Parents will have the option of having their children stay at the Kandiland Daycare Center before and after their classes at the school district’s Early Childhood Center. The staff of the daycare center will transport the children between the two facilities.

That option will be in place for the 2026-2027 school year.

A newly announced $100,000 grant from the state Department of Health and Human Services is making it possible.

Teri Boezinger, director of curriculum and instruction for the school district, said it can be a struggle for parents to get their preschoolers to and from school while at the same time meeting their work obligations. The new partnership with Kandiland Daycare helps to ease that struggle, she said.

“I think it will be a good thing,” said Kandi Jameson-Altman, owner of Kandiland Daycare. “I think it will help with more availability.”

The partnership will be the first one of its kind for the school district.

Parents will be able to drop their preschoolers off at Kandiland Daycare in the morning. The day care is located at 821 S. 25th Street in a building that was originally an elementary school and most recently housed the UnityPoint Health – Highland Park Center.

When it is about time for class, the students will be driven to the Early Childhood Center at 104 S. 17th St.. And after class ends at 2:30 p.m., they will be returned to Kandiland Daycare to wait for their parents to pick them up. Jameson-Altman said she will probably have to buy a fourth van to handle the transportation needs.

Boezinger said the program is for 4-year-olds in preschool, plus some 3-year-olds that have Individualized Education Plans.