“We saw so much growth, and we did not see a lot of higher quality preschools in the area,” said Hubert Vaz-Nayak, owner of the Children’s Lighthouse Learning Center in Harmony. “We saw a tremendous need [for a preschool] here.”

Demand is also causing preschools to open closer to Hwy. 249. Both the Learning Experience near The Vintage and independent preschool Little Scholars Academy on Spring Cypress Road opened in August. 

“We saw so much growth, and we did not see a lot of higher quality preschools in the area. We saw a tremendous need [for a preschool] here.”

— Hubert Vaz-Nayak, owner of the Children’s Lighthouse Learning Center in Harmony

“If you drive down Spring Cypress Road, you won’t see a lot of quality child care institutions,” Little Scholars Academy owner Aziz Lakhani said.

Districts plan to address need

Spring and Klein ISDs have pledged more public preschool offerings as well.

KISD included plans for a $14.1 million early childhood/prekindergarten center on the north side of the district as part of its $498.1 million bond, which was approved by voters in May. Meanwhile, SISD partnered with AVANCE-Houston Inc. to provide its first full-day prekindergarten within the district in 2015-16. 

The AVANCE/Spring ISD Head Start Center serves about 80 4-year-old children at Lewis Elementary School who are either economically disadvantaged, homeless, children of military personnel or speak a language other than English. AVANCE also provides dental, nutritional and both physical and mental health care services to the students and their families, said Jose Villarreal, executive director of AVANCE Houston.

SISD committed to offer full-day prekindergarten services and pre-K centers in Every Child 2020, the district’s five-year improvement plan that was announced in May.

“One of our imperatives is opportunities and choices for our families,” SISD Chief Academic Officer Lupita Hinojosa said. “One of the big focuses here is that we provide excellent early childhood programs for our children, and that specifically speaks to our pre-K programs.”