New Pre-School Business Opens in Eureka; Classes Start Sept. 3

The signs over the classrooms are labeled "freshman," "sophomore," "junior" and "senior," but the "students" will be decidedly younger than the typical co-ed.

The new Kiddie College has opened in Eureka on the site of a day-care center that has changed hands a couple of times in recent years, and its "college" theme is reflected in the labels on the doors.

Director Jordan Ford says a handful of students have enrolled already at the new preschool, where classes are set to begin on Sept. 3, the day after Labor Day.

"It's good for the community that this is here, still as a day-care," Ford said, as she toured the preschool, at 600 Top Notch Lane, for a visitor. "And it's got a high focus on academics."

Previous incarnations of the preschool have been Top Notch Day Care, and then most recently as Creative Expressions. The school has two buildings — one for the regular daycare, hosting children from infant to pre-kindergarten, and a separate building for "graduate students" — after school care for school-age kids.

Ford has a degree in early and elementary education from Maryville University.

Rates are available on Kiddie College's website, where parents can also pre-enroll their children for classes.