Governor Cuts Ribbon on New Childcare Center

Gov. Tony Evers joins students from DOCO Child Development center to cut the ribbon on its new facility Jan. 22. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.

Child care in Door County got a huge boost earlier this month with the opening of the DOCO Child Development Center just north of Sturgeon Bay on Gordon Road. 

On Monday, Gov. Tony Evers visited to cut the ribbon on the new center with the school’s 3-year-old students and its founders, sisters Alexis Fuller and Bridget Starr. 

The 18,500 square-foot space was funded with a $3 million Workforce Innovation Grant awarded by the state to United Way of Door County to support early childhood education. The building increases the center’s capacity from 83 children at its previous location to 150 in the new space. 

“I spend a lot of time concerned about child care, and kids period,” Evers said in his brief remarks. “But it’s also an issue for our workforce.”

Evers also used the occasion to encourage the legislature to use some of the state’s $7 billion surplus to renew funding for the Child Care Counts program to support providers across the state. 

Fuller said the full impact of the center became clear on the first day of classes.

“To see it through the children’s eyes and see how calm they are and how they’re thriving is huge,” she said. “It’s because all of our staff had input in what makes up this facility. They were up all night messaging and dreaming up what this could be.”

Fuller said the board is in the initial phase of a capital campaign to raise the remaining $3.7 million to cover the construction costs for the center.