For more than five years, an early learning program serving the children of Whatcom County farmworker families had no permanent home. Every summer, staff from Inspire Development Centers would set up classrooms in borrowed church halls, school buildings, and community spaces, doing their best to provide stable care and education in temporary quarters. On August 20, that changed. A ribbon-cutting ceremony in Lynden marked the opening of Inspire's first permanent facility in the city, a new modular building located directly next to Isom Elementary School.

What the New Facility Means for Farmworker Families

The new building will house Inspire's Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program, a federally funded early learning program serving children of farmworker families from age 6 weeks to 5 years old. The program runs during agricultural work seasons, when the families it serves are most in need of safe, reliable childcare.

In the past, the Lynden program operated for just six to eight weeks each summer, limited by the availability of borrowed space. The new permanent facility, funded by a grant from the federal Office of Head Start, allows Inspire to extend its Lynden season dramatically, now running from April through November. That is a nearly fivefold increase in the length of service available to families who depend on the program to work their jobs and keep their children cared for and learning.

Jorge Castillo, CEO of Inspire Development Centers, spoke at the ribbon-cutting and pointed directly to the adjacent elementary school as the reason the location is ideal. "There couldn't be a better place to be than right here," Castillo said. What the school district wants, and what Inspire wants, he explained, is that "these kids have a good head start and enter elementary ready to go."

The ribbon was cut by Marina Cossio De Garza, Laura Ortiz, and Maricruz Martinez De Lira, representing the families and staff at the heart of the program. Parents, staff, and local officials attended the event, including Lynden Mayor Scott Korthuis and Lynden School District Superintendent David VanderYacht.

The Program's Roots in Whatcom County

Inspire Development Centers is a nonprofit organization that operates Head Start and Early Head Start programs across Washington State. Its Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program is designed specifically for the agricultural workforce, a population that experiences some of the highest barriers to early childhood education due to the seasonal and mobile nature of farm work.

Whatcom County is home to a significant agricultural sector, with berry farms, dairy operations, and vegetable fields employing large numbers of seasonal farmworkers, many of whom come from Mexico and Central America. The Lynden area, surrounded by farms in the flat terrain of the Nooksack Valley, is a natural center of that workforce. Families who pick raspberries in Lynden one month may be in a different county the next, following the harvest calendar up and down the West Coast.

For those families, finding consistent, high-quality early childcare is a persistent challenge. Head Start programs like Inspire's are often the only option that combines developmental education, nutrition support, family services, and flexible hours suited to agricultural work schedules. The Migrant and Seasonal Head Start designation specifically accounts for the mobility of these families, allowing children to transition between regional programs without losing continuity of care.

Before this year, operating out of borrowed space meant the Lynden program could only serve families for the peak weeks of summer. Many agricultural workers arrive in the valley as early as April to prepare for the berry season and remain through fall harvests in October and November. The extended season now possible with a permanent building means Inspire can serve families across that entire window, not just at the height of it.

The Building, the Land, and the Partnership

The new facility is a modular building, a practical and cost-effective choice for a program that needed to move quickly from planning to operation. Inside, small chairs are tucked under tables and toys sit on shelves, waiting for the children who will fill the space in the coming days.

Inspire is leasing the land next to Isom Elementary from the Lynden School District for $100 per month, a nominal rate that reflects the district's commitment to the program's mission. Superintendent VanderYacht's presence at the ribbon cutting signals that the school district views the partnership as more than a land transaction. Having an early learning program physically next door to an elementary school creates a natural pipeline: children who spend their early years at the Inspire facility are already familiar with the campus when they arrive for kindergarten.

That continuity matters enormously for children from farmworker families, who often face language barriers, social transitions, and the disruptions of seasonal migration at the very moment they are starting formal schooling. A strong pre-K experience, delivered in a familiar physical environment close to the school they will attend, can significantly reduce those barriers.

The federal Office of Head Start grant that funded the building represents a substantial investment in Whatcom County's agricultural community. The grant reflects national priorities around early childhood education and the specific needs of migrant and seasonal workers, a population that has historically been underserved by mainstream early learning systems.

What Comes Next

With the ribbon cut and the building ready, the first children are expected to begin attending the new Lynden facility within days of the August 20 opening ceremony. For the families who have relied on Inspire's program in borrowed spaces for years, the new building represents stability, a place that will be there next spring and the spring after that.

Inspire operates multiple sites across Washington State, and the Lynden facility joins a network of programs serving agricultural communities from the Yakima Valley to the Puget Sound region. The expansion of the Lynden program's season from six to eight weeks to eight full months is one of the most significant expansions in the organization's local history.

For Whatcom County, the opening of this facility is a reminder that the county's agricultural economy depends on a workforce that includes families with young children, and that investing in those children's early development is both the right thing to do and a practical contribution to the health of the community. More information about Inspire's programs is available through the Inspire Development Centers website. For context on broader federal early learning policy changes affecting local programs, see earlier coverage of proposed Head Start cuts and their impact on Whatcom and Skagit Counties.