Kiddie
Kollege was built in 1996 by Dr. Jill Andrews. In Fairfield,
IL, in 1996 there were very few childcare providers.
Businesses lost employee prospects due to the lack of high
quality childcare, and the local community college had a need
for childcare to serve their student population. Dr. Andrews
was asked to Chair a committee comprised of area business
leaders, public education administrators, parents and
community college leaders. The mission of that committee was
to investigate the possibility of developing a high quality
early childhood facility for the children of Wayne County.
After two years of researching the early childhood field, Dr.
Andrews became so dedicated to the mission that she left her
position of Director of Adult Education and Family Literacy at
Frontier Community College, and constructed Kiddie Kollege of
Fairfield. Originally, Kiddie Kollege had a FTE of 96. Then,
in 1998 the facility doubled in size to 12000 square feet and
increasing its FTE to 181.
Kiddie Kollege is located adjacent to the Frontier
Community College campus on the West side of Fairfield,
Illinois. It is licensed by The Department of Children and
Family Service . In 2000, Kiddie Kollege received the
"Spotlight on Partnership Award. This award was a result of a
partnership between Wabash Area Development, Inc.'s Headstart
program and Kiddie Kollege. In July of 2005, Kiddie Kollege,
in partnership with Fairfield Elementary School District #112,
was awarded an ISBE Prevention Initiative grant. In 2003,
Kiddie Kollege was one of eight early childhood centers in the
state of Illinois to be awarded an Illinois State Board of
Education Pre-Kindergarten program. This program serves forty
three to five year olds. Both full-time and part-time children
are accepted in the child care program. In September,
2009, Kiddie Kollege was reaccredited by NECPA.
On October 2006, Kiddie Kollege was awarded an ISBE
prekindergarten grant which became the foundation for
development of the Wayne City Early Learning Center, located
at 702 West Smith Street in Wayne City, IL. This center opened
serving 20 prekindergarten students, then, in April, 2007
wraparound care for children ages birth to twelve was added.
In August of 2009 another 20 ISBE prek slots were added. This
center can serve 65 children at full capacity. WCELC was
NECPA accredited in September, 2009.
