Febuary 11, 2026

By Darcy Fargo
Editor

An effort to meet a local need for childcare has added a new program and lots of joy to St. Agnes School in Lake Placid.

“A couple years ago, our local town and village boards did extensive data surveys and research around the childcare desert that has existed in the North Country,” said Katie Turner, principal at St. Agnes School. About a year and a half ago, they reached out to home-based childcare providers, center-based providers and us at St. Agnes School – those currently serving the under (age) 5 population. They told us there was an opportunity for grant funds and funding from local donors to get new infant and toddler programs off the ground or expand existing programs. We spoke with Father John (R. Yonkovig, pastor of St. Agnes Church) and the education council, and we decided St. Agnes was a good fit to pilot expansion. We already had pre-K3 and 4 in the building, and we already had kids as young as 2 and a half, so going down a bit in age didn’t seem farfetched.”
St. Agnes School worked with representatives from the state Office of Children and Family Services to plan and complete construction projects to ready the school building for younger children.

“We’re currently licensed for two classrooms,” Turner said. “One classroom is licensed to accommodate children from ages six weeks to 18 months. So far, our youngest child has been six months, but we’re licensed for younger. The second classroom is for ages 18 to 36 months. That’s worked very well with our current demographic. They can enroll right from there to our Pre-K3 program. Currently 20 is our cap for enrollment (for the childcare program). It’s been a good fit for us. It’s allowed us to make some movement toward increased childcare offerings in the community, and we’ve added in a way that has not affected or taken away from our current program offerings. We can help meet a community need while maintaining the integrity of the pre-school program and school-aged programs we’ve worked really hard to develop.”

Turner noted the availability of grants and donor funding coincided well with other circumstances to enable the creation of the program.

“All the elements needed lined up,” Turner said. “We had parents of our current students and alumni students who had experience with home-based or center-based care and appropriate state clearances, and their youngest children were school-aged, so they were ready for opportunities outside the home. Our enrollment numbers were right. The availability of space was right. We had generous donors supporting the program, and we had perfect circumstances for staffing. It all aligned perfectly.”

The new, younger building occupants have been a great addition to the school, Turner said.

“The babies are adorable,” she said. “The older students have been amazing. They’ve learned the babies’ names and are excited to greet them when they arrive. It’s extended our small community education feel to a younger population. It contributes to that family feel. We have families who have children in childcare, children in pre-k and school-aged children all in one place. It gives us an opportunity to build relationships with families that we can maintain for many years starting at six months old.

“That’s a gift we never imagined for our program years ago. And it’s been a real blessing to help these families navigate first-time parenthood and helping to create community.”