Puddle Jumpers, a co-op daycare in San Francisco’s Mission District, has closed its doors after years of serving local families. The daycare, which was located in the Polish Club at Shotwell and 22nd streets, was a beloved institution in the community, known for its unique co-op model and diverse student body.
A Co-op Tradition
Puddle Jumpers grew out of the legacy of Little People’s Workshop, a Noe Valley childcare co-op founded in 1975. When Little People’s lost its lease in 2008, parents from the school rented a new home inside the Polish Club in the Mission. The co-op model allowed parents to be heavily involved in the daycare’s operations, handling everything from finances and legal matters to staffing, enrollment, and daily operations.
The parental work requirements could be as time-intensive as a part-time job, but the school filled a gap for families seeking affordable, full-time care for children under age 3. According to Hinnie Chan, who served as treasurer while her son attended from 2019 to 2020, the co-op model created a sense of community among families. “It was a wonderfully odd, beautiful little social experiment that we all somehow survived and ended up loving so much,” she said.
Expanding Childcare Subsidies
The city’s newest expansion of childcare and preschool subsidies, announced in January 2026, has been good news for many parents. The expansion provides free access to licensed childcare centers for families earning less than $230,000, and 50-percent subsidies for those making up to $310,000. However, the expansion has also proved to be tough competition for unlicensed childcare centers like Puddle Jumpers, which became unable to attract enough parents to keep the operation running.
“Now you can get cheaper care at most other places without working at all,” said Cole Rose, the outgoing co-op chair whose two children attended the program. Despite the closure, Puddle Jumpers will be fondly remembered by the community it served. For years, the red buggies of Puddle Jumpers were a familiar sight in the Mission, with a rolling group of toddlers waving to neighbors as they explored the neighborhood.
Original reporting: Mission Local — read the source article.
