ASHLAND — After a years-long process to fundraise for and build Foundations Community Childcare, children have now entered the building.
Executive director Brandy Scheetz said when the building celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting in June, it had received a license to serve up to 142 children.
As of Aug. 29, Scheetz said 50 were enrolled, with the vast majority taking infant and toddler spaces. Around 20 currently sit on the waitlist for spots in those rooms.
The facility also offers preschool classes and before-and-after school care for children in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Spots are still open in the preschool rooms, Scheetz said, and Foundations offers a curriculum in line with Ohio’s early learning and development standards. Parents can register on the Foundations Community Childcare website.
Still, the high demand for infant and toddler spots comes as no surprise for Scheetz. In fact, the onus to build the childcare center in the first place revolved around a need for affordable infant care in Ashland County.
Foundations Community Childcare: A brief history
The need for affordable infant and childcare was recognized by the Ashland County Community Foundation’s Women’s Fund. Back in 2020, the Women’s Fund launched a Childcare Initiative.
That initiative raised $4.8 million that resulted in the creation of Foundations Community Childcare, a non-profit childcare center. Over $3 million of those funds built the childcare center. The other $1 million went into endowment to support the center into the future.
The facility broke ground in March 2023 at the Ashland Industrial Park.
Brandy Scheetz came on as executive director in January. Foundations then had to receive several permits and licenses before it could open to the public — a process that took until June. In June, the center received its license and could begin operating. It celebrated that with a ribbon cutting.
Still, a little over two months into the facility being operational, Scheetz has faced other surprises. She and the center have found success and are working to overcome challenges as it moves forward.
A learning curve
Hiring has posed the biggest challenge to Foundations Community Childcare so far, according to Scheetz. She said the childcare center has plenty of space to provide care for more children. It just doesn’t have enough employees to care for them — for now.
That’s a challenge Scheetz is actively working to solve.
Foundations Community Childcare has open lead teacher positions and childcare staff member positions posted on Indeed.
According to the job postings on Indeed, a lead teacher position starts at $18 per hour. Childcare staff member positions begin at $15 per hour.
For lead teacher positions, Scheetz said qualified applicants will ideally have experience working with children. Both positions require a dependable, joyful person who loves children, Scheetz said.
Beyond hiring challenges, Scheetz said the biggest learning curve for her has been learning the ins and outs of the public childcare system.
She came to Foundations with a background as a preschool director, but said figuring out how to support families has proved difficult at times. Scheetz said she has worked with Job and Family Services to help answer her questions, and families’ questions.
Creating connections
Even with the challenges, Scheetz said she feels excited about how things are going. More than anything else, she likes having children in the building.
“The place is filled now with happy children,” Scheetz said. “It’s filled with artwork. It’s filled with learning. To me, it’s so important to see the growth and see the children mature.
“We’ve only been open two months, but I’ve still in that time gotten to see children who are mastering potty training and children who have grown up enough to move on to solid foods. It’s fun to see that, and to build a connection with their families as well.”
Scheetz added the facility has received grant dollars and state funding since opening as well.
Part of that money came from the state’s One-Time Strategic Community Investment Fund, which passed in June as part of House Bill 33. According to previous Ashland Source reporting, Foundations Community Childcare received $101,129 in capital investments from that bill’s passage.
Those dollars will pay for:
- A generator for the facility
- Security window film installation
- Storage shed
Scheetz also said the center received a large grant from Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office lists a $1 million THUD grant going to Foundations Community Childcare. Scheetz said the THUD grant provided funding for the center’s playground, which has yet to be installed.
She hopes the playground will be finished by November. It will include sandboxes, trees, natural shrubbery and loose parts play — all things that can change over time.
“For me, thinking of a child who might have started here as an infant and then is still here as a school-ager, the playground needs to be something that is evolving with them and not the same structure that they’ve played on since they were little,” Scheetz said.
Beyond receiving the state and grant funds, Scheetz said Ashland has continued to support Foundations, even after the excitement of the grand opening has died down. Any time the childcare facility has had a need for donations, it’s quickly filled.
Looking forward
As for what the future holds, Scheetz said the next few months will likely continue to consist of learning what works, and the best way to operate the center. But once that’s under her belt, she already has ideas she’s looking forward to.
Because the center was built by the community, she hopes to invite the community in and be transparent with them.
Scheetz said she wants to do so by hosting more family engagement events. She also hopes to bring volunteers into the space, and allow them to read stories to the children.
“I want people to come in and see our facility, and see how beautiful it is and see the artwork,” Scheetz said. “It’s important that they get to come in and see that while their children are here, they’re learning. They’re joyful. It’s a clean space. They’re being fed well.”
