A new day for daycare: Hines set to open Little Scholars Learning Center in Conrad

By: 
Robert Maharry

When one door closes, another one opens.
           
Lisa Hines was admittedly frustrated in September after the Conrad Board of Adjustment rejected her plan to move her daycare to a residential area along Circle Drive, citing the concerns of neighbors about congestion and commotion. But less than two months later, the Wolf Creek Childcare and Preschool facility on the west edge of town shut down, and an investor, Jaycin Cross, agreed to purchase the property and reopen it on one condition—Hines had to be in charge.  
           
“I heard about an opportunity to buy the place, and the only way we were even going to consider it is if Lisa runs it,” Cross said. “She’s been doing her own daycare for a lot of years, and everyone I talk to loves her. I haven’t heard anything negative about her.”
           
In the next few months, the renamed and rebranded Little Scholars Learning Center will reopen, and in the meantime, Lisa and her husband Mike are working overtime to get it ready—painting with the goal of achieving a Montessori feel, in particular, has been a tall task. On Monday night, they held a job fair, and they’ve secured final state approval and a loan through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
           
LSLC will be the only licensed and regulated facility in Conrad with a capacity of 76 kids from infancy up to late elementary. The Hines’ old in-home daycare north of town could only take 15 children. All of the staff members will be certified, and unlike WCPCC, which operated as a nonprofit and received around $65,000 annually from the city in its later years, the new center will be completely private and won’t use local tax dollars.  
 
For the full story, see this week's Grundy Register. Subscribe by calling (319) 824-6958 or clicking here. 

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