Shelbyville's new early learning center opens Dec. 16

Five years later, Allison Coburn's vision for improved childcare access in Shelbyville is nearly a reality.

The Julia and Nicholas Runnebohm Early Learning Center will officially open Dec. 16. On Tuesday, the community was able to tour the facility at an Open House event hosted by Coburn and those that helped create the center in part funded by the state’s READI (Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative) funding.

The educational and child-care facility will be operated by Bright Horizons, who will staff and operate the center that includes multiple classrooms geared specifically for various age groups, multiple playgrounds and a splash pad.

Coburn, the Director of Early Learning Shelby County, had the idea in 2019 based on research and experience.

“What we saw happen as we got closer to COVID and right after COVID, were the challenges of trying to find high quality, developmentally-appropriate child care,” said Coburn Tuesday night. “It wasn’t just being able to find somewhere to support a child, it was the entire family. Just helping kids get ready for school was becoming a bigger and bigger burden for families. And then going back to work, we saw that was a huge issue too.”

Through her work with Early Learning Indiana, Coburn was able to identify what Shelby County needed.

“For some communities, it wasn’t childcare. It was narcotics. It was parental employment and education,” she explained. “For (Shelby County), it was child care … 100% child care access. So we started looking at what does it take, not to just put a band-aid on it but to really look at high quality for now or in the future.”

The future is now in Intelliplex Park. The Julia and Nicholas Runnebohm Early Learning Center, located southeast of Major Health Partners Medical Center, can potentially staff 50 employees and care for nearly 200 children.

“This has become, I think, the exemplary READI project,” said Chris King of Runnebohm Construction, who built the facility. Nick Runnebohm founded the local construction company and his wife, Julia, was a staunch advocate for children in Shelby County. “This is something that will have value that is far beyond what each of us could do. It will educate our youth. It is truly the most important thing we can do.”

The Shelbyville Redevelopment Commission (RDC) helped fund the project with TIF (tax increment financing) funds. Shelbyville City Attorney Jennifer Meltzer, who organizes and operates the RDC meetings, was in attendance Tuesday for the Open House.

“It’s a true statement to their commitment to early learning and the children of Shelby County that they applied TIF dollars to help make this a reality,” she said.

Meltzer also is a state representative for Shelby County and sees the new early learning center as a shining example of how government funding can help a community.

“As your state representative, when we were considering READI 2.0 at the Statehouse, this was the project I always came back to and pointed to,” she said. “This is the one where I said, ‘Look, this is what we can do with this money.’

“It’s not necessarily businesses. It’s not necessarily trails. This is a true investment in our community.”

Former Shelbyville mayor Tom DeBaun was a strong supporter of the project. Current mayor Scott Furgeson spoke Tuesday at the center praising the impact the facility will have on many levels.

“This is the things we want in our community. We want better, bigger and bolder,” he said. “We want the good things. Earlier this year, we opened up the pickleball courts at Blue River Memorial Park. We don’t want to do things halfway. We want to do things top notch. We want other communities to be envious.

“Communities are going to be envious of this because people understand how hard it is to get those early childhood seats.”

Bright Horizons has staff positions available for the early learning center. Registration continues, as well, for pre-kindergarten age children to attend the facility.

“If you are interested in starting a career in education, or you are currently working in education, or you’ve been an educator before and want to come back, we have plenty of positions open for you,” said Coburn.

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