“It’s important to see early childhood education as infrastructure. It’s more than a need.”
– Jeff Phillips
Mayor of Rensselaer, Indiana
A dawning sun greeted Zyan Miller on daily 90-minute work commute that started with dropping her daughter off to an out-of-town daycare.
One of the classrooms in Appletree Rensselaer. The daycare has space for 70 children and is the only licensed daycare in the town.
“I just had my daughter, and I did not have anywhere to take her,” said Miller, who lives in Rensselaer, Indiana, and sought childcare after the town’s lone licensed daycare had closed. “I started to do research and found that there was only one childcare facility nearby.”
Miller, economic development relations specialist for Wabash Valley Power Alliance, became one of numerous volunteers driven to address the absence of an affordable licensed daycare in her town. Farming families, volunteers including from Jasper County REMC, businesses, community organizations, and elected leaders partnered to launch Appletree, the licensed daycare in Rensselaer; and Appleseed Childhood Education, the nonprofit board that oversees the facility. It’s a unique model for affordable childcare inspiring other Indiana towns.
“It’s important to see early childhood education as infrastructure,” said Rensselaer Mayor Jeff Phillips, who supports the Appleseed daycare. “It’s more than a need.”
From Farm to Table Meeting
Appletree Rensselaer founders Carlee and Adam Alson at the daycare’s party when it turned one year old. More than 30 local organizations have supported the daycare.
In 2018, Jasper County corn and soybean farmer Adam Alson and his wife Carlee were thrilled with their 18-month-old son’s childcare at the local licensed daycare in Rensselaer – until it closed and left them scrambling. In early 2020, the Alsons invited several families and friends to their house and discussed options to resolve the situation themselves.
“After quite a bit of thought and analyzing business models and constraints, we reviewed challenges around looking at the childcare space,” Adam Alson said. “We thought we had enough of a strategy to think we could pull something off in Rensselaer.”
Multiple supporters joined in the effort, including Brienne Hooker, executive director of the Jasper Newton Foundation. The organization awarded a $40,000 grant to start the Appleseed Childhood Education nonprofit.
“We have a lot of businesses that build and grow a lot of great things in our two little counties,” Hooker said. “Those businesses require workers, and those workers have kids. Those kids need somewhere to go.”
Pandemic to Parent Support
Appleseed Childhood Education volunteers and other supporters pose outside the building that would be renovated for Appletree Rensselaer. Franciscan Health Rensselaer provided the space and additional support for the licensed daycare facility.
In April 2020, the coronavirus pandemic struck. While hospital emergency rooms filled with patients, Franciscan Health Rensselaer administrative offices emptied as employees worked remote. That’s when Carlos Vasquez, vice president and chief operating officer for Franciscan, contacted the Jasper Newton Foundation. He sought an organization aligned with Franciscan’s ideals to occupy the vacated space. An affordable community daycare was a perfect fit.
The groups collaborated while Appleseed Childhood Education volunteers fundraised. In spring 2023, the 70-seat Appletree Rensselaer daycare opened on the Franciscan Health campus. In addition to renovated space, Franciscan provides the services of its staff nutritionist and makes the children’s meals each day.
“It’s been a great project for us, for our staff, and the community,” Vasquez said. “I don’t go to any public space without people thanking Franciscan for what we ‘ve done.”
Community Commitment
Appletree Rensselaer founder Adam Alson (right) gives families a tour of the daycare in April 2024, when the center turned one year old. Alson invited friends and advocates to discuss the idea for the daycare after Rensselaer’s previous lone licensed daycare closed.
Appleseed Childhood Education volunteers understood the cost of running a licensed daycare posed an ongoing challenge. The daycare’s model centers around a foundational commitment to provide affordable childcare: while the actual cost to care for each child is nearly $18,000 per year, families pay based on what they can afford. No family pays the full childcare cost.
The group hired Stephanie Johnson, retired marketing and member services manager for Jasper County REMC, as a consultant to help plan. Another retired REMC staff member, Patti Lindahl, serves as Appleseed’s treasurer. More than 300 residents and 30 businesses including Jasper County REMC have donated to Appletree.
“We know how important it is for employees to have a reliable, safe place for their children to go,” said Heather Hayes, manager of marketing and communications for Jasper County REMC. “We like to help, and ‘Concern for Community’ is one of our cooperative principles.”
Adam Alson met with local officials, including Phillips, the Rensselaer mayor. The city of Rensselaer and Jasper County allocate funding in their respective annual budgets for the Appletree daycare.
“Instantly as a mayor I thought we needed to support this, because it’s directly affecting our workforce,” Phillips said. “We need childhood education to attract businesses, workers, and young people.”
Sprouting Support
One of the Appletree Rensselaer classrooms. The daycare is open 12 hours Monday-Friday and provides care for children from birth through 5 years old. While it costs the daycare $18,000 to care for each child per year, families pay based on what they can afford. The remainder is raised through alternate funding sources, including private donations.
Appleseed Childhood Education partnered with Right Steps Childhood Development Centers, a 50-year-old Lafayette, Indiana-based nonprofit that oversees 8 Indiana childcare facilities, to manage the daycare. The group also hired an executive director to support daily activities.
“There are a lot of businesses that are struggling to find a workforce,” said Miller, who took over as Appleseed board president in mid-2024. “If communities don’t have a childcare facility with space available, we’re not going to be able to fill those gaps.”
Businesses looking to relocate or expand frequently ask about schools and childcare options, said Sara DeYoung, executive director of the Jasper County Economic Development Organization.
“When I am speaking to a potential project, once I mention Appleseed and how that came together, they get excited,” DeYoung said. “It shows how we are a strong community that solves problems.”
It’s also a model for other rural communities. In June 2024, Adam Alson highlighted Appleseed at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation event in Washington, D.C. This year, he started a new position as director of the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School learning with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
Appleseed Childhood Education founder Adam Alson speaking at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation event. Earlier this year, Alson took a job with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
He supports several groups in Indiana with business models similar to Appleseed to open a licensed affordable daycare in their town.
“There is quite a bit of creativity in this space,” he said. “My position is an unexpected byproduct of going through the process of Appleseed and starting Appletree. It takes substantial buy-in from a community to be successful. I talk to a lot of interesting people about how they’re tackling a lot of the same problems that we had in creating affordable community childcare.”