By james art 
By CHRISTINA JANNIE
Hays Post
Nick and Andrea Felder knew they were in for a big life change when the couple found out they were pregnant again nine months after their twins were born.
The couple lived in Topeka and worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield. Nick graduated as a civil engineer and Andrea worked in accounting.
With a third child under 3 soon to join their household, the couple wants to move back to western Kansas, where they were raised.
When they started asking about childcare, Nick said people laughed at them. Childcare slots were extremely difficult to find in Hayes at the time and it was almost impossible to find three free places for siblings under the age of 2.
“That’s when we realized how much he needed something,” Nick said. “Then we combined the need to juggle career paths with the obvious need for childcare and just the love of our children and our family’s children, nieces and nephews.”
The Felders decided to take a leap of faith. They set about opening a childcare center, Bright Minds Academy.
While the couple dealt with the red tape of buying land and redeveloping a property on Wheatland Drive, Nick was also studying to become certified as a childcare center director.
The couple also sold their house and moved into a small townhouse to have capital to invest downtown.
“We just knew we wanted to come back here,” Andrea said.
The center opened in January 2020.
Well, we all know what happened next — the pandemic hit.
The Felders managed to stay open during the pandemic. They had the ability to close the doors and special precautions including temperature checks. The Ellis County Health Department also authorized the center to maintain a room for COVID-positive children.
Andrea said another significant challenge was recruiting. State regulations require a minimum number of adults in each classroom. If someone is sick, they have to scramble to find someone to fill in or be forced to send the kids home.
Nick and Andrea are filling in, but they have also hired a full-time staff member who can alternate hours if needed.
“It’s a stressor every day,” Andrea said.
The mission of the center is to provide the next generation with the best quality of care and education.
Nick said the centers have the advantage of allowing children to interact and learn with their peers. The center should not close either. Home providers may have to close if someone is sick.
The center serves children from birth to 5 years and provides age-appropriate learning. Under recently revised Kansas regulations, the Wheatland Center is licensed for 63 children.
“We know that from 0 to 5 they learn primarily through play-based learning,” Nick said.
Andrea said they modeled their center after a similar facility their twins attended when they were younger.
The center offered extracurricular activities so parents had a chance to get to know each other. She said it feels like a family, and that’s what Felders wants for Bright Minds.
The Felders said they have reaped the rewards of working with children and families.
“It’s definitely more stressful than our previous jobs,” Andrea said, “but the payoff is 10-fold. I feel our quality of life is much better. It is much more complete.
“Just this past year we had preschoolers start with us in the nursery. Just seeing them from here to there brought some tears to my eyes.”
Nick also shared his memories.
“The kids that walk through the door and their faces light up to see you and to see their teachers and they’re happy to be here, it’s hard to describe the feeling you get from that versus working in insurance,” he said.
The Felders now have four children. The twins are 7, and all four children attended Bright Minds. The youngest of the four started coming to the center when he was 2 weeks old.
“That was a motivating factor,” Nick said. “We work with kids, but we can also see our kids anytime in the hallway if we want to.”
Parent James Robben nominated Felders for the October Childcare Champion Award.
“Bright Minds Academy not only provides care for the children, but also provides a warm and educational learning environment for the children,” Robben said. “I am so glad we decided to send our children to Bright Minds. Nick, Andrea and all the staff at BMA do an amazing job. It really feels like a home-based family day care, but with the educational qualities they were looking for.”
A year ago, HaysMed opened a child care center on its campus. The hospital contracts with Felders to operate this facility, which is licensed for 84 children.
The Grove Community Center will open next year and the Felders will also be contracted to run it.
Bright Minds takes deposits to hold seats at The Grove. Under the new regulations, The Grove will be able to accommodate up to 83 children.
Since The Grove Community Center will also be the new home of the Hays Senior Center, the Felders also hope to incorporate an intergenerational aspect to this center.
Nick said childcare capacity in Hayes has increased significantly since the couple opened Bright Minds.
“We want the people who were in our shoes six years ago and were laughing at us on the phone to be able to call and actually find care and be able to move here,” he said.
Both sites they run now are almost full.
The couple said Hayes should be close to meeting their childcare needs once The Grove is completed. They would like to expand and open homes for children in the more rural areas of the region.
Andrea, 38, attended school in Victoria and Nick, 37, attended school up to Ransom High School.
“We don’t want to see these types of communities disappear because of an issue like childcare,” Nick said.
Nick said Bright Minds couldn’t be possible without his staff.
“We’re just managing the chaos,” he said. “It’s really our teachers and our staff who are doing the Lord’s work here. We couldn’t do anything without the good people we have here.”