Learning Lamp child care center expanding in Somerset County

May 25—SOMERSET — Packed inside a former gym, The Learning Lamp's Somerset County child care center shares space with saunas, showers and former racquetball courts — but not nearly enough classrooms, said Leah Spangler, the nonprofit's CEO.

That is set to change this summer.

The Learning Lamp leaders joined state Department of Community and Economic Development officials Tuesday to break ground on a renovation and expansion that will add six new classrooms and two indoor playrooms — more than doubling the center's capacity, from 60 children to 134, Spangler said.

Given the widespread shortage of state-approved child care space across Somerset County, the expansion is crucial, she said.

"This work is the foundation on which our community rests," Spangler said, noting that the expansion will enable the nonprofit to prepare more children for elementary school — a milestone that vastly improves their chances to succeed as they grow.

Until recently, the Learning Lamp leased a portion of the Aberdeen Drive building.

The approximately $2 million project is years in the making and became possible, in part, through $67,500 in Neighborhood Assistance Program Tax Credits generated through private sector investment.

Early education advocates recently designated Somerset County as one of six "childcare deserts" in Pennsylvania, noted Josh Yoder, The Learning Lamp's board chairman, saying the need for the service far outnumbers the available space to enroll children.

DCED Acting Secretary Neil Weaver said an estimated 1,200 children in the county are lacking quality care — a trend first identified in 2019 that has continued to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic that is keeping parents out of the workforce.

"Imagine 1,400 parents reentering the workforce," Weaver said, referencing the current labor shortage that mirrors the childcare trend.

"This is truly an economic development issue."

As studies indicate a growing number of parents in Somerset County have been forced to drop out of the workforce because there aren't enough centers to accommodate their kids, The Learning Lamp's expansion wouldn't just double the center's capacity, but also create 27 new jobs to support toddlers' and pre-kindergarteners' early education needs, Weaver said.

Regina Coughenour praised The Learning Lamp's undertaking Tuesday.

As a Somerset-area parent and as the director of Somerset Inc., uptown Somerset's business promotion and economic development group, Coughenour said she understands both the value of high-quality, education-focused childcare and the challenges facing families without it.

"For our generation, most families have to rely on two working parents," she said. "Without quality, affordable childcare, that's not easy."

Learning Lamp officials described their expansion as one piece of the solution Tuesday.

In late March, childcare providers across Somerset County met with the Somerset County Chamber of Commerce to begin discussing new ways to add childcare opportunities — particularly in areas where there aren't nearby options.

Ideas being explored by county stakeholders include developing childcare spaces inside existing business spaces that could be available to employees' children.

The state's Special Priorities Program was touted as another option to address the issue through the same tax incentive program that supported The Learning Lamp center expansion.

AmeriServ Financial, 1st Summit Bank, Somerset Trust Co. and UPMC Somerset all invested funds toward the project in return for state tax credits, officials said.

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