How PIT’s Childcare Center Boosts the Regional Workforce

On a chilly winter morning, pre-schoolers at La Petite Academy at Pittsburgh International Airport gather around their teacher for story time.

Throughout the day they’ll also engage with games, blocks and puzzles in the light-filled classroom. Art stations and a miniature kitchen also provide opportunities for them to get creative.

But one feature in this space isn’t standard at childcare centers: the panoramic view of planes taking off. The children also can watch the ongoing construction of the new PIT terminal scheduled to open later this year.

La Petite at PIT, opened in September 2023, is one of a few childcare facilities located on-site or near major airports in the U.S.

When new airport hires learn there is full-time childcare available for employees, “They’re surprised,” said Nicole Partaka, director of the academy at PIT.

La Petite is one of several childcare brands operated by Novi, Michigan-based Learning Care Group, which has nearly 1,100 centers nationwide, with about 50 located at employer sites.

Only one other of its centers is near an airport, Los Angeles International, said Sara Chodzko, Learning Care’s client relations manager. But it is not onsite at the airport like the PIT childcare facility.

“As a community asset, it just makes sense that PIT would provide access to quality childcare for the airport workforce,” said Lisa Naylor, former executive vice president and chief human capital officer for the Allegheny County Airport Authority. Naylor retired in August.

On-site childcare is “part of a successful workforce development program,” said Naylor, who was key in developing a vision for the center alongside ACAA CEO Christina Cassotis. “As an employer of choice, the [authority] is committed to providing family sustaining wages and benefits; and providing on-site childcare is just one of those ways to support working families who are in need of services now or in the future.”

Partners with PIT in opening the center were the Benedum Foundation, which provided a $200,000 grant; the Henry L. Hillman Foundation, which gave a grant of $500,000, and nonprofit Trying Together, which provides advocacy and resources for childcare and early learning.

“Finding affordable and accessible childcare is a major barrier for many people in this region, which is why we applauded the Allegheny County Airport Authority’s big move to address that barrier for its employees,” said David K. Roger, president of the Hillman Family Foundations.

“These types of improvements strengthen the airport’s critical role in our regional economy and serve as models for other cities looking to improve the traveler and worker experience,” Roger said.

Cara Ciminillo, executive director of Trying Together, said the agency helped advise airport officials on best practices for childcare.

“Through this collaboration,” she said, “we aimed to enhance the airport’s vision for improved work-life balance for airport staff while strengthening the region’s commitment to accessible early learning opportunities.”

Helping working parents

The COVID-19 pandemic upended the childcare industry causing widespread staff shortages and many facilities to close permanently.

High costs and availability of childcare continue to be a challenge for working parents, according to a 2022 study by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau. That 2022 report found full-day childcare prices nationwide ranged from $6,552 to $15,600 per year.

Before La Petite opened at PIT, airport officials said tuition would be set at about 10 percent below market rates, said Partaka, and it accepts state and federal subsidies for low-income families.

The center is located in the former E Gates area, which has since been decommissioned, at PIT and has its own parking lot for drop-off and pickup. It has a capacity for 54 children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. As of December, approximately 30 babies, toddlers and preschoolers were enrolled.

It’s open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. The PIT center is licensed to operate beginning at 6:30 a.m. but doesn’t yet have enough parents dropping off children that early, said Partaka. The facility will consider expanding hours to evenings and weekends if demand increases, she said.

Parents eligible to utilize the center include not only those who work for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, but also employees of the Transportation Security Administration, airlines, airport food and retail vendors, and construction contractors building the new terminal.

When the weather cooperates, children at La Petite spend time outdoors at a play area equipped with bikes, balls and nets. They have morning and afternoon snacks, bring their own lunches and take daily naps. Parents can access an app throughout the day to check on their child’s activities and send messages to teachers.

Airports investing in childcare centers

In Los Angeles, La Petite’s center is located a few blocks north of the airport terminal. Launched in 1998, that facility shut down in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and reopened in 2022. San Francisco International Airport subsidizes tuition costs for employees who use a childcare center located about 3 ½ miles from the terminal.

Closer to the business model at PIT, the city of Phoenix is investing $5 million in a childcare center at Sky Harbor International Airport that would accommodate up to 100 children and could open sometime this year. The $5 million – available to the city through COVID-9 relief funds – includes construction costs and vouchers for parents who use the center and meet income requirements.

Among other airports considering childcare centers for their workers are Denver International Airport and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Providing childcare centers at airports and other employer sites, “really comes from the idea of serving working families, meeting the needs of employers and providing greater access to care for families,” said Courtney McKenzie, senior manager of communications and public relations for Learning Care Group.

How childcare centers pay for themselves

A 2024 report from Boston Consulting Group and Moms First found that accessible childcare boosted recruitment and retention and had a positive effect on employees. Return on investment to organizations that provide on-site, near-site or backup childcare, as well as stipends to make it more affordable, ranged from 90 percent to 425 percent, the report said.

“Our study provides evidence that U.S. employers adding childcare benefits to their employment packages are seeing quick and lasting rewards in recruiting, retention and productivity,” said Emily Kos, managing director and partner at BCG and a coauthor of the report.

“One striking example of how the benefits pay for themselves is tied to something as basic as showing up,” Kos said.

Of 1,000 employees surveyed at companies including Etsy and United Parcel Service, 86 percent said they’re more likely to stay with employers that provide childcare. Accessible childcare provided “peace of mind” for 78 percent of respondents who said the benefit also boosted their careers.

“Parents miss far less work when they have reliable care and more options to manage childcare disruptions,” said Kos. “That’s good for employees and for employers.”

For Allison Beasley, general manager of customer operations for Allegiant Air at PIT, the on-site center was a convenient and satisfying solution to finding care for her 3-year-old son, Nolan.

Until last year, Beasley and her husband, Brad Kozusko, worked opposite shifts so one of them was always home with Nolan. After Kozusko took a job as product manager for Trego Dugan Aviation, which provides ramp and gate services for Allegiant at PIT, the couple enrolled their son at La Petite.

The discounted rate appealed to them as well as getting a space without a wait period — a challenge for many parents seeking childcare placements.

Kozusko typically worked early morning shifts, so Beasley dropped Nolan at La Petite before her job started at 9 a.m. The couple alternated who picked him up at the end of the day — depending on their workflow.

“We love it and Nolan loves it,” said Beasley. “I talk about it to anyone who will listen because it’s a benefit.”

The couple recently decided to relocate from Pittsburgh to be closer to family in Alabama. Beasley said one of the hardest aspects of the move is leaving La Petite.

“I’m truly distraught over it,” she said.

Pittsburgh employers adopting childcare

Just 3 ½ miles from PIT, Learning Care operates a childcare center for employees at Dick’s Sporting Goods’ headquarters campus in Coraopolis.

That facility, part of Learning Care’s Everbrook Academy brand, opened in summer 2021 and has about 150 children enrolled, said Christine Peters, the academy’s principal.

Most of the children’s parents work at Dick’s headquarters but a few are employed at local Dick’s retail stores, she said. Because Dick’s has hybrid work schedules, some employees utilize the center only three days a week when they report to the office, said Peters. Others use it Mondays through Fridays. The cost is below market rates and varies according to how many days per week children attend, said Peters.

“Both PIT and Dick’s use childcare in the recruiting process to incentivize people who want to work [for them],” said Learning Care’s Chodzko.

Elsewhere in the Pittsburgh region, employers that offer on-site childcare include PNC Financial Services, Westinghouse Electric, UPMC and Allegheny General Hospital.

Newton, Massachusetts-based Bright Horizons operates all of those centers.

“Childcare is a critical support to working parents and many employers recognize it as a key component of their talent acquisition strategies,” said Priya Krishnan, chief transformation officer at Bright Horizons.

PNC’s facility, the O’Brien Family Center, has been operating for about 25 years at its Firstside Center, Downtown.

It’s a backup center, not a full-time care option, meaning that, “When someone’s regular care breaks down, they can utilize the backup center to get to work,” said Liz Harrington, senior vice president and senior director of benefits at PNC.

The center accepts children up to 13 years old and can accommodate up to 40 children who are preschool age or younger and up to 35 school-age children, said Emily Krull, PNC’s director, employee and executive communications.

PNC employees can use the center up to 20 days per year at a rate of $25 per day. It also offers special camps on school holidays, spring break and summer break, which don’t count against an employee’s standard 20-day allotment.

Employees who are new parents through birth or adoption are eligible for an additional 40 days of care at the center with a copay of $10 per day.

Harrington, a mother of two young daughters, has first-hand experience with the center. Her first child was born during the pandemic and was on multiple waitlists to be enrolled at other facilities.

Using the center, “allowed me to go back to work … and allowed us time to wait and hear back from a full-time option,” said Harrington. “It was incredibly impactful.”