ROCHELLE — On Wednesday, a ribbon cutting ceremony and one-year anniversary celebration were held for Little Hubs Learning Center, Rochelle’s daycare facility at 1010 N. 15th St. 

The facility saw its first day of operation on Jan. 3, 2023. Prior to that, Rochelle had been without a daycare since 2020 when Kishwaukee Family YMCA Child Care Center closed at the same location. The new daycare is owned by Ron and Joni Spartz and their daughter, Kristin Spartz Barlow, runs it as director. Representatives from the Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, City of Rochelle and the community joined the owners, staff and kids Wednesday for the celebration.

Joni Spartz said that Little Hubs Learning Center had 100 kids in its building during the ceremony and 142 kids registered, which is maximum capacity. Since getting the building in working order with security and plumbing upgrades over a year ago prior to opening, the facility has seen growth in staff and enrollment. 

There are currently 50 children on the facility’s waiting list, which Joni Spartz said is growing every day.

“We have plans to potentially have a second location,” Joni Spartz said. “Some of the children on our waiting list aren't even born yet. The need is bigger than just this building. We might be looking for another building to have a second location. We'll see what happens. It's exciting. This industry is huge. There will always be babies.”

Spartz Barlow said Little Hubs Learning Center currently has 34 staff members and is fully staffed. The facility is always looking for extra help, though, as its staff levels have increased in the past year due to more demand. The need for daycare teachers is currently the greatest. The facility currently has 13 teachers and three assistant directors. 

Joni Spartz said the for-profit daycare facility plans to be in the community for as long as Rochelle needs it. 

“We're going to be here for a long time,” Spartz said. “It’s a family business. Ron does all of the landscaping and maintenance. I do accounting. Kristin is the director. Our oldest son comes in every night and sanitizes everything. Our youngest son does our tree work. Our granddaughter works here.”

Rochelle Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tricia Herrera welcomed Little Hubs Learning Center to its official membership with her organization and said before the daycare center opened, her office would field calls weekly, if not daily, regarding what child care was available in the community. 

“People that were moving here or going to work here were asking,” Herrera said. “The chamber's partnership with the Greater Rochelle Economic Development Corporation involves new companies coming here and that's one of the primary questions those companies have. What's the childcare situation? When we had no childcare facility in town, we were very panicked. It was amazing for us that not only someone opened a facility, but opened it with such high quality and training. We thank you for investing in the community. We're honored to have you and your high-quality facility here.”

Mayor John Bearrows congratulated Little Hubs Learning Center on its anniversary on behalf of the city. After the previous daycare organization closed in 2020, the city took on preliminary work after the closure in hopes of somehow enticing a daycare back to town. It put out a survey to residents in 2022 that came back with overwhelming results in favor of a daycare with 72 percent of respondents saying they’re in need of a daycare and 71 percent saying their children would be likely to attend a daycare if it opened in town.

“In early 2020 when the previous daycare closed, it was a huge blow to the community,” Bearrows said. “Not only for the people that work here, but the people that work elsewhere and depended on this place. We needed daycare. When you stepped up as private individuals to do this, that was very uplifting for us. These folks saw the need and the opportunity to grow their business. We hear nothing but good things.”