SHELBYVILLE, Ind. – Early Learning Shelby County, Major Health Partners, and the City of Shelbyville broke ground Wednesday at the Julia and Nicholas Runnebohm Early Learning Center in Shelbyville’s Intelliplex Park. The state-of-the-art facility is the community’s most significant effort to improve childcare access in Shelby County.
Currently, Shelby County only has enough seats in licensed childcare facilities to support 40% of its children aged five years or younger. The more than 26,000-square-foot facility will be built in two phases, initially creating an additional 96 childcare seats. The facility will feature childcare rooms for infants, toddlers, and pre-kindergarten children.
The early learning center, supported by Indiana’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) program, will also create the county’s first pre-kindergarten educational program.
The facility will bear the name of Julia and Nicholas Runnebohm, who made significant contributions to the project. Additionally, Major Health Partners, Horseshoe Indianapolis, Knauf Insulation, Beaty Construction, C-Tech Corporation, and Ryobi Die Casting have made donations to the project.
The early learning center plays a key role in addressing the need for quality childcare not only within Shelby County but throughout the entire Accelerate Rural Indiana (ARI) region. The ARI region was awarded $20 million in READI funds, $3 million of which will be allocated to the early learning center.
Upon completion of construction, the center will be operated in partnership with Bright Horizons, the country’s largest provider of employer-sponsored child care, and will initially serve a capacity of 96 children, ages 6 weeks through 6 years. The center will feature a Discovery Driven Learning approach to inspire curiosity, health and safety policies backed by experts, and an educator-created curriculum to support school readiness.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the early learning center marks an important milestone in the community’s commitment to addressing the need for childcare. By investing in early childhood education and providing access to quality childcare, Shelbyville is taking a vital step toward building a stronger and more prosperous future.
Construction on the first phase of the Julia and Nicholas Runnebohm Early Learning Center is expected to conclude in the fall of 2024. Construction of the second phase will be announced at a later date.
