You Deserve the Best

The Learning Academy of Teton Valley is a licensed provider for children ages two through five. Dani Wilson, director of the school, strives to offer the highest quality care at a reasonable price, with low student to teacher ratios. She says it’s expensive to hire highly qualified teachers and maintain the school’s large campus (which includes a farm with pigs, donkeys, and miniature horses), but she works to keep her rates affordable.

“We’re as cheap as we can be, while paying our overhead costs,” say Wilson. “I help families as much as possible.”

This assistance includes offering scholarships for the school’s daytime programming, after care, and summer camp. Funds granted from the Idaho Child Care Program (ICCP) are also available for families with children at The Learning Academy of Teton Valley.

“ICCP really does help,” she says, especially for single-income households.

Wilson offers her staff competitive wages with benefits, and currently has two teachers on staff who have been there for almost 20 years. This consistency helps the Learning Academy offer much more than a traditional daycare facility and instead operate as an early childhood development center, complete with age-appropriate curriculum.

“We’re skilled at knowing what is developmentally appropriate at each age, and applying programs at the right time for children,” she says.

Kristi Meston, project manager for the Collaborative for Early Learning, says, “We appreciate all our providers, and we hope to support them and keep them, and we need to extend accessibility for more families in the valley that is affordable.”

“The Gambal House is a part of it, but the greater aspect of this collaborative is coming together to be able to help support all providers in many different ways, ” she says. “That could mean offering trainings and workshops, educating parents, offering support, and really just trying to figure out what, specifically, does our community need in regard to child care.” tf