New childcare center ‘LEAPs’ into Lompoc

LOMPOC, Calif. - The Lompoc Children’s Center at Trinity Nazarene Church will soon serve children as young as three months old.

L.E.A.P. stands for Learn, Engage, Advocate, and Partner.

“We will have three classroom. Our infant classroom for children under two. Our toddler classroom for two year old to three year old and our preschool classroom three years old to five years old, which is basically the age that they go to kindergarten,” says Serineh Vartani, director of Early Childhood Programs at L.E.A.P. 

The center is converted from the church’s former pre-school that closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Each classroom has their own playground. The infant playground. We have a toddler playground. And then we have this beautiful big playground for the preschoolers that they can come outside, interact with the nature, and also play and have fun and learn at the same time,” says Vartani. 

Their licensed childcare services and family resources will meet critically under-served needs in the local community.

“When we looked around the county, it became clear that Lompoc is the least served area in Santa Barbara County,” says Lori Goodman, L.E.A.P.’s executive director. 

This project cost over $800,000, and the partnership with Trinity Church of the Nazarene is two years in the making. 

“In Lompoc area, only 7% of the children have access to licensed child care centers,” says Varian. 

Bilingual classrooms and services will open early next year.

“We are experts at providing high quality, trauma informed child care and sensitive, engaging family support,” says Goodman.