she employs.

鈥淚 kept going back to, how do we tell our staff? How do we tell our families? We are in such a child care crisis, there aren鈥檛 spots available in many places in the other child cares. How can we disperse 60 children in this county? You know, where are they going to go?鈥�

On the day EdNC visited PlayWorks, Hinson and Phillips were moving in sync. Hinson went between classrooms, providing extra hands for fussy infants. Phillips met with licensing officials in the office during their second DCDEE check-in, which required a fire drill.

鈥淲e never really dreamed that something like this would happen,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just the proud recipients.鈥�

The day before, they had celebrated the team鈥檚 accomplishments with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, during which church leaders called the moment 鈥渁 revival.鈥� But the next day, it was back to the work they both love and are challenged by.

The new space will allow PlayWorks to expand from serving 55 to 88 children as they add three new classrooms (for infants, toddlers, and 4-year-olds) in the coming months. 

The church is providing the space at less than $6 per square foot, Cox said, compared with the area鈥檚 average commercial lease of $28 per square foot. It is also covering utility costs.

Phillips said they do not expect any problem filling the new seats. They will first check with families on their waiting list. An interested family was visiting the program during the fire drill, during which all children were walked or rolled to a gazebo in the parking lot.

鈥淲ord of mouth is just really getting around,鈥� she said.

Valuing educators

Phillips and Hinson are still hiring and rearranging teachers to staff the new classrooms. Each room has three teachers for now, for 鈥渁n extra layer of quality.鈥�

They start teachers, depending on education level and experience, at anywhere from $10 to $15 per hour. The median wage for the state鈥檚 child care teachers was $12.31 . Though PlayWorks is not immune to  experienced by the field, multiple teachers have stayed for several years.

Teacher Rachel Brionez has worked at PlayWorks since it opened because of 鈥渢he environment that Sharon and Katie have created鈥� among the staff, the families, and the children. Educators refer to Phillips and Hinson as 鈥渢he dynamic duo.鈥�

鈥淭hey value us, and that makes coming to work so much better,鈥� Brionez said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 dread the alarm clock going off.鈥�

Brionez said her experiences in child care have not always been positive. Phillips said the same about her early career experiences.

Because of the low pay, high stress, and instability, Phillips had discouraged Hinson from going into the field. She pushed her to be a nurse instead. That all changed after one conversation, while Hinson, a high schooler at the time, was helping her mother with her pre-K class.

鈥淪he just broke down in tears, and she says, 鈥業鈥檓 not going to be a nurse,’鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淲e both cried. And she said, 鈥楾his is all I know through you.鈥� 鈥� I told her, 鈥榃e will do something for your career.鈥� And that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e here.鈥�

鈥楢 slim margin鈥�

Because of temporary state funding, the funding cliff that worried providers like Phillips and Hinson in 2023 was pushed back. In March 2025, programs received their final installment of the compensation grant, which has helped them raise teacher pay and plug the gap between what families can afford and what it costs to provide high-quality care.

鈥淲ith the stabilization grant money from the state, we were able to give teachers those raises and bonuses, and we鈥檙e going to do all we can for that to continue,鈥� Hinson said.

Advocates and DCDEE are asking the state legislature this session for child care investments to support the state鈥檚 child care subsidy program, which helps working low-income families afford care, and the early childhood workforce. None of the current proposals would provide the level of funding providers were receiving from stabilization grants.

鈥淚t鈥檚 worrisome,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淚 really put it on the back burner, just knowing that, with the move and everything, we鈥檝e got to move forward.鈥�

As Phillips and Hinson both breathe a sigh of relief, they know their future remains unclear.

鈥淲e鈥檒l make it on a slim margin 鈥� or I hope we will,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just thinking very optimistically that we鈥檒l make it work, but it鈥檚 going to be very hard.鈥�

A win-win model

Shepherd said the mutually beneficial partnership required resources that not every community has. She sees the state playing an important role in providing grant money to repurpose space 鈥� similar to the .

鈥淚 just think this is a great model for a lot of places to look at underutilized space and how to bring in some revenue for both,鈥� she said.

Maberry is hoping to find a new way to continue the work of the Ormond Center, which had 55 relationships with churches. Some were working on child care projects, he said. Others were opening mental health services and helping their communities with affordable housing.

鈥淐hurches are at their best when they are meaningfully integrated into their community and are making their communities better places to be and to live,鈥� he said.

The Wilkesboro project is an example of the power of dynamic partnerships and possibility in a time of disruption.

鈥淔or the church, it鈥檚 energized them,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ike they鈥檝e got kids in their building now, all day, every day, and they鈥檙e starting to think, like, OK, well, if we can do this, what else can we do? Imagination can be contagious.鈥�

The children, staff, and administrators at PlayWorks are settling in. Across the street is an assisted living center whose residents can now see playing children on their walks.

Phillips said she does not know whether Hinson will ever let her retire. They both said the new space feels like home.

鈥淲ith some hard work and perseverance, we鈥檝e made it,鈥� Phillips said.

This was originally published on .

Maryland鈥檚 nearly 900,000 public school students will soon be heading back to school. Over the summer, teachers in every jurisdiction have taken courses to help them face the many challenges in the classroom. Thirty-five signed up for Religion Literacy for Educators, a five-day bus tour through the religion landscape of Montgomery County.

The course grew out of a 2-day summer workshop that Mitchell Joy, a history teacher at Walter Johnson High School, has offered since 2018. Last week the educators spent a morning or an afternoon exploring Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Sikhism and meeting people of those faiths based on Joy鈥檚 many years teaching comparative religion.

鈥淲e wanted to have the ability to go and visit houses of worship, and to have a really immersive experience, to get people to listen to what people believe, but also asking speakers to discuss how their practice is impacting the classroom,鈥� Joy said. 鈥淭he classroom is [also] a place where you can expand emotional and intellectual growth, and that best happens when people are exposed to different ideas and not threatened by that.鈥�

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鈥楢ll the hates are coming into the classroom鈥�

According to a by the Antidefamation League in 2022, Maryland ranked 10th in terms of the greatest number of antisemitic incidents, with Montgomery County accounting for nearly 60% of those across the state. Rabbi Abbi Sharofsky, the director of intergroup relations for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, described what many had already seen or heard in their own schools and communities 鈥� police cars in front of synagogues, antisemitic slurs, swastikas on buildings, and the hateful 鈥楯ews not welcome鈥� message written on the front door of Walt Whitman High School.

鈥淪o, they are already coming into the school year feeling this in the pit of their stomach,鈥� Sharofsky said. 鈥淎nd the classroom teacher has to deal with not just one community of faith, but also racism and everything, Islamophobia, and anti-Asian hate. Yes, all the hates are coming into the classroom at the same time, and it鈥檚 an impossible juggling act.鈥�

With Sharofsky were three Jewish students, among a corps of Jewish youth who volunteer to speak about their faith as part of JCRC鈥檚 Student to Student outreach program. Their audience that day was teachers.

鈥淚 know they are trying to listen and make changes based on what they hear,鈥� said Mattie P., a rising junior.

Nathan G., currently filling out college applications, said the effort is worth it. 鈥淭his kind of education makes teachers better prepared to talk about these subjects, and helps them create a classroom environment that鈥檚 more welcoming and more open to all students.鈥�

Dahlia F., who is headed for Kenyon College this fall, said speaking out gives her a greater sense of confidence. 鈥淚 am able to express myself, to say what needs to be said and that people will listen to me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t makes me feel safer, it鈥檚 a tool in my back pocket that students like myself can share without fear.鈥�

To think a good thought, to speak a good word, to do a good deed, is the best

Back on the bus in mid-week, the group headed to the Zoroastrian Center, located in a quiet neighborhood in Boyds, near the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve. More than a dozen association members greet them, to share the traditions of this ancient monotheistic religion, that predates Islam. On this day they are told by its leaders that the religion accounts for 200,000 members worldwide, including the 400 who worship in Boyds and trace their heritage back to Iran or India.

The teachers are invited into a prayer room filled with natural light to listen to chanting from a sacred prayer in Avestan, an extinct language passed down by oral tradition, which Zoroastrians learn by rote.

Afterward the educators move to a great hall for lunch, with members joining them to continue the conversation, including Rubina Patel, who shares the teaching that to think a good thought, to speak a good word, to do a good deed, is best. 鈥淚 think one of the strengths of Zoroastrianism, is that it鈥檚 a reflective religion,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is each individual鈥檚 responsibility to make this world a better place or leave a place in a better condition than they found it.鈥�

Fourteen-year-old Pourochista Izadyar is there too. She points out the many symbols of the two-winged figure, the Farvahar, she wears around her neck, which, she said makes her religion special. She said in school she鈥檚 often the only Zoroastrian, and hasn鈥檛 wanted to be singled out. 鈥淲hen I was younger, I would tell them, I was American, born and raised, but now as I grow up, I鈥檝e become prouder of my heritage and feel everyone else should proud of their heritage as well,鈥� she said.

Her message for teachers: 鈥淏e accepting. Don鈥檛 make [students] feel left out. Learning about [religion] in school makes you feel like, that鈥檚 my heritage. That鈥檚 my culture right there.鈥�

Cabin John Middle School social studies teacher Vicki Mihailidis gets it. 鈥淚鈥檝e been talking with my colleagues, and yes, just to promote that cultural sensitivity,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think the main thing we need to do as a teacher is to establish a really safe, comfortable environment in your school, and build relationships with your students, so they do feel seen.鈥�

Beyond prejudice, bigotry, misinformation

At the houses of worship, at lunch and on the bus, teachers said that by learning more about various religions, there is less an opportunity for prejudice, bigotry, misinformation or misunderstandings.

This is also what is the heart of the new social studies curriculum being rolled out for grades pre-K-12 beginning in the fall, through the 2025-6 school year. Lessons will connect historic immigration with current events, tailored to the population of Montgomery County. Social Studies supervisor Tracy Oliver-Gary said the curriculum鈥檚 alignment with the state mandated social justice standard is intentional.

鈥淲e are using this curriculum to fight hate,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is telling their story, but we also have to go beyond the oppression, to humanizing people that continuously face hate crimes or hate acts as well. Those are the goals with the curricula.鈥�

鈥淛ust being exposed to all of these ideas really enhances a teacher鈥檚 ability to communicate more effectively with students and parents of faith,鈥� Joy said. 鈥淢any teachers told me they learned so much and are looking forward to the next level of the course next summer.鈥�

Religion Literacy for Educators was sponsored in part by the non-profit Kaur Foundation.