Early Childhood Development
Pottawatomie County Day Care & Preschools
Having good childcare means having strong youth and families, which builds a foundation for strong communities. If people do not have access to childcare within the community, they will leave the community to find childcare elsewhere, which does a disservice to their community. If the people within the community value building it up, they need to address childcare needs, encourage a better infrastructure to support entrepreneurship, and put better supports in place for providers. The Pottawatomie County (Pott. Co.) Economic Development Corporation identifies the following goal for child care:
“The development of new and creative programs to enhance the availability and affordability of day care for children from birth to five years.”
The following report, “Access to Affordable, Quality Child Care in Pottawatomie County, Kansas”, was compiled through a collaborative effort by the Pottawatomie County Child Care Task Force and the K-State Research and Extension Applied Research in Child Health and Enhancing Resilience (ARCHER) Lab. Development of measures was accomplished through a Community-Based Participatory Research approach. This report covers strategic goals and recommendations for the development of new and creative programs to enhance the availability and affordability of day care for children from birth to 5 years. The link below will take you to a draft of this report.
https://www.pottawatomie.k-state.edu/docs/attachment%201.pdf Child care in Pottawatomie County varies in size as well as scope. However, if your priorities are searching for child care with a progressive curriculum, before and after school programs, or a smaller day care setting, we recognize the importance of making the right choice for your family. The businesses listed below are local certified preschools and day care providers that may be just what you are looking for.
Child Care Businesses
| Business | Contact | Address | Contact Phone | Contact Email |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys and Girls Club | 220 S 5th St, | (785) 539-1947 | ||
| Brilliant Beginnings | Chasity Watson/ Felicity Post |
17680 Old Post Rd, Wamego |
(785) 456-1230 | brilliantbeginnings2020@gmail.com |
| Hope Lutheran | Jordan Garrison | 3560 Dempsey Rd, Manhattan |
(785) 587-9400 | ManhattanHopeDirector@gmail.com |
| Little Love Bugs | Heather Melton | 5574 Maefield Dr, Wamego |
(785) 456-6200 | little.lovebugs@hotmail.com |
| Creche Facility | Treva Prieb | 8200 S Port Dr, Manhattan (Multiple Manhattan Locations) |
(785) 320-7000 | |
| Jamboree Daycare | Heather Hoeting | 8385 US-24, Manhattan |
(785) 370-3966 | heather@jamboreedaycare.com |
| Adventure Time | Shannon Thowe | 721 Leonard St, Onaga |
(785) 889-0195 |
According to 2019 statistics, there are 1,841 children between 0 and 4 years old in Pottawatomie County. The table below shows child care facilities and their capacities in the county.
Child Care Facilities in Pottawatomie County Kansas (2020)
| Pottawatomie County | Facilities | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Child Care Center | 7 | 505 |
| Group Day Care Home | 12 | 144 |
| Head Start Child Care Center | 0 | – |
| Licensed Day Care Home | 41 | 410 |
| Preschool | 0 | – |
| Total | 60 | 1,059 |