History
Kid’s Before and After School Enrichment (Kid’s B.A.S.E.) was founded in 1993 as a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization by a group of early childhood education professionals, parents, and community leaders to provide a safe, fun, educational environment for children aged 5-12 before and after school. Kid’s B.A.S.E. is licensed by the Department of Early learning and is overseen by a volunteer community board of directors. Kid’s B.A.S.E. proudly employees an experienced staffing team that have worked together for over 16 years. From its inception, Kid’s B.A.S.E. has been committed to providing a top quality program that surpasses industry standards.
In the beginning, Kid’s B.A.S.E. occupied the small brick building across the street from Kibler Elementary from 1993-1996 and served approximately 90 families per school year. Kid’s B.A.S.E. then received a generous grant from Boeing and purchased a modular building and moved it onto property leased from the Enumclaw School District. The Division Street facility continued to serve children and working families for the next decade. The facility also housed Green River Community College’s cooperative preschool and hosted a variety of meetings for community groups and clubs.
Due to declining enrollment in the school district attributed to a long-term building moratorium in Enumclaw, J.J. Smith Elementary School was closed in 2006. Kid’s B.A.S.E. along with other community groups saw the opportunity to utilize the school building for public use as a community center. After negotiating a lease with the school district to occupy three classrooms, Kid’s B.A.S.E. applied for and received a substantial grant from the Department of Community Trade and Economic Development to renovate the space and furnish it with new furniture, equipment, curriculum supplies, and teacher resources. Kid’s B.A.S.E. continues to successfully operate from the J.J. Smith location offering children larger classrooms, a gymnasium, stage, snack room, covered outdoor play area, new playground equipment, track, baseball diamond and playfield.
To date Kid’s B.A.S.E. has had the privilege of serving over 800 school-age children of working families with the help from generous contributions from the Boeing Employee Community Fund, Community Trade and Economic Development, Enumclaw School District, City of Enumclaw, Mutual of Enumclaw, School’s Out Washington, Helac, and individual donors.
Kid’s B.A.S.E. looks forward to providing resources for working families and children in our community for many more years to come.