‘This is huge’: New early childhood education center coming to Henderson

The Henderson City Council approved over $15 million in funding Tuesday to build a new preschool.

In a unanimous vote, the council approved $15,387,528 to fund construction for a new early childhood education center.

The preschool will house seven to nine classrooms for about 180 children, according to a news release, and will be built in Cadence, a master-planned community in east Henderson.

It will serve students from east Henderson and downtown Henderson.

The location for the preschool will be on a lot on the southeast corner of Black Palace Street and Scarhill Track Avenue, which is near Galleria Drive and Grand Cadence Drive, according to city spokesperson Justin Emerson.

The timeline is still rough, but the city is looking to open the facility in the summer of 2027, said Tara Phebus, the city’s division head for education initiatives.

Henderson, as well as other areas in Nevada, faces a shortage of early childhood education centers, Phebus said.

“If every 3- to 4-year-old wanted to go into a program tomorrow, we don’t have enough physical infrastructure to be able to put those kids in programs,” said Phebus.

“For all the preschool-aged children that we have in Henderson, less than half of them are enrolled in programs, and we know how critical it is for being prepared for starting kindergarten,” Phebus continued.

The preschool will offer scholarships to students who live in the downtown and eastside areas in an effort to make the preschool more affordable compared to other programs, Phebus said.

In an earlier redevelopment meeting, Councilwoman Carrie Cox said, “I taught during COVID and post-COVID, and it was very difficult as a kindergarten teacher to watch them struggle. This is huge for the city of Henderson.”

Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.org.