Madison Learning Center, Inc.

Profile and Mission

Madison Learning Center (MLC)is a fully licensed, non-profit early childhood education and childcare facility serving families in Madison and surrounding counties.  Our mission is to provide a year-round safe, nurturing, educational environment for children from infancy to school-age.   

MLC offers a comprehensive program of full-time childcare, preschool programs, before and after-school care, as well as full-time care for winter, spring, and summer breaks. All are offered in a safe, nurturing, child-centered, educational environment.

Madison Learning Center had an average enrollment of 85 children prior to the pandemic.  Enrollment now is about 75% of that amount. About 35 percent of the children currently receive financial assistance for tuition through the VA Department of Social Services. MLC provides employment to an average of 15 employees currently. 

Donations support MLC's goal to keep tuition costs as low as possible by supplementing funds for tuition assistance, paying for on-going staff training, purchasing educational materials, building repairs and maintenance and many other day to day expenses of a busy childcare center. We managed to survive during the pandemic, unlike so many childcare centers that have closed their doors. However, a nationwide childcare crisis threatens many childcare centers, as well as MLC. With grants and generous donations, we are hopeful that MLC can survive this also. 

History of Madison Learning Center

The building that houses Madison Learning Center was built in 1997 specifically as a child care center by Culpeper Hospital and opened in June of 1997 as The Children’s Center of Madison.  Prior to the opening of the new 8,500 square feet building, the Center operated in the Old Elementary School. That program was a result of the combination of the Child Care Center sponsored by Culpeper Memorial Hospital and a Child Care Center that started in 1993, sponsored by Madison Emergency Services Association (MESA) and operated in the basement of Piedmont Episcopal Church. When Culpeper Hospital ceased operating the child care program the building was leased by AppleTree Academies which ended their operation in March of 2012. The building was no longer in use. In early 2014 Culpeper Wellness Foundation searched for a nonprofit organization to use the building.  MESA, along with several individuals, and a great deal of community support, worked to open the new business Madison Learning Center. MLC was opened in August 2014 and licensed by the Virginia Department of Social Services. 

On Friday, November 29, 2019, Madison Learning Center closed and on Monday, December 2, 2019, reopened as Madison Learning Center, Incorporated. MLC had become its own entity and was no longer under the umbrella of the non-profit MESA. Along with becoming incorporated, MLC became a non-profit child care center, continuing the service of Early Childhood Education and quality child care for the families of Madison and surrounding areas.  At the end of December 2019, Culpeper Wellness Foundation donated the building to Madison Learning Center, Inc.

To our donors

The staff, children, and families of MLC want to thank you for your donation.  As an organization that functions on a shoestring budget, your support has a significant impact. We want to express our most sincere thank you for choosing to support MLC during this time when there are many causes asking for help.  Your faith in us and your dedication to children and families is most appreciated.