Tinker Way Campus

North Bay Children’s Center’s main campus is located at Hamilton Field in Marin County.  NBCC was the first non-profit community-based organization to relocate to the decommissioned Hamilton Air Force Base as part of the base conversion project in 1996.

North Bay Children’s Center (NBCC) has been working in partnership with the North Bay community since 1986 when it was incorporated as a 501 © a(3) not-for-profit corporation.  Since then, we have provided the highest quality child care at affordable rates to our families.  Although we serve families across the income spectrum, the majority are low-income.

NBCC provides a safe, secure, and always caring environment fostering trust and attachment while encouraging curiosity, exploration and creativity for children at various stages of development.  We are participants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).  To that end, NBCC provides a nutritious breakfast, lunch and snacks on a daily basis for every child enrolled in our full-day programs free of charge.  Our services include parent education and support programs and scholarships for low-income families.  In fact, greater than 50% of the children served by NBCC receive tuition assistance, enabling parents to return to the workforce or pursue further education.

In 1996, NBCC relocated to a larger facility at Hamilton Air Force Base in order to serve more families and respond to the growing child care needs of our community.  

In January 2004, North Bay Children’s Center (as the lead agency) along with two other child development programs was awarded a grant of $150,000 from The First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission to work together to develop a Community Garden Project (eventually dubbed the “Garden of Eatin”).  This garden would enable the children who attend our programs to learn about health and nutrition through integrated academic and environmentally based curriculum.  The concept of culture of health is tightly woven into our curriculum planning across all NBCC sites.  The natural link between gardening and nutrition is fully integrated into NBCC’s Health and Nutrition program.

In September 2004, NBCC expanded its operations to include the new Tinker Way school age facility.  Novato Community Partners, thedevelopment team for the Hamilton housing project constructed a brand new 3,355 square foot childcare facility designed to provide before and after school care for an additional 35 school-age children from Hamilton Elementary School.  It has now expanded even farther to include children from Loma Verde Elementary School.  The Tinker Way Site is also home to our state subsidized Morning Preschool Program.

Our NBCC “C” Street and Tinker Way sites continue to thrive and ensure consistency of care and continuity of funding to our scholarship families.  Most important, we continue to promote the educational and social development of children and youth through Early Childhood Education “best practices” as they become life-long learners.

     "In order to level the playing field for all students in California, preschool is a must. Statistics prove that students that get a good strong start to academic and social emotional development are the most successful in school, life, and contribute back to society as a whole. I strongly support preschool programs that assist in closing the achievement gap and supporting our greatest asset in a democratic society, a quality public education as an investment in our future."     Dr. Jan Derby, Novato Superintendent of Schools