(Atlantic) KSOM/KS95 News continues our series of stories with the Vision Atlantic initiative. This $75 million transformative project includes 144 new housing units, an expansion of the YMCA, and a new childcare development center.
This series offers listeners and readers exclusive behind-the-scenes insight into this groundbreaking effort. Each week, a key leader or leaders speak about a different component of the project. Today, Vision Atlantic President Christina Bateman, Nishna Valley Family YMCA Executive Director Dan Haynes, and Diana Williams, Director of the Anne Wickman Development Center, discuss the new daycare center.
We will start with the history. Fifteen years ago, Southwest Iowa Family Services conducted a community survey to identify the needs essential for Atlantic’s growth and prosperity. One key issue highlighted by respondents was the significant need for childcare services.
Williams says the respondents indicated they would like another childcare option, so the new daycare center was created. The Wickman Child Development Center started with 46 children and eight employees. Interest quickly exploded after that—more families wanted to come in, and more staff had to be hired.
Over the past 15 years, 680 children have grown up through the Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center and gone on to attend school. At its peak, families from 14 different communities enrolled their children at the Center, which still operates at full capacity today. Atlantic is not alone in confronting the ongoing childcare crisis. According to Williams, 76% of Iowa households with children under six have both parents in the workforce.
Dan Haynes emphasizes that the proposed childcare center, accommodating up to 300 children, would offer much-needed stability for childcare in the Atlantic area. He also clarifies a common misconception regarding the Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center—while many believe the YMCA owns it, the building belongs to the school district. The YMCA currently leases the space but will eventually lose access to it. Haynes explains that the new facility would open up multiple childcare opportunities. It would increase capacity for Atlantic and surrounding communities, and allow Jack and Jill preschool students to relocate from the YMCA to the new Center, reducing the need for transportation. Ultimately, Haynes describes the new Center as a “one-stop shop” for childcare services.
Vision Atlantic President Christina Bateman says getting young families to move to Atlantic is a struggle. The data shows that the first thing young families look for when searching for a place to call home is quality, affordable childcare. Communities that do not have quality, affordable childcare available often lose those young families to larger communities.
Williams adds that when you think about all of these projects Vision Atlantic is putting together, we cannot have new businesses coming to town if we do not have housing or childcare. She says this is a plan for Atlantic’s future and will ensure its prosperity in the years to come. Next week, we will provide more information about the YMCA expansion project.
Click below to listen to the interview with Bateman, Haynes, and Williams.
