Need Child Care? Browse Our 2021 Directory of Columbus-Area Providers
Finding quality child care can be a stressful process, filled with tough decisions that balance quality, location, cost and other factors.
If you’re looking for a new provider or are embarking on a search for the first time, look no further. Columbus Parent and Action for Children have partnered again on our annual Child Care Directory, this online version of which features 749 full- and part-time providers. (The print version of the list in our Winter 2021 issue features 84 full-time programs that earned the top rating—five stars—from the state’s Step Up To Quality initiative in Delaware, Fairfield and Franklin counties.)
Action for Children is a nonprofit child care resource and referral agency that has been serving Central Ohio since 1972. The organization has more than 1,500 providers in its database.
For this directory, we’ve narrowed the listings to providers who are licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services or the Ohio Department of Education and have attained Ohio’s Step Up To Quality star rating.
Seeking a rating is voluntary. However, as of Sept. 1, 2020, all providers were required to earn at least one Step Up To Quality star (the minimum rating) to qualify for state reimbursement for students who receive publicly funded child care. That mandate increases to three stars in 2025.
Listings indicate how many SUTQ stars a provider has and whether the program is accredited by the National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs (NAC) or the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
The list of providers that meet these criteria is subject to change, sometimes on a day-to-day basis. New facilities may receive accreditation or a star rating, or, for a variety of reasons, providers might not be reaccredited or could have a change in their star rating. The information presented here is current as of Oct. 18, 2021.
Action for Children’s resource and information specialists can explain public funding, licensing, accreditation and Step Up To Quality requirements, and can guide parents through the search criteria and provide options including full-day and part-day centers, Head Start programs and home-based child care. There is no cost for these services.
Per Action for Children policy, Type B (small) at-home providers are not part of this list. More than 200 of these programs meet the above criteria; contact Action for Children to learn more.
For more information about Action for Children or its child care database, go to actionforchildren.org or call 614-224-0222.
How to Read the Directory
The listings are broken into four classifications: Child Care Centers, which are full-time programs; Family Child Care, which are Type A (large) at-home providers—typically also full time; Preschool Programs, which are part-time; and School-age Programs, which typically also are part time.
Providers are organized by county, then ZIP code, then alphabetically within each category. The listings indicate which programs accept families who qualify for publicly funded child care from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
CENTRAL OHIO CHILD CARE DIRECTORY
CHILD CARE CENTERS
Delaware
43015
Chubby Cheeks Early Education Center
1201 US Highway 23 North, Delaware; (740) 936-7042
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: Two Stars
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Kiddie Academy Of Lewis Center
7166 Gooding Blvd, Delaware; (740) 548-2022
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Leads Head Start Delaware
607 Sunbury Rd., Delaware; (740) 363-8810
AGE RANGE: 3 years to 5 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: Five Stars
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: False
Liberty Community Children’s Center
207 London Rd., Delaware; (740) 369-3876
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 6 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: Three Stars
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Little Buckeye Learning Center – Delaware
664 W. Central Ave., Delaware; (740) 363-0147
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 5 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: Two Stars
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Michelle’s Academy
7810 Graphics Way, Lewis Center; (740) 548-5003
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Milestones Learning Center Delaware
47 Lexington Blvd., Delaware; (740) 363-2000
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
43021
YMCA Hylen Souders Y-club
4121 Miller Paul Rd., Galena; (614) 839-9622
AGE RANGE: not available
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
43035
Kinder Care Learning Center
8694 Oak Creek Dr., Lewis Center; (740) 548-9669
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 10 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
ACCREDITED BY NAEYC: TRUE
Kinder Care Learning Center #1546
96 Neverland Dr., Lewis Center; (740) 549-0264
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: Four Stars
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
ACCREDITED BY NAC: TRUE
Olentangy Meadows Y-Club
8950 Emerald Hill Drive, Lewis Center; (614) 885-4252
AGE RANGE: 5 years to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
The Learning Experience
9158 S. Old State Rd., Lewis Center; (614) 781-4600
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 5 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
YMCA Oak Creek Y-Club
1256 Westwood Drive, Lewis Center; (614) 885-4252
AGE RANGE: 5 years to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
43065
La Petite Academy
7474 Sawmill Parkway, Powell; (740) 881-1234
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
The Compass School
3989 North Hampton Dr., Powell; (614) 764-8844
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: Not Available
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: False
ACCREDITED BY NAEYC: TRUE
The Emilia School
3561 Home Rd, Powell; (740) 881-0103
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 10 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
The Goddard School of Lewis Center
8542 Owenfield Drive, Powell; (740) 657-1300
AGE RANGE: not available
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: False
The Oxford School
6055 Glick Rd., Powell; (614) 761-6400
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: Two Stars
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Tutor Time Childcare/learning Center
3731 Discovery Lane, Powell; (614) 761-8580
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 10 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
43074
Great Beginnings Learning Center
36 Harrison St., Sunbury; (740) 936-5336
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Milestone Lane
201 N Galena Road, Sunbury; (740) 965-3701
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: Three Stars
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Noah’s Ark Learning Center, Inc
100 Tippett Ct #103, Sunbury; (740) 965-5437
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 11 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
YMCA Big Walnut Elementary Y-club
940 South Old 3 C Rd., Sunbury; (614) 839-9622
AGE RANGE: not available
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
43082
Brightpath Active Learning
5940 Chandler Ct, Westerville; (614) 839-0780
AGE RANGE: 3 years to 6 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
La Petite Academy
130 Polaris Parkway, Westerville; (614) 794-2951
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
ACCREDITED BY NAEYC: TRUE
CHILD CARE CENTERS
Fairfield
43068
Jewel’s Learning Center
7330 Brooke Blvd, Reynoldsburg; (614) 980-2607
AGE RANGE: not available
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
43102
Amanda-Clearcreek School (ps)
414 N School Street, Amanda; (740) 653-3193
AGE RANGE: 3 years to 5 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: Five Stars
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: False
43105
Kids Zone Educational Child Care, LLC
402 N. Oak St., Baltimore; (740) 862-4521
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
43110
It Takes A Village Early Education Center
9670 Schoolhouse Rd, Canal Winchester; (614) 404-3764
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 5 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: Two Stars
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
43112
Babybear’s Daycare #1
2820 Helena Drive, Carroll; (740) 756-7155
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Guardian Child Care
3570 Coonpath Rd. Nw, Carroll; (740) 756-4210
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Little Shepherd’s Preschool
4925 Plum Rd Nw, Carroll; (740) 756-7529
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
Small Wonders Learning Center
4485 Carroll-cemetery Rd., Carroll; (740) 756-4333
AGE RANGE: 1 month to 12 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
43130
Creative Play Preschool
465 West Sixth Ave, Lancaster; (740) 654-0616
AGE RANGE: 3 years to 5 years
STEP UP TO QUALITY RATING: One Star
ACCEPTS PUBLIC FUNDING: True
First Impressions Early Learning…
Read More: Need Child Care? Browse Our 2021 Directory of Columbus-Area Providers