Solano opens Rise Vallejo early-learning campus after multimillion-dollar conversion of shuttered school

The Solano County Board of Supervisors on April 7 formally heard presentations about and celebrated the opening of the Rise Vallejo Early Education and Community Resource Center, a converted shuttered elementary school that county and nonprofit partners redeveloped into a shared early-learning campus.

First Five Solano Executive Director Michelle Harris said the project turned an 18-classroom property on Coronel Avenue into a child-centered campus after years of planning and renovation. "We collectively have transformed a shuttered elementary school into an early learning campus," Harris said, describing a design process that addressed licensing, safety and accessibility requirements.

ChildStart, which will operate classrooms at the site, said the campus sits on about 6.64 acres and provides 18 flexible classrooms with age-appropriate restrooms, multiple secure playgrounds and shared operating supports. "We had 30 children start the first day," Juan Cisneros, executive director of ChildStart, told the board, adding that only two children cried during the initial transition. Cisneros said the facility was deliberately sited in an under-resourced neighborhood and that providers share operating costs rather than pay commercial rent.

Lisette Henderson, chair of the First Five Solano commission, framed the center as an effort to address facility shortages that have historically limited child-care expansion in the county. "The number-one barrier was a lack of appropriate facilities," she said, noting First Five and partners assembled public, philanthropic and local funding to complete a roughly $20 million renovation. The leadership team described a phased approach: Phase one is the classroom conversion now operating; phase two is a planned community-resource building with family supports, a food-access hub and other services. Staff estimated a 6,000-square-foot community resource building would cost on the order of $4 million.

Facility upgrades included new roofs and HVAC, repurposed classroom footprints with food-preparation areas and two child-sized toilets and diapering areas in every classroom, new security fencing for play areas, ADA improvements and landscaping designed to allow concurrent use by multiple providers. County and First Five staff said the campus will serve more than 200 children once enrollment and licensing are fully in place.

The board and county leaders invited the public to a red-ribbon opening and family carnival scheduled April 17 and encouraged other jurisdictions to consider similar school-to-campus conversions. First Five and ChildStart said the shared-campus model reduces overhead for small providers, helps expand slots for infants and toddlers, and creates space for integrated supports such as early intervention, parenting services and workforce supports for child-care staff.

Next steps described to the board included completing provider licensing, standing up a full family-navigation program on site and advancing fundraising and design for the phase-two community resource center.