Panic set in when Anna Prescott absorbed a March 1 email from Loveworks, her 2-year-old son’s Essex childcare center, announcing a steep tuition hike.
Starting at the end of August, tuition for toddlers at Loveworks’ Essex and South Burlington centers would jump from $352 for five days per week of care to $445 — a more than 26 percent increase. Similar tuition hikes were in store for infants and preschoolers. Despite the added costs, the center would close for about a dozen additional days a year for holidays, staff training and vacation.
Little Sprouts, the company that operates the two Loveworks centers as well as four Heartworks and STEAMworks preschools in Chittenden County, chalked up the changes to a rebranding effort that would improve the quality of education by streamlining all six centers under the Heartworks umbrella.