MONTICELLO — Riley Johnson of Monticello dreamed of opening her own childcare center ever since she was in high school. She doubled down on her dream, and today operates two childcare centers in Green County.

As soon as Johnson started providing in-home childcare, she began looking for a location to start a center in Monticello. After eight years of planning, she was able to open Little Learners at 316 E. Coates Ave. That was six years ago; three years ago she started a second location in Monroe.

She describes Little Learners as a small, community childcare center. “Most of the Little Learners teachers attended school in the district and also reside here with their families. It’s a close-knit center and community,” she said.

That sense of closeness carries throughout the Little Learners atmosphere. Johnson said the most satisfying part of working with children and their families is “watching a child who started in your care at a young age grow up and transition through all the classrooms and continue on to kindergarten.”

It can be challenging to provide affordable childcare for parents while paying a wage that will attract and retain good teachers to the field. “Trying to secure high quality staff is hard when childcare tuition has to cover the costs of their wages, education, and benefits on top of the mortgage, food, supplies, and utilities,” Johnson said.

She sees a big payoff for everyone — children and adults — if childcare was prioritized more. 

“I wish that early childhood was treated and funded more like public school districts. Early care and the development of young children starts at birth,” she said. “If we invest more during their early years, we would potentially save more on later costs, like special education.”