Maple River District, city partner to re-open child care center

Nov. 22--MAPLETON -- The Maple River School District, the city of Mapleton and many community volunteers came together to re-open a shuttered day care center.

The Eagles Nest Child Care Center quietly opened in September with a handful of infants and toddlers. Now that staff members have several weeks of smooth operations under their belts, they are advertising more openings at the center.

"We opened kind of quietly but now we have all the kinks worked out and we're ready to go," said Kacy Queen, Maple River's early child care coordinator.

For three years Mapleton did not have a day care center option for its youngest residents.

A nonprofit center that had been in operation since the 1970s closed in October 2016 after struggling to find adequate staffing.

The School District responded by adding wrap-around child care to its preschool classes. But a void remained for infant and toddler care.

The district and city partnered to re-open the center -- with a lot of support.

"It's been a real community effort," Maple River Supt. Dan Anderson said.

The building remains under the ownership of its nonprofit former operator, which isn't charging rent in exchange for building maintenance.

Several grants, including a $35,000 forgivable loan from Blue Earth County, helped fund building repairs, new equipment and other start-up costs.

In-kind donations and many volunteer hours helped get the building and grounds back into suitable condition. Even the high school football team stepped up, helping haul in new landscaping rock.

"There was a lot of sweat equity," Anderson said.

The support extended beyond Mapleton. Queen said staff from Blue Earth Area Public School, which has established infant and toddler care, gave her advice on licensing and other start-up hurdles.

The district and city will share any early cost deficit, with a goal of making the center finally self-sustainable in subsequent years.

The district is overseeing the center's day-to-day operations, including staffing. Queen said she's not worried the new center will meet the same fate as its predecessor because the district is able to provide highly competitive pay and benefits.

At $200 to $210 a week, Queen said tuition also is competitive with other centers in the region.

The center now has three openings for babies and nine for toddlers up to 3 years old. Families do not have to be residents of the Maple River School District.

At full capacity the center can have 22 children.

A study commissioned last year by the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation estimated more than 60 child care slots were needed in the 56065 zip code, which includes Mapleton. The study estimated a shortage of over 900 openings in Blue Earth County.

"There certainly still is need out there," Anderson said.

___

(c)2019 The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.)

Visit The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.) at www.mankatofreepress.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.