What is VEER? 

Valley Early Education Reimagined is a private-public partnership between Valley Interfaith Action, area corporate leaders, and the public sector, created to increase access & affordability for families and compensation & career advancement opportunities for educators. 

VEER launches and operates high-quality, financially-sustainable early education and childcare centers in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, serving as a transformative model for early education and childcare that can be replicated across Virginia.

VEER’s first center at Park View Mennonite Church is open year-round, Monday - Friday, 7 am - 5:30 pm.

A second site is on track to open at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church for 2026-2027 and additional sites are being explored across Rockingham County. 

VEER is working at the state-level to create a $5 million fund to create new center facilities and create an employer childcare tax credit. Read more below.

How was VEER created?

In 2022, Valley Interfaith Action conducted a Listening Campaign throughout Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. After over 1,061 face-to-face conversations, VIA leaders decided to explore how we might address the lack of available and affordable childcare. A VIA action team was formed to research the local childcare situation and how people across the country are trying to address this problem. It became clear that the priorities were not only to solve the availability and affordability problem, but to support childcare providers and teachers so they stayed in the classroom, and to create a financially-sustainable model to end reliance of unstable year-to-year grant funding. 

In our own community, several high-quality programs have closed over the last two years. Many of our member institutions have tried to do something about this problem, many even looking into starting their own centers.  On their own, they were not able to address all 3 priorities. They needed more power in order to bring forth a solution to this crisis. Through VIA, leaders and their institutions came together to act. They engaged area employers, corporate leaders, our school districts, and elected leaders. 

The result is VEER, an imaginative and innovative way to address the childcare crisis. 

VEER’s Work at the State Level

We’ve continued to work with Delegate Tony Wilt to follow through on the commitments he made to us in October. At the VEER Dedication in October, we asked Delegate Wilt to put 1 million dollars into the state budget for capital investment to retrofit new center sites and to secure a meeting between us and Delegate Luke Torian, Chair of the Appropriations Committee. We are pleased to report that Delegate Wilt submitted a budget proposal at the state level for $5 million towards capital costs for retrofitting new childcare facilities. He also submitted legislation for an employer child care tax credit to match the federal employer childcare tax credit which would cover the true cost of childcare at centers like VEER. 

What is a VEER preschool like?

VEER preschools are committed to the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical development of children, instilling a love of learning, and preparing them for school and life as caring, active members of their community.

VEER preschools are state-licensed and use FrogStreet, a vetted, state-certified curriculum. 

VEER child-to-teacher ratios are below state requirements, providing more opportunities for personalized, hands-on learning and exploration.

In addition to guided activities and independent play, children spend part of the day in 40 minute, subject-specific classes for Language Arts, Math, and Science & Social Studies. Subject areas share a theme, such as the seasons or outer space, while following curriculum guidelines. Children travel between classrooms and subject area teachers. This gives children an opportunity to move, experience different classroom environments, and develop relationships with multiple teachers. 

VEER provides a morning and afternoon snack. Families are responsible for providing a packed lunch. Nap and outdoor play time are part of every day’s schedule.

VEER at Park View Mennonite Church operates year-round and serves up to 45 children ages 2.5 -5 years old, Monday - Friday, 7 am - 5:30 pm

VEER hosts a monthly gathering to bring together families, staff, and board members to deepen relationships and explore specific areas of interest. These generally take place on the 3rd Wednesday of the month from 5:30 - 7:30pm. 

VEER believes that families and educators know best what their children need to thrive, inside and outside the classroom. That’s why VEER is a member of VIA and is committed to the training and development of parents and staff to become co-creators of our community and take action to improve quality of life for themselves and their families.  

How does VEER make childcare more affordable for families, while increasing compensation for educators?

VEER accepts Subsidy and other state and federal tuition assistance. VEER also works with employers to offer tuition assistance for families. Local employers, like Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community sponsor spaces for their employees’ children.

In this way, VEER combines stable public funding sources with financial support from employers, and leverages existing tax incentives, to bring new resources into the classroom, with the goal of ending reliance on unreliable, year-to-year grants.

What does VEER mean for employers?

Lack of childcare is one of the top challenges for area employers and our community’s economic development. VEER offers a solution by partnering with area corporate leaders through VEER’s employer benefit program. VEER’s employer benefit program works with area employers to reserve and access childcare for their employees, utilizing existing federal tax incentives to recover up to 40% of their costs.  There is no minimum number of employees to participate and participation is on a year-to-year basis. 

Beyond VEER’s employer benefit program, area corporate leaders are co-creators of VEER, helping determine future sites and programs offered through VEER centers in order to support their workforce and our region’s economic development.

If you are an employer interested in learning more, please contact katie@viavirginia.org.

What does VEER mean for educators?

VEER preschools are active sites of learning and development for educators. VEER believes that the recruitment and retention of educators is essential to improving the field of early education and childcare. VEER centers share a centralized back-end administration. This enables Center Directors to focus on supporting their staff and families. 

Through a relational model of coaching, staff receive one-on-one mentoring and regular group training during the workday.  Rotating subject-area classes allow educators to become experts on the material they are teaching and deepen their pedagogical understanding as they adapt it to different age levels. 

VEER has partnered with Blue Ridge Community College and Eastern Mennonite University to support educators in their professional development. Through these partnerships, educators can earn a degree during their workday. 

VEER also provides career advancement pathways, so educators can “move up” to become a Lead Teacher, Assistant Director, or open their own VEER Center site as a Center Director in partnership with VEER leadership. 

Compensation is on par with local school districts and includes medical insurance, personal paid time off in addition to federal holidays, and 10% retirement contribution after one year of employment.  If you are a child care provider interested in learning more about VEER, please contact katie@viavirginia.org.