Center presented

The public got its first look at the new early learning center.

It will open in October.

Westminster Preschool Portland at the Jay County Early Learning Center had its ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon and was open for five hours to tour the facility.

“Today I am filled with a lot of gratitude as this Jay County Early Learning Center project comes to completion,” said executive director Doug Inman of The Portland Foundation, which led the effort to renovate the former Judge Haynes Elementary School on Portland’s west side.

The opening date has not yet been determined, pending final state inspections.

The ribbon-cutting marked the culmination of a project more than two years in the making after The Portland Foundation purchased the former Judge Haynes Elementary School, 827 W. High St., Portland, in 2022. The foundation wanted to secure the building for a possible early learning facility after planning through the Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) VII initiative again identified a “lack of high-quality learning opportunities” as a challenge for Jay County.

Construction on the Judge Haynes building that Jay School Corporation closed in 2018 as part of a consolidation process began late last fall. It included the demolition of the west wing of the structure — it had sustained extensive water damage — and a new roof for the remaining building. The renovation also involved new plumbing with restrooms installed in all toddler and preschool classrooms, LED lighting, new flooring, paint and new playground equipment.

Westminster Preschools of Marion entered into a five-year contract to operate the facility last year.

The $4.3 million project included $1.3 million from The Portland Foundation, the largest investment in its history.

“I want to thank every donor to The Portland Foundation since 1951,” said Inman. “We have taken those gifts and carried on its mission on a day-to-day basis to enhance the quality of life in this community.”

The foundation had committed to investing up to $4 million but secured significant grant funding to help defray the cost along the way. Grants included $1.5 million in partnership with United Way of Jay County from Indiana United Ways, $500,000 from Early Learning Indiana, $291,000 from the first round of Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) and $50,000 from the Ball Brothers Foundation of Muncie. Westminster also secured a $684,000 grant from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.

Inman also thanked Portland Rotary Club, Rotary District 6560 and Joyce Eldridge for their contributions to the project, as well as architectural firm Barton Coe Vilamaa and general contractor Muhlenkamp Building Corporation.

The Portland Foundation’s board president Jeremy Gulley, who is also superintendent of Jay School Corporation, in turn thanked Inman for his work on the effort to provide early learning opportunities in Jay County.

“It takes resolve, it takes vision, it takes character,” Gulley said. “He’s spent over a quarter century running our local community foundation. … It’s amazing seeing this day.”

Westminster, which launched in 1970, operates multiple facilities in Grant County where it serves children ages birth through 12. It is a Level 4 — the highest — on the Family and Social Services Administration's Paths to Quality rating system. To reach Level 4, a facility must provide for the health and safety of children, provide learning environments, have planned curriculum and be nationally accredited.

Dani Svantner, executive director of Westminster Preschools, shared her gratitude for the opportunity to provide early childhood education in Jay County.

“Thank you for trusting us,” she said. “Thank you to the community for trusting us too. It’s not something we are not taking lightly and we promise to be good stewards.”

She noted that there are already 23 children signed up to attend on the first day the facility opens.

“It brings me so much joy right now,” Svantner added. “I can’t wait to see it filled …”

Westminster Preschool Portland at the Jay County Early Learning Center will be able to serve up to 150 children ages newborn through 5 with two classrooms for infants, five for toddlers and four for preschoolers. It will be open from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with an after-school program available.

Westminster Preschools accepts Child Care Development Fund and On My Way Pre-K vouchers. (Details about qualifying for those vouchers are available online at in.gov/fssa.)

Those interested in registering their children can do so via a form on the Westminster Preschools Portland page on Facebook.