In Fairfield, IL, in 1996 there were very few childcare providers. Businesses lost employee prospects due to the lack of high quality childcare, and the local community college had a need for childcare to serve their student population. Dr. Andrews was asked to Chair a committee comprised of area business leaders, public education administrators, parents and community college leaders. The mission
of that committee was to investigate the possibility of developing a high quality early childhood facility for the children of Wayne County. After two years of researching the early childhood field, Dr. Andrews became so dedicated to the mission that she left her position of Director of Adult Education and Family Literacy at Frontier Community College, and constructed Kiddie Kollege of Fairfield. In 1998 the facility doubled in size to 12000 square feet and increasing its FTE to 181. Kiddie Kollege is located adjacent to the Frontier Community College campus on the West side of Fairfield, Illinois. It is licensed by The Department of Children and Family Service with an FTE of 150. In 2000, Kiddie Kollege received the "Spotlight on Partnership Award. This award was a result of a partnership between Wabash Area Development, Inc.'s Headstart program and Kiddie Kollege. In July of 2005, Kiddie Kollege, in partnership with Fairfield Elementary School District #112, was awarded an ISBE Prevention Initiative grant. In 2003, Kiddie Kollege was one of eight early childhood centers in the state of Illinois to be awarded an Illinois State Board of Education Pre-Kindergarten program. The ISBE Prekindergarten program served forty three to five year olds. Both full-time and part-time children are accepted in the child care program. Kiddie Kollege was accredited by NECPA from 2006 through 2014. In 2015, Kiddie Kollege received NAEYC accredited putting it in the top 8% of high quality early childhood centers in the nation. In 2015, Kiddie Kollege received level Gold (highest level) from the IL Department of Human Services ExceleRate program. Children also receive early intervention services on site by various agencies.
