Ready to launch

CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTO Spencer daycare on track to open April 1

By Cheyenne Thomas Construction of the new Spencer daycare on the southern end of the Spencer School District building is continuing on schedule. In the next few months, work will conclude on the building and the district will look to hire new staff to run the daycare as well as identify families who are interested in having their child enrolled in the daycare, with the intention to open the facility on April 1.

As of Jan. 15, construction is on schedule. Workers are in the process of adding insulation and completing interior electrical work. District Administrator Mike Endreas said the building has been connected to the school’s heating and HVAC systems, but will not have those functions activated until after windows are installed, which should occur in the next few weeks.

“The windows are not in yet, but after they are installed we will be able to turn on the heating and HVAC systems,” he said. “This will include in-floor heating, which was an upgrade that the board decided to include. That will be good for the little kids and toddlers who will be in here.”

While construction on the facility continues, Endreas said the next steps for the district will be to begin the process to hire staff for the daycare, as well as begin sign-ups for families interested in enrolling their child in daycare. The facility will be opened for children ages 6 weeks to 18 months — being cared for in the infant room — and 18 months to 3 years of age — who will be cared for in the toddler room.

With staffing, Endreas said the process will be an interesting balancing act, as laws require a certain ratio of children to supervising adults depending on the child’s age. Regulations state that for children between 0-2 years of age, one adult per four children is the ratio required for a daycare in Wisconsin. For ages 2-2.5 years, it is one adult per six children and from 2.5-3 years it is one adult per eight children.

“We have to be able to have enough staff for the kids and we have enough kids for the staff,” he said. “Our daycare should be able to have at least 20 kids, but the number of staff we hire is dependent on those kid/adult ratios.”

The school district is currently accepting applications for families interested in having their child put on a waitlist to attend daycare in Spencer. The list will help them determine how many staff to hire, with the hiring process for those staff to begin in February.

Shown above is the hallway that will connect the infant care center with the rest of the school building. Shown below is the infant room in progress. There will be two main rooms, with storage, restrooms and a changing area in between the two.

CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTOS