Our schools were named after Fredrick Douglas Moore, a vibrant community leader in the Southeast Denton Community. Fred valued education and he was the first principal of Denton’s only school for African Americans from 1915 to 1953. 

In recognition of his achievements on behalf of Denton’s black community, the City of Denton dedicated Fred Moore Park in 1948 and DISD named the newly-built Fred Moore High School in his honor in 1949. Additionally, he was selected “Man of the Year” for 1949 by Applause magazine. Fred Moore Day Nursery School would come to be named after him upon opening in 1952.

Fred Moore Day Nursery School began in 1952 after volunteers learned young working families in the community were leaving their children at home alone due to the inability to find or afford childcare.

Hazel Moore Young was the first volunteer that served at the school named after her father. Hazel cared for 10 children during FMDNS's first year in operation.  FMDNS remained a non-profit for nearly 70 years before becoming a part of Denton ISD in June of 2021. FMDNS merged with Denton ISD becoming the first Early Child Care Center open to the general public for the district.

A recent study by the US Census Bureau shows that middle-class and low-income working families have less access to licensed child care but spend a larger share of their income when they do pay for care. Low- income families are the most likely to seek sources of care other than licensed/regulated childcare facilities due to income limitations. 

Our impact allows low-income families the opportunity to continue their secondary education or work full time. 94% of FMDNS families are moderate to extremely low-income and would pay an estimated 35% of their annual household income on childcare if services like FMDNS did not exist. ​

Recent studies show only 58% of economically disadvantaged children started school ready to learn, while 91% of FMDNS children are meeting or exceeding developmentally appropriate standards and are on target to be meeting or exceeding school readiness standards by age 5.

Our goals as an organization are created in line with our mission and vision to best support the youth and their families in Denton County. We continually strive to exceed expectations.  We aim to decrease the school readiness gap for low-income and at-risk youth.

We strive to be the number one choice among families for childcare on a sliding scale to provide low-cost solutions for parents to work or continue their education full time. Our goals are to continue expanding our summer care program for children ages 6 weeks through 8 years of age.

We encourage community and parent involvement by hosting educational and resource-driven events. We continue to expand our funding sources and our community partnerships to better serve our youth.