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On the latest stop of Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt’s statewide tour of community colleges and child care programs, Hunt visited Pitt Community College. She toured the Biotechnology Department and the preschool lab classroom in the Education and Child Development Program, a press release said.
Hunt highlighted the programs’ links to jobs in high-demand fields such as early care and education and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math.)
“North Carolina needs more early childhood educators and here at Pitt Community College, students are gaining hands-on experience in important careers like child care and STEM,” Hunt said. “We need to support our community colleges so they can continue to provide innovative ways to train our workforce and address the needs facing North Carolina.”
Hunt launched a community college tour in February and a child care tour in March. Both are tied to her Future-Ready North Carolina policy package, which is focused on workforce development across the educational continuum.
Mariah Pharr, president of Pitt Community College, welcomed Hunt and touted the policy package.
“At Pitt Community College, we are deeply committed to building a future-ready workforce – one that is prepared, adaptable, and rooted in real opportunity,” Pharr said. “From our biotechnology programs that support North Carolina’s life sciences industry, to our early childhood education initiatives that strengthen families and prepare tomorrow’s teachers, Pitt Community College is proud to play a vital role in regional economic growth and social mobility. We are honored to welcome Lieutenant Governor Hunt and deeply appreciate her leadership and advocacy for community colleges. Her Future-Ready North Carolina initiative reinforces the transformative power of our work and the importance of continued investment in our students, our institutions, and our state’s future.”
The package advocates for policies and programs that aim to prepare students for high-demand fields in K-12 and community colleges and provide families with affordable, high-quality child care so they can work.
Hunt’s plan backs Propel NC, a new funding model for the community college system that prioritizes programs that link students to high-demand, high-wage jobs, and the Career and College-Ready Graduate program, which focuses on preparing students for community colleges’ entry-level courses before high school graduation. Hunt’s plan also highlights K-12 career readiness and planning programs.
The plan says that “addressing the looming childcare shortage to retain our skilled workers” is the Hunt team’s “most pressing concern.”
At a recent child care tour stop at Kid Appeal Learning Center in High Point, Hunt highlighted the high costs of care for families, low pay for child care teachers, and the crisis’s implications for employers.
“Our children deserve safe, nurturing environments where they can explore, thrive, and discover who they are” Hunt said. “Instead, families are being pushed to the brink trying to find quality, affordable care. I am determined to find real solutions to the child care crisis, so that every child has the opportunity to succeed.”
Hunt is the co-chair of Gov. Josh Stein’s bipartisan NC Task Force on Child Care and Early Education along with Sen. Jim Burgin, R-Harnett.
EdNC’s coverage of the task force meetings
Hunt’s two main child care policies are expanding Tri-Share — a pilot program that splits the cost of care between eligible employees, participating employers, and the state government — and expanding child care programs on community college campuses.
Read about Tri-Share and on-campus programs
Pitt Community College does not have an on-site child care program, but did launch a preschool lab classroom in 2024 to help prepare early childhood education students in a real-world environment. The classroom is operating a STEAM Kindercamp this summer for students from 3 to 5 years old. According to the press release, students in the Education and Child Development program lead the summer camp.
According to EdNC’s recent model analysis of on-campus child care, 17 of the 58 colleges offer on-campus programs, 21 have shuttered programs, and 20 have never operated a program.
According to EdNC’s analysis of federal data, 29 colleges offered dependent care on campus in 2004.
