BANGOR, Maine — Throughout the pandemic, we've heard about a growing need for child care services across the state. According to the Maine Children's Alliance, the number of licensed family child care centers in Maine dropped by more than 10% in just the last two years. Last year, there were less than 800 licensed family child care centers in Maine.
A Penobscot County woman is hoping to be part of the solution, planning to open a daycare program of her own, but with a twist.
Jing Zhang is the president of the Bangor Chinese Language School. She said she is opening a bilingual daycare in Bangor for children ages two to six.
The program will give kids a chance to learn how to speak Chinese and other languages.
Zhang said it would be offered Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. and extended hours to 5 p.m. for working parents. She said many families have told her they're stuck on waiting lists to find child care services for their kids.
Zhang hopes the daycare not only addresses child care needs but also that it can assist with the teacher shortage affecting some schools as well.
"I already started to contact the local elementary schools. I said, 'If you need help from the community for your pre-k children, here is the place. We can share our curriculum and teaching plan; we can go together, work together,'" Zhang said.
Zhang said about ten families have signed up for the program so far, and more spaces are still available. She said she thinks there should be a greater emphasis on teaching young children multiple languages because it can help them be more successful as adults.
"It's an urgent need to have a bilingual program for students. So, I know Bangor Chinese School is not like a regular school. You know, it's full-time. But I think, for young children, we absolutely can do [it], because our teachers here. Most of them are a certified language teacher from the state," Zhang said.
She said many teachers at her school have also worked with young children for most of their careers.
Zhang expects the daycare to be up and running in October. For more information, click here.