Sometime this year, a new partnership between the Vinton-Shellsburg School District and Happy Time Day Care will result in a new service – day care at Tilford Elementary.

The partnership basically offers the same day care services that Happy Time provides, but does so in the school, so parents who go to work early in the morning will no longer have to worry about transporting children from the day care center to the school.

Hours will be from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, year-round.

“We will basically be running the same program it will just be located at the school,” says Happy Time director Stacey Farmer. “We are looking at getting it up and running by summer we hope. This will allow children access to the library and the gym. I think it’s going to be a great partnership for Happy Time and the school district.”

Currently, parents who take their children to Happy Time have to arrange for transportation from the day care to school. Many pay for rides on Benton County Transportation vehicles.

VS School Board member Megan Rickels led the effort to create this partnership.

“This has been a passion for me for a long time,” Rickels said. “A great thing about being on the board is knowing what a great district we have and all the opportunities we offer our kids. I would not want my children to be educated anywhere else.”

Yet, says Rickels, the challenges of living in a bedroom community, living in a different city than one’s workplace, made it difficult for some families.”

Some families chose to open enroll their children into other districts because of before- and after-school day care opportunities offered there.

“The reassurance that not only that I could drop my child off before I go to work and have then stay there until 6 p.m. at a reasonable cost would be huge to many of our families,” she said.

In addition to the regular school days, the days which included schedule interruptions such as late starts, early dismissal or cancelations, also pose greater child care challenges.

Rickel said her experience, both as a mom and school board member, have shown the benefits of such programs.

Several years ago Rickels began a project called FOCUS – Forming Opportunities for our Community to Utilize our Schools.

“I researched and researched different ways we could provide more daycare for our communities,” Rickels recalls. “It was interesting because the schools I called that offered it had increasing numbers or consistent numbers from previous years. But those districts that didn't offer this service were decreasing.”

Along with “much support” from the Vinton Parks and Recreation Board, Marcy Horst, Superintendent Mary Jo Hainstock and Tilford Principal Jim Murray, and others, Rickels saw positive changes taking place.

“Mr Murray got our PTO involved and we started to offer activities for our Tilford kids on early out days. It was a trial run to see if there would be an interest. We had huge numbers every event,” Rickels recalls.

Later, Hainstock, Murray and Rickel began visiting schools that had great success with their before and after school programs.

“We knew there was a need but were not sure if our district should run a day care or find an outside provider,” said Rickels.

The district has long had a great relationship with Kids, Inc. in Shellsburg, so they began discussing options with the leaders at Happy Time.

“They have a great program but are limited to the number of children because of space. Having them use our facilities for children ages 5-12 year olds frees up more space for infant and toddlers. Also they will be able to use our auditorium, gym, library, etc. It will be a great way to serve our kids and F.O.C.U.S,” says Rickels.

Happy Time hopes to have the program in place by sometime this summer. Rickels said that while Farmer will oversee the program, another new person will work with the children at Tilford.

Having the school district cover janitorial costs, electricity and similar expenses will allow Happy Time to offer the services at lower rates.

“It will be a really great thing,” said Rickels.

Below is the latest fee information, as presented during Monday's school board meeting:

Happy Time plans to charge $130/month for kids 5-12 who are served in either before OR after school and $210 if a student is in both.

The summer rates will be $68 for 0-12 hours; $108 for 13-25 hours and $133 for 26-40 hours. 

Their monthly rates include late starts and early outs; an additional $15/day would be charged for snow days or in-service days.

There is also an annual registration fee and security deposit and they provide discounts for a 2nd or 3rd child in the same family.