KinderCare buys former Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha day schools

CEDAR RAPIDS — KinderCare, a national child care provider, is expanding in Eastern Iowa after acquiring the former Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha day schools.

Families won’t see many changes to services, with the company’s “first goal being to get to know them, love on them and support them,” KinderCare district leader Ann Zogg said.

The Cedar Rapids Day School — now Downtown Cedar Rapids KinderCare, 615 First Ave. SE — serves 137 kids.

Hiawatha Day School — now Hiawatha KinderCare, 1771 Boyson Square Dr. Hiawatha — serves 90 kids.

Both facilities accept children between 6 weeks and age 12 and have room for growth.

Tuition will remain the same for the first year, with increases after to keep up with inflation and cost of living increases for teacher salaries, Zogg said.

KinderCare bought the day schools from independent owners last month.

Zogg said small, independent owners often reach out to KinderCare when they are “ready for the next phase of their life, whether that’s retirement or pursuing their next dream.”

KinderCare has been in Eastern Iowa since 1979 and operates two other sites in Cedar Rapids — East Cedar Rapids KinderCare, 5351 N. Park Place NE, and West Cedar Rapids KinderCare, 310 Burdette Dr. SW.

Parents in the area and across the country are struggling to find high-quality child care with an emphasis on school readiness, Zogg said.

“We want to make sure we can deliver what we promise and meet the needs of the schools coming to us,” Zogg said. “We’re open to possibilities as the needs of our community changes, try to be good listeners and adapt.”

One of the first things Zogg asks of her teachers is to stop spending their own money for their classroom.

“Let us get you what you need,” she said. “I ordered paint and got a hug.”

Zogg said KinderCare is “not immune to the staffing crisis” facing other industries but has hired new staff at both locations since the acquisition. Many workers, she said, are attracted to the opportunities KinderCare can offer that some independent owners cannot.

The company will pay for employees to earn their child development association certificate at Teachstone, an online college, allowing them to take one class at a time, KinderCare center director Sara Schwerin said.

Once employees earn that certificate, they can sign up for Child Care Wages Iowa, a salary supplement program or stipend offered by the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children. Funding is from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and is available through June 30, 2024.

KinderCare Education also operates Champions, a national child care provider that provides before- and after-school child care for more than 1,200 students in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Clear Creek Amana school districts.

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