Every child in the SeaTac area deserves high-quality child care. The city’s partnership with the Imagine Institute’s Imagine U program will help train new licensed family child care providers and prepare them to start their own businesses serving SeaTac families.
Imagine U is one of The Imagine Institute’s signature programs, pairing experienced and talented licensed child care providers with those interested in becoming licensed.
Imagine U graduates have opened 562 new child care businesses statewide since the program started in 2017. Beginning in fall 2023, as many as 60 new future child care providers will join Imagine U in the SeaTac area over the next two years.
How Imagine U Works
People who are interested in becoming child care providers can apply to become Imagine U Interns. Each Intern spends 10 months working with a Mentor, who guides them through the journey of becoming licensed.
Interns participate in 20 hours of paid, hands-on learning in their Mentor’s facility each month, learning best practices while they ready their own space and create their program’s policies. Mentors are also paid.
The Imagine Institute provides Interns with monthly State Training and Registry System (STARS) training to ensure they graduate with the tools they need to succeed. Mentors receive STARS training to guide them as they support their Interns.
When Interns graduate and become licensed, they and their Mentors each receive $4,000 grants to invest in their programs.
Every Imagine U graduate enrolls at least one child receiving state subsidy, expanding quality child care access to low-income families in their community.
Want to become an Imagine U Intern? Apply today!
Building Child Care Connections
The Imagine U program is designed to build a foundation of ongoing support and create career pathways for child care providers.
Imagine U Offers training in English, Spanish, and Somali, and Interns are paired with Mentors who speak their primary language. Languages spoken by mentors have included Arabic, Oromo, Amharic, Tigrinya, and Korean.
Interns connect weekly with others in their cohort. These connections continue after graduation, when they join the Shared Services Hub, a partnership of the Imagine Institute and the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Through Shared Services, child care providers across the state find resources to help grow their businesses, build bonds with fellow providers, and access free training expert advice.
Mentors also regularly meet to report on the status of their Intern cohorts, receive coaching from their Lead Mentor, and share best practices
By participating in Imagine U, Mentors can discover opportunities to progress in their career by becoming Lead Mentors, state-approved trainers or Imagine Institute employees. This contributes to even more expansion and improvement of child care services across the state.
Want to become an Imagine U Mentor? Apply today!
Benefiting the SeaTac Community
People who become child care providers through Imagine U are prepared to serve their communities. Depending on the size of their space and the ages of children they serve, each Imagine U grad creates up to 12 new child care slots.
Collaboration and community engagement are at the core of the Imagine Institute’s approach, said Carli Meek, Imagine U Program Manager.
“We understand that to achieve sustainable economic progress, it is essential to actively involve the local community,” Meek said. “With this in mind, we are committed to initiating dialogue, seeking input, and integrating the aspirations of SeaTac’s residents and businesses into our plans. By combining our expertise with the collective wisdom and aspirations of the community, Imagine U has the ability to help shape a prosperous future for the City of SeaTac’s current and future licensed family child care providers.”
Languages spoken by mentors have included Arabic, Oromo, Amharic, Tigrinya, and Korean.
Interns connect weekly with others in their cohort. These connections continue after graduation, when they join the Shared Services Hub, a partnership of the Imagine Institute and the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Through Shared Services, child care providers across the state find resources to help grow their businesses, build bonds with fellow providers, and access free training expert advice.
Mentors also regularly meet to report on the status of their Intern cohorts, receive coaching from their Lead Mentor, and share best practices
By participating in Imagine U, Mentors can discover opportunities to progress in their career by becoming Lead Mentors, state-approved trainers or Imagine Institute employees. This contributes to even more expansion and improvement of child care services across the state.