Tippecanoe Valley opens doors for infant-toddler child care to the public
This post was provided by News Now Warsaw
Editor’s note: This story was the basis for a radio newscast report last week. News Now Warsaw regrets the delay in publishing.
By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
MENTONE — Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation continues to expand its childcare services with its latest effort now benefiting parents in the Mentone area.
The district has had a pre-school child care service for staff for several years and a second program has been established at Menton Elementary for infants and toddlers.
Originally, it was intended to serve children of staff, but the demand only filled seven of the 18 seats so with the help of Launchpad and grant money from two sources, the district was able to become licensed and able to open to the public.
VELA is a licensed childcare provider offering quality care and education for children ages 6 weeks to 3 years old.
It’s now the first licensed facility in the Mentone area.
Demand for the service has been strong.
“We are almost full already and we have a waitlist for next year,” said Courtney Kindig, program coordinator for the Valley Early Learning Academy (VELA).
She said the demand has exceeded expectations.
“We are very pleasantly pleased with that outcome and we are excited for the future about what we can do,” she said.
She credits Sherry Searles, the director of Launchpad, for helping line up grant money and training. LanchPad is part of the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce and is focused on improving childcare opportunities across the county.
“LaunchPad has been an instrumental part of creating these programs,” she said.
Specifically, LaunchPad helped line up grant money from Early Learning Indiana. Kosciusko County Community Foundation also helped financially.
Money was needed to install a fire suppression system (required for licensing) that cost $70,000, Searles said.
School officials, along with LaunchPad and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce celebrated the recent expansion of services with a ribbon cutting Thursday at Mentone Elementary.
The popularity of the service might be due to pricing. Fees for the service are far below market rate.
The weekly fee for infant care is $167.50 and $152.50 for toddlers, not including meals.
That’s roughly half of the the current market rate.
Interested parents and guardians are encouraged to schedule a tour with Courtney Kindig by emailing her.
Tippecanoe Valley now joins Whitko Community Schools as having licensed facilities in Kosciusko County that can serve infants and toddlers, and Searles said Wawasee Community Schools is moving in that direction.
Warsaw Community Schools has a childcare program, too, but has enough staff to fill seats in the program and is currently not looking to expand, she said.
“It’s a great retention tool for teachers and you know, it makes sure that the kids coming into kindergarten have had a great early childhood experience,” Searles said.
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