Championing Change in Child Care: Whitney Quillin’s Vision for a Better Future

When Whitney opened her Lynnwood child care center, she brought years of classroom experience, a commitment to families, and a clear view of what it takes to run a high-quality early learning center. In this interview, she described frustrations with expansion, shifting trends due to TK, an urgent need for better behavioral supports and coaching as centers grow, and practical solutions and advice for new child care owners.

Expanding Woes:

Whitney hopes to expand her business and initially planned to do so in Sultan. She joined the city’s planning committee to advocate for child care–friendly policies and positive community growth, but found the process challenging—lengthy meeting packets, limited time for research, and short windows to provide feedback made meaningful participation difficult. “At times, packets 200–300 pages long would arrive late Friday evening, leaving the weekend to review, only Monday to conduct any needed research, or reach out with questions before Tuesday’s meeting,” she says. That pace undermined thorough and thoughtful action and led Whitney to explore other cities to expand her business.

Whitney’s Journey in the Child Care Sector:

From teacher to owner, Whitney started in early learning at 18—teaching infants, toddlers, and school-age children—then moved into director roles at different programs. After a short maternity leave, she opened her own center with the goal of running a program that puts kids first while supporting teachers and families. “I wanted a center that reflects my philosophy—kids first, teachers supported, families valued,” she says.

What works at The Creative Kid Academy, Whitney’s center, is prioritizing hands-on teaching and family engagement. Key practices include:

• Teachers-first approach: teachers are prioritized and supported; directors remain involved in classrooms.

• Regular family communication: four parent-teacher conferences a year, portfolio reviews, and milestone assessments.

• Community events: multicultural potlucks, on-site field trips, and an annual summer BBQ to build family connections.

Whitney is devoted to providing an educational and caring environment that supports children, teachers, and families.

Whitney Talks about the many challenges for Providers:

Paying Teachers Well! Teacher salaries and access to benefits remain major challenges for the child care industry. Whitney strives to offer competitive pay and meaningful benefits for her team because she believes they are essential to high-quality education.

Behavioral health supports needed: As centers expand and face more complex child behaviors, they need consistent access to coaching and behavioral professionals. In King County, organizations like Kindering provide valuable behavioral services; Snohomish County, by contrast, is under-resourced. Whitney finds fewer behavioral professionals available there, leaving centers with limited help for behavior management and child development coaching. She calls for more county-level investment in behavioral supports and scalable coaching models that can grow with centers.

TK and sector uncertainty: Whitney supports access to high-quality early learning but worries about how increased funding for Transitional Kindergarten (TK) will shift the child care sector. She fears a model in which child care focuses on infants and toddlers, and then children move into TK, creating business challenges for centers. Whitney also questions whether school districts are meeting the requirements to collaborate with child care providers and if they provide training and age-appropriate preparation for TK teachers. “Who provides the training that school districts are expected to follow for TK? Where is the accountability? Why aren't more child care providers being reached out to by public schools before taking on children?” she asks. Providers are forming informal coalitions to share guidance, but Whitney wants more formal, actionable resources from advocacy groups and state agencies.

Recommendations for local and statewide changes:

• Targeted grant funding for staff bonuses, maintenance, and quality improvement.

• Subsidy alignment with local cost of living so centers can afford competitive wages.

• Director/owner forums across counties for peer learning and problem solving.

• Expanded behavioral supports and coaching resources, especially in under-resourced counties like Snohomish.

  
  

Advice for prospective and new owners:

• Work in a center in operations before buying or opening one.

• Budget conservatively—expect higher startup costs and plan for at least three months of payroll/expenses.

• Prefer buildings already licensed if possible; new construction adds complexity and higher cost.

• Research local demand and waitlists and include expansion plans in your business model.

• Join local associations and owner/director coalitions for real-time support.

  
  

Final thought: Whitney’s story highlights the dedication and the systemic gaps that make running a child care center difficult—especially around behavioral supports and county capacity. Her center shows what’s possible when teachers are prioritized, and families are engaged, but she’s clear: to sustain quality early learning at scale, policymakers, funders, and support agencies must increase behavioral resources, provide practical coaching, and deliver faster, clearer licensing pathways.

Interviewed and written by Debbie Carlsen