Branch & Bloom Coming Soon Join the Interest ListBranch & Bloom Learning Academy is Coming Soon to Prince George's County. Join the Interest List
Better Childcare MD is not just building a school. We are building infrastructure, for families, for the workforce, and for the long-term strength of Prince George's County.
Prince George's County is one of the most populous counties in Maryland, and one of the most underserved when it comes to licensed, quality childcare. Working parents, many of them essential workers, educators, and public servants, face wait lists of 12 to 18 months or more, drive 30 to 45 minutes to find licensed care, or leave the workforce entirely because childcare costs exceed their earnings. The ripple effects are real: reduced household income, lower workforce participation, and children who enter kindergarten without the social and academic foundations they deserve. Branch & Bloom Learning Academy and the Better Childcare Project exist because this problem is solvable, and because the community deserves someone willing to solve it here, not somewhere else.
"Childcare access is a workforce issue, a family issue, and a community issue, all at once."
We know the names can feel like a lot. Here's exactly how everything fits together.
The early learning center itself, where children attend each day. Located at 6705 to 6711 Old Branch Ave in Camp Springs, MD. Serving infants through school-age children. Opening soon, pending Maryland Office of Child Care licensing.
The community initiative led by Tony Williams that coordinates the Academy, the Old Branch Market, community programming, and neighborhood partnerships. The Better Childcare Project is the 'why' behind everything: community-first, family-centered, and built for long-term impact.
The nonprofit arm of the initiative. EIN 80-0897803. 170(b)(1)(A)(vi). Tax-deductible gifts: Yes. The Foundation funds scholarships for families, teacher training, field trips, family events, and childcare expansion. Pending final organizational filings where applicable.
To expand access to premium early learning and family-centered community programming for working families in Prince George's County, MD.
A Prince George's County where every child has access to quality early learning, every working parent has reliable childcare support, and every neighborhood has the infrastructure to thrive, starting with Old Branch Avenue.
The Better Childcare Foundation is the nonprofit arm that makes the mission sustainable. Donations to the Foundation fund scholarships for families who need financial assistance, pay for teacher training and professional development, cover the cost of free family events in the community, sponsor field trips and enrichment programs, and support the long-term expansion of childcare access in Prince George's County.
Pending final verification and organizational filing updates where applicable.
We believe in radical transparency. Here is an honest picture of where this project stands and what comes next.
Three parcels at 6705, 6709 & 6711 Old Branch Ave, Camp Springs, MD, secured through a lease arrangement with the Donald Smolinski Family, with long-term purchase interest. Blackbird Property Management and Better Childcare serve as project operator and development partners.
BetterChildcareMD.com is live. The interest list is open and collecting families, partners, and community supporters.
Renovation permits and Maryland Office of Child Care licensing application in progress. This is an active phase.
Interior renovation of the 6711 Old Branch Ave building to meet childcare facility standards. Timeline dependent on permit approval.
Formal hiring of lead teachers, assistant teachers, and administrative staff. Career interest list open now.
Estimated 2026 to 2027. Interest list families will receive personal outreach before public enrollment opens.
Join the interest list as a family, partner with us as a business, or support the Foundation with a donation.
Better Childcare MD exists to expand childcare access Prince George's County families urgently need. Much of southern Prince George's, including Camp Springs, functions as a childcare desert Maryland researchers and parents both recognize, with too few licensed seats for the working families who live here.
We believe in early education community impact that goes beyond a single classroom. As a community childcare initiative Maryland can model, The Better Childcare Foundation Maryland nonprofit will fund scholarships, teacher training, and family programming. We are proud to be a childcare nonprofit Prince George's County families helped shape, and we welcome partners, donors, and volunteers who want to build it with us.