[INSPRATIONAL MUSIC STING] - We're now joined by Leanna Jahnke who is CEO of a great organization called the Princeton Nursery School.

Leanna, great to have you with us.

- So glad to be here, thank you for having me.

- This is part of our series on childcare, affordable, accessible childcare in cooperation with the folks at Start Strong NJ.

Their website is up.

We'll also put Leanna's organization, their website, up as well.

Tell everyone what the Princeton Nursery School is and why it's so significant in the community that it resides?

- The Princeton Nursery School, we're actually the longest continuously-run nursery school in all of Mercer County.

We were founded in 1929.

We're still in the same yellow stucco school building that we had our founding in, and we are actually located in Princeton, in the heart of Princeton, but in a neighborhood that's really not well known.

It's called Witherspoon-Jackson, which was the formerly segregated neighborhood for Black families, for immigrant families who, at that time, did not have access to childcare.

So there were Black mothers who were making Princeton great.

They were uptown as domestic workers for wealthy white families.

They were working at the university and restaurants, really uplifting the Princeton economy that we know, but they themselves did not have a place for childcare for their own children, so the school was founded to meet that need.

And we've really continued that mission now for nearly a century of filling the gap for working parents who are working hard on their education, their jobs, often multiple jobs, and do not have access to affordable and high-quality care.

- Along those lines, Leanna, one of the things that you and your colleagues do at the Princeton Nursery School is when it comes to the question of tuition, how are you gonna pay for this?

There's a, quote, unquote, "sliding scale"?

- That's right.

- Can you talk about that, please?

- That's right.

Well, equity, it's really at the heart of everything that we do, and affordability is a really big part of that, so we work to meet families where they are.

We accept the CCAP subsidy, which was really- - The CCAP is the... - The childcare assistance program subsidy that's offered through the state.

And so that is a really supportive funding stream that childcare providers like myself can accept for families who do need financial support for childcare.

Last year, the CCAP subsidy was at risk.

We had a lot of concern for whether it would be there to support families.

We're very grateful that it's back now, but here in Princeton, not many programs even participate in CCAP, meaning that they don't accept the subsidy, or even with the subsidy, the balance of the tuition would be so great that families still could not afford it.

We are a four-star program, and so we are quality-rated through the state.

We received four stars, but within Mercer County, there are only three other providers that also have a four-star rating.

And so when families are looking for affordability and for high quality, it's very challenging to find, so we work here a lot to meet that need.

We have a sliding-scale scholarship, and this is particularly for families who are not eligible for the state subsidy, even by just a few thousand dollars.

If parents are taking extra shifts, working hard, they no longer meet the very limited requirements that the subsidy has, and so we offer them a sliding-scale scholarship that meets family income, family size, where no two families are really paying the same, and it works to meet everyone where they are.

What's very unique, though, is our program is all-inclusive, and so no matter the rate, whether it's a subsidy, a sliding scale, if you are one of our few families that don't have any financial assistance, you are receiving the same experience.

It's high quality and it's very dignified for all of our families.

- Leanna, I'm curious about this, your passion, your commitment, your professionalism as it relates to the field of childcare, serving those who are in need of quality, affordable childcare, why is this your passion?

- It hits home in a number of ways.

I grew up in the DC Metro area, late '80s, early '90s, and at that time, the school districts were really struggling.

My own mother was a pre-K teacher, and she really saw that between me and my four siblings, the schools just weren't meeting our needs.

And she and my father made a really challenging decision to homeschool us, which now, I look back, I've got three kids, and I imagine, how would I homeschool all three?

She homeschooled all five of us because of the importance of education.

And now, also looking back, I see the sacrifices that my parents made for her to be our full-time teacher and the financial impact that it had on our family, and it continued to have throughout my childhood and upbringing.

In college, I knew that education was where I wanted to go into.

I told my dad I wanted to be a full-time volunteer, and he said, "No, you gotta pick something."

(Steve laughing) And so education was really where I saw a lot of my passions, particularly for students who were like me, BIPOC, low to moderate income, really working very hard.

I became an elementary school teacher.

I then became a teacher-teacher, a coach, and really embraced the nonprofit world and education programs that were creating access, but the older my students got, eventually I started working with high school students and college students, I started to see that it was never impossible, it just got really, really challenging for students, and so I was very strategic.

After I received my master's in nonprofit leadership, I was very thoughtful in going back to early childhood education, because this is the foundation for students, and it's the most challenging time for their parents.

- Got a minute left.

what message do you have for Governor Sherrill and the state legislature as it relates to what they need to do regarding state policy in connection with improving the childcare situation?

One more minute, go ahead, please.

- Well, I'm very, very grateful for Governor Sherrill's recognition of childcare, and particularly for the childcare workforce.

Recently, I was asked about any topics that I saw were needs for the community, and when I shared about childcare, they thanked me for bringing up a new topic when here at our school, we've been focusing on childcare for over a century, and so I'm grateful that she has just started her service as recognizing this.

And so our CCAP eligibility requirements are a really simple and very thoughtful way to expand them so that more families have access to childcare.

That moderate income family, for me, is the most vulnerable because they don't have a number of services that our low-income families do, and then really just recognizing what childcare providers are able to do when we have resources within our grasp.

- Well said.

That's Leanna Jahnke, who is CEO of Princeton Nursery School, an extraordinary organization founded in 1929 in Princeton.

Leanna, thank you for the work that you and your colleagues do every day, we appreciate it.

- Thank you so much, Steve, thank you for having me.

- You got it, I'm Steve Adubato, we'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] State of Affairs with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by NJM Insurance Group.

EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

A New Jersey health foundation program.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

The Burke Foundation Braven Health.

United Airlines.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

And by Rowan University.

Promotional support provided by ROI-NJ.

And by NJBIA.

- At the Burke Foundation, we know a healthy beginning changes everything.

In the first 1,000 days from pregnancy through age two, the brain builds the foundation for lifelong health and learning.

But in New Jersey, too many families face barriers to prenatal care, postpartum support, and quality childcare.

We work with partners across the state so every family can access the care, connections, and resources they need.

Because when families are supported early, children and communities thrive.