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Solano opens RISE Vallejo: shuttered elementary becomes 18-classroom early-learning campus
Summary
1st 5 Solano, Child Start and the county converted the former Beverly Hills Elementary into RISE Vallejo, an 18-classroom shared early-education campus that opened this week and will serve more than 200 children when fully operational; leaders described $20 million in renovation costs and plans for a future community resource building.
The Solano County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation April 7 on RISE Vallejo, an early education and community resource center created by converting a shuttered elementary school into an 18-classroom campus now serving preschool and early-childhood programs.
"We collectively have transformed a shuttered elementary school into an early learning campus," Michelle Harris, executive director of 1st 5 Solano, told the board, describing a leadership collaboration with Child Start and the Solano County Office of Education that won public and philanthropic funding to renovate the site.
Juan Cisneros, executive director of Child Start, described practical changes required by early-childhood licensing: classroom bathrooms with child-sized toilets, new HVAC and roofing systems, improved playgrounds and circulation, and on-site supports. "We had 30 children start; of 30 children that started, we only had two cry," Cisneros said, noting the first cohort’s successful opening.
Commission chair Lisette Estrella Henderson and other partners said the site sits on a 6.64-acre campus at 1450 Coronel Avenue in Vallejo and intentionally serves an under-resourced neighborhood. The presenters said renovations totaled about $20 million and included infrastructure replacements (noting a main water pipe stamped 1913) and accessibility upgrades.
The model is collaborative: Child Start manages facility operations and aggregates shared operating costs across providers; five providers currently are contracted to run classrooms. Staff said the campus will ultimately serve more than 200 children annually and be supported by the Solano County Office of Education with coaching and behavioral supports for providers.
Project leaders described phase two as a planned community resource building that would house family supports, parenting programs and a small bodega/pantry. Staff provided a rough estimate for a 6,000-square-foot resource building of about $4 million and said they will continue to pursue philanthropic and public funding.
The board applauded the project as an example of reusing closed school buildings and leveraging ARPA and other funds to expand childcare capacity. A public red-ribbon cutting and family carnival was scheduled for April 17 to allow supervisors and residents to tour the campus.
