By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
PLAINVILLE — Plainville USD 270, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and other community partners have joined forces to open a new child care group home in Plainville this fall.
Plainville was one of four communities that received grants from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation for homes that will be used to house new child-care group homes.
The home will be able to accommodate 12 children at a time ages birth through school age. Hours will be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The group home will be owned and operated by Plainville USD 270.
The Rooks County Health Center donated to the child care home project, and it and the school district will each have four reserved spots at the home.
USD 270 received a second grant for a new building for its preschool program. The new preschool will have two rooms with a capacity of 20 students each. Morning and afternoon sessions will be offered. The district will double its slots from 40 to 80.
The school already has 45 preschool students enrolled for the fall and a waiting list for the child care home.
The preschool site is under construction, but Lisa Gehring, USD 270 superintendent, said she hopes to have that building open by the start of school in August.
Both the child care home and the new preschool building will be located on land owned by the school district west of Plainville Elementary School at 203 SE Cardinal Ave.
Gehring said the project is essential to building the Plainville community.
"We have families in our community who are not having children because there are no spots available," she said.
Gehring said demand has been so high for the child care slots that the school district is considering a phase three, which would be a second child care group home.
Gehring said she thinks the preschool and child care's partnership with the school district provides a huge advantage.
"This allows us to work with our educators," she said. "We can provide a seamless curriculum throughout. We're literally beginning at birth. Then we have a seamless curriculum all through graduation."
The National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs has found that high-quality early childhood programs can yield a $4 to $9 return per $1 invested. A 2009 study of Perry Preschool, a high-quality program for 3-5 year-olds, estimated a return to society of between about $7 and $12 for each $1 invested
"We are hoping we can really get them started off postively and work with them and catch some things early," Gehring said. "They will have all the advantages of being read to and be able to write and color and explore, so they have a good start."
Gehring said the project started several years ago with the expansion of the school district's preschool. At one time, Plainville had several preschools, but they closed, leaving just the USD 270 preschool and Sacred Heart Catholic School preschool.
USD 270 opened enrollment at its preschool in 2019. In its second year of operation, the preschool doubled in size. By the end of the last school year, the program was near capacity with 38 of 40 spots filled.
Plainville has several home child cares, but they are at maximum capacity and have lengthy waiting lists, Gehring said.
"We knew that child care was such a need," Gehring said. "If we as a school district can provide that early start for those kids and help our families, that is what we want to do."
The school district has hired a child care director, Leasa Hrabe, and two providers, Jayde Hoiser and Shelby Paramore.
The school district also will offer after-school care for school-age children through the program.
In between the preschool and the child care home will be a storm shelter. The two buildings also will have a covered walkway so children can easily move between the preschool and the child care home.
Gehring said the proximity of the two programs should be convenient for parents, who will not have to deal with students transferring between preschool and child care.
The two programs should provide a benefit to the community as a whole, Gehring said.
"For the community, I think it's going to help us remain viable," she said. "I think we will see some new families come because we're going to have the services to meet their needs.
"We have an excellent school system here, and now we're going to be able to start early with their children and provide a space for them."
Gehring said she believes the model Plainville is building can be replicated in other communities in Kansas. She and other local officials are working on a presentation to share with other interested parties.
"We're very excited to get this going," Gehring said. "It's a great opportunity for our families and our community. We are really excited."