Virginia Tech’s Little Hokie Hangout, the subsidized daycare that has let graduate students balance parenthood with coursework for over a decade, will shut its doors for good on Dec. 9, 2026. The closure forces families who relied on its flexible scheduling and below-market tuition to find new child care before the spring semester begins.
The program, based at 600 Prices Fork Road inside Luther Memorial Lutheran Church in Blacksburg, serves children ages 20 months through 5 years and is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to Virginia Tech Graduate School. It was designed primarily for graduate student families but has also been open to Virginia Tech employees at a slightly increased tuition rate. As reported by Collegiate Times, the Virginia Tech Graduate School decided to eliminate the program due to changing financial priorities, after Dean Aimée Surprenant deliberated with Little Hokie Hangout director and founder Marin Riegger in 2024 about fitting the program into the graduate school’s budget. The school considered staff cuts and higher prices for participating families as ways to reduce costs before ultimately deciding to end the program entirely, Collegiate Times reports.
Riegger said raising costs would have undermined its purpose of staying affordable and appealing at a time when other New River Valley child-care options remain out of reach, per the same account. The program was created to meet graduate student families’ child-care needs five days a week with flexible scheduling and manageable costs, and it also gave Virginia Tech students part-time jobs in child care to gain experience before entering the workforce, according to Virginia Tech News. Families could register for anything from full-time attendance to as little as three hours a week, the same source notes.
A Family Caught Off Guard
Courtney Muscatello, who joined Little Hokie Hangout in 2025, was shocked by the closure news, Collegiate Times reports. Her family expected to stay with the program while she finished her education, but now must find care elsewhere, she told the outlet. Muscatello said her family is mourning the closure of something special to them, and the replacement child care she has since found costs more and offers less flexible scheduling than what Little Hokie Hangout provided…