Our Mission

The mission of Gate City Day Nursery Association is to provide a quality, affordable, comprehensive early childhood program that meet the developmental and social-emotional needs of each child in our care. Our program strengthens families through Protective Factors and supportive services, while making opportunities available for parents to become actively involved in their child’s educational experience.

Our History

The Story of Gate City Day Nursery Association
“A Quality Early Childhood Program, Where Learning Comes First”

Where did it all begin?

It all began in a city called Atlanta, the “Gate City” so named because it was the Gate Way to the South. While Atlanta was known as the “Gate City”, the picture was not as bright as it seemed. Prosperity was not enjoyed by all of its citizens, and the city was divided along racial lines. It was a city that was segregated.

Many parents of small children had to work long hours, just to make ends meet. During the time they were away work, oftentimes their children were left unattended to play in the streets of their neighborhoods. Their basic needs were unmet until their parents returned home from work. Even though mothers worked all day, the economic and physical conditions of African Americans in the city often put the families at risk.

The plight of these families did not go unnoticed; as a teacher from Atlanta University, Dr. Gertrude Ware Bunce began to put ideas in motion. Her dream was to provide a safe haven, where children could learn and socialize with their peers. And so began her quest to bring her dream to fulfillment.

During this time at Atlanta University, there was a leading scholar and writer, by the name of Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, who was one of the most prolific thinkers of the 20th century. He was a teacher of sociology at Atlanta University. Dr. DuBois was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University, and in 1896 organized the sociology department at Atlanta University. He edited the department’s internationally respected journal, and convened annual conferences that targeted issues affecting the lives of African Americans.

Dr. Gertrude Ware Bunce approached Dr. DuBois with her vision, and he initiated a movement to address the issues of working mothers. Under his direction, the movement was stimulated by a series of conferences on the lives of African Americans across the country. One of the most significant issues which came out of these conferences was the necessity for some type of agency to provide child care during the day for parents who had to work.

In May of 1905 the Gate City Day Nursery Association, first called the Gate City Free Kindergarten, was organized for the purpose of providing and maintaining a free kindergarten for African American children in Atlanta.

Dr. Ware and a group of Atlanta women; Ms. Ola Perry, Ms. Ida Wynn, Ms. Lizzie Burch, Mrs. David T. Howard, Mrs. J. W. E. Bowen, Mrs. John Hope, and Mrs. Alonzo F. Herndon all stepped up to meet the challenges set before them. They helped find the finances, teachers, and supplies as they opened centers and worked hard to make sure they were supported. It was in 1923 that Gate City Day Nursery Association became a charter member of the Atlanta Community Chest, now known as the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta.

In 1955 at the request of the Atlanta Housing Authority, the Elizabeth Burch Child Care Center was opened, and in 1958 the center moved of the community building in the Carver Homes Community. The Carver Homes Housing Project opened in Atlanta in 1953. During this time the Claudia White Harreld Child Care Center opened in the Perry Homes Community. The Perry Homes Housing Project was completed in northwest Atlanta in 1955. The Harreld Center was named in honor of the former president of Gate City Day Nursery Association. Claudia White Harreld devoted most of her life in service to the organization.

In 1963 Gate City was requested to operate two centers in Marietta by the Junior League of Cobb Marietta. The Lyman Homes Child Care Center and the Fort Hill Child Care Center were operated out of the Marietta Housing Authority communities. During the early 1960’s Gate City moved from the John Eagan Homes Community to assume operation of the A. F. Herndon Child Care Center in Herndon Homes, located on Northside Drive in Atlanta. Gate City opened a center in the Bowen Homes Housing Projects. In 1972 the Ida E. Wynn Child Care Center opened in the Thomasville Heights Housing Community, and in October of the same year, the Central Administration opened on Cascade Road in Southwest Atlanta. The Samuel L. Jones Child Care Center opened on the Southside of Atlanta to bridge the gap in services for families in that area. Gate City established its first flat fee center when it opened the S. L. Jones Center. Gate City Day Nursery Association acquired another center in 1985, known as the Grady Homes Child Care Center. It was renamed the Susie LaBord Child Care Center.

During the 1990’s the A. F. Herndon Child Care Center closed, the Elizabeth Burch Child Care Center moved from Carver Homes to its current location at the City of Atlanta Workforce Development Agency on Pollard Boulevard. The Claudia White Harreld Child Care Center closed in Perry Homes. The Bowen Homes Child Care Center closed. These closures resulted from the revitalization and gentrification, made by the Atlanta Housing Authority, to the housing projects and communities where the centers were located.

In January 1998 Gate City Day Nursery Association opened the Samuel M. Nabrit Child Care Center in Southwest Atlanta in honor of the past Board President, Dr. Samuel M. Nabrit. In 2001 Gate City was asked to operate a center in the newly revitalized community of Castleberry Hills, a mixed income community developed by the Herman J. Russell Company. The center was named in honor of Dr. John Hope, one of Gate City’s first board members. In 2002 the Fort Hill Center closed in Marietta, in 2003 the Susie LaBord Center closed and in 2005 the Lyman Homes Center in Marietta closed. The Ida E. Wynn Center closed its doors in 2007 when the community and housing project was slated for revitalization. After just operating for seven years, the John Hope Center closed in 2008 as a result of the revitalization of the surrounding communities which adversely affected the enrollment.

Today there are three early learning centers operating in Southwest Atlanta: Samuel M. Nabrit Early Learning Center, the Elizabeth Burch Early Learning Center, and the Samuel L. Jones Early Learning Center.