The Johnson County Learning Center, a Greenwood-based preschool for children in the community, is getting some help paying for renovations of its new location in Whiteland thanks to a grant from Early Learning Indiana, an Indianapolis nonprofit.
The preschool program is currently housed at Westwood Elementary School, but will move to a former eye doctor’s office at 430 N. U.S. 31 in Whiteland after the building is renovated, said Dawn Underwood, the preschool’s director.
Early Learning Indiana has funded $1 million in early childhood education grants around the state, including $75,000 to the Johnson County Learning Center, with money from a 2014 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. that is being distributed now, according to the organization’s website.
The grant aims to help areas of Indiana that are considered “childcare deserts,” meaning there is no more than one childcare seat for every three children in the area, the organization’s website says.
The money for Johnson County Learning Center will help convert a former eye doctor’s office into a preschool. The grant covers more than a third of the $200,000 price tag, Underwood said.
Construction started in December and will be completed in June, just in time for the preschool’s opening in July. The preschool will serve 80 children, three to five years old, and will include one full-day and three half-day program options, she said.
Johnson County Learning Center has been around for 10 years, but this will be the first time the program has its own location to call home.
Since 2009, it has been run out of various school districts, such as Edinburgh, Franklin and Greenwood Community Schools, where the Johnson County Learning Center currently hosts its programs.
School districts that previously hosted the learning center decided to start their own programs, such as Franklin Community Schools, which started its Cub Care program for preschool-age children, Underwood said.
The learning centers’ programs help students work on developing their language and social skills and emotional well-being. Staff at the center also work with parents on ways to help support their children’s development as they approach kindergarten age, Underwood said.
Parents will have the option of sending their children to a full-day, Monday through Friday program, or one of three half-day programs. The two-day and three-day half-day options will be for mornings on alternating days, while the five-day half-day program will be for the afternoons, meaning no more than two programs will be scheduled at the same time. That way, the five teachers at the center will teach no more than 40 of the 80 students, maintaining an eight-to-one student-to-teacher ratio, she said.
Half-day programs range from $125 to $300 per month, depending on the number of days a child is enrolled each week. The full-day program costs $740 per month. Tuition support is available to low-income families and families who have both parents working and cannot spend all day taking care of their children, Underwood said.
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For more information on Johnson County Learning Centers’ programs or information on how to donate, visit jclearningcenters.com or call Preschool Director Dawn Underwood at 317-908-9165
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