Groundbreaking: Early Learning Center to Provide Care for 192 Children in Shelbyville
SHELBYVILLE, IN, – Early Learning Shelby County, Major Health Partners, and the City of Shelbyville broke ground today 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.
Today, 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 center seeks to equip the county’s youth with the educational foundation necessary to ensure students are kindergarten-ready and can excel in their first years of school.
The facility will bear the name of Julia and Nicholas Runnebohm, reflecting the Runnebohm family’s significant contribution to the project. “The Runnebohm Family has contributed to this community for years through their resources and skills,” noted Allison Coburn, executive director of Early Learning Shelby County. “I am certain that Judy Runnebohm would be proud of the transformative impact this facility will have on the community, reflecting her generous spirit.”
Additionally, Major Health Partners, Horseshoe Indianapolis, Knauf Insulation, Beaty Construction, C-Tech Corporation, Blue River Community Foundation and Ryobi Die Casting have made contributions 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. “The need for quality childcare was a consistent priority across our region during the READI planning process,” stated Bryan Robbins, chair of the ARI READI steering committee. “ARI is proud to support the early learning center and we’re confident its positive impact will be felt across the region.”
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 educator-created curriculum to support school readiness.
“Bright Horizons is proud to partner with Shelby County to provide a high-quality child care center in the Shelbyville community,” said Jami Behrens, Division Vice President of Operations at Bright Horizons. “We’re excited to be a part of their children’s first stage of learning here at the center. All of our programs are geared to ensure children have the language, math, science and social skills they need for elementary school, and we’re also able to help parents incorporate learning experiences in their children’s home life as well.”
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.
About READI
Launched by Gov. Holcomb and led by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), READI encourages regional collaboration and data-driven, long-term planning that will attract and retain talent in Indiana. The $500 million READI fund was passed by legislation during the 2021 session and was divided among 17 regions. Through READI, 17 regions across the state that represent all 92 counties are moving forward with projects and programs designed to enhance Indiana’s regions for current and future generations of Hoosiers. Collectively, the state’s $500 million investment is expected to yield an additional $12 billion public, private and nonprofit dollars invested (19.72:1 investment leverage ratio) in enhancing Indiana’s quality of life, quality of place and quality of opportunity. During the 2023 legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly passed an additional $500 million for READI 2.0.
About Early Learning Shelby County
Early Learning Shelby County was formed in 2018 by a coalition of community stakeholders from different sectors with the primary goal to enhance early childhood education in Shelby County, leading to a more intelligent, robust, healthier, and productive community.
About Accelerate Rural Indiana
Accelerate Rural Indiana (ARI) is a coalition of Batesville, Greensburg, Rushville and Shelbyville along with Decatur, Rush and Shelby counties, formed in 2021 to pursue Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) funding. ARI was awarded $20 million in READI funds, the highest per-capita READI award in the state. Collectively, ARI’s $20 million READI award is expected to attract nearly $500 million in public, private and nonprofit dollars to the region. ARI recently formed a Regional Development Authority (RDA) to administer ARI’s current READI funds, seek additional READI funding, and pursue additional regionally impactful projects.