KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Families at Sarah Moore Greene Elementary School will soon have a new option if they need childcare for young children. The YMCA of East Tennessee said it is opening a new "micro-center" there to provide on-site childcare for infants through preschoolers.
It was created with help from the United Way of Greater Knoxville. The organization hosted a grand opening event on Tuesday that brought out community experts from the United Way, the YMCA and Knox County Schools to speak about it.
The "micro-center" is an early learning center meant to help address the need for affordable, high-quality childcare in East Tennessee. In a release about the event, the United Way said around 16,000 childcare centers permanently closed between December 2019 and March 2021 across the U.S.