By Jillian Kurtz
Geist-area parents will soon have a new option for child care. Shannon’s Exclusive Child Care at Geist is planning to open in early February at 6633 W. 900 N. in McCordsville.
Shannon Hege, Shannon’s Exclusive Child Care at Geist owner, wanted to open an extension of her current child care center, Kelley’s Exclusive Child Care. Kelley’s is at capacity and “busting at the seams,” Hege said.
“With all of the closures around the area, for child care centers, in particular, we were booked through 2022 before 2022 even got here,” Hege said. “That gave us quite the shove to start looking to expand.”
Hege said what sets Kelley’s — and now Shannon’s Exclusive Child Care — apart from other child care providers is their lower than state-required teacher-to-child ratios. They operate with a three-infant-per-one teacher ratio and a four-child-to-one teacher ratio for toddlers and preschoolers.
“We started enrolling kiddos about three weeks ago,” Hege said. “We are down to one spot in the infant room, and the other rooms are filling up as well.”
Scheduled to open Feb. 7, Hege has been working with Capitol Construction to get the facility ready to open.
“When I found the new location, I loved the way it sat off the road. There wasn’t a lot of traffic there,” Hege said. “It needed a little bit of TLC, but it wasn’t a massive undertaking.”
When Shannon’s Exclusive Child Care at Geist opens, Hege will oversee the new location and Kelley’s.
“I’m very connected with my families, and so transitioning from one to two locations is probably the hardest,” Hege said.
Hege will be spend a few days at each location. She has a director for each but still wants to be connected to every child and family.
“At the end of the day, I review each child’s day,” Hege said. “I don’t mind traveling back and forth to the buildings, but it’s building the community and having those relationships with each individual family that is so important to me.”
Shannon’s Exclusive Child Care at Geist can be reached at 317-335-7984.
