Four child care facilities in Lackawanna County are expanding their presence in the Abingtons.
The operators of Daydreamers Child Care, Edison Early Learning Center, Abington Kids Creative Learning Center and Northeastern Child Care Services say the growing need for quality child care prompted them to make the moves.
The demand they hope to fill is a nationwide issue. A 2025 report by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children found more than 80,000 eligible infants and toddlers and 84,000 eligible preschoolers lack access to high-quality programs.
In addition, a survey conducted by Start Strong PA cited in the report found 70% of working parents reported accessing child care is a challenge. Adding to the problem is the workforce shortage facing child care providers. The report found since 2019, there has been a net loss of 393 child care providers in Pennsylvania, leaving hundreds of families without child care options.
A report by the Bipartisan Policy Center found 4 million children nationwide are left without access to formal child care. It estimates the country will lose between $216.4 billion and $329.4 billion in the next 10 years from a lack of child care access.
Providers also say they are responding to the need for all-day kindergarten, as the Abington Heights School District remains the only district in the county to offer half-day kindergarten. Multiple child care operators offer van services that transport kindergarten students from the four elementary schools in the district to their facilities.
A districtwide facilities study completed in 2023 recommended the district look at implementing full-day kindergarten.
Superintendent Christopher Shaffer said last week the district is exploring the option but isn’t actively planning on it as there are several facility projects — notably a nearly $50 million addition to Abington Heights Middle School — that take priority. There are also more resources needed for full-day kindergarten that the district doesn’t have funding for, he said.
“There’s quite a lot that would need to be invested not only in the facilities for full day (kindergarten), but also with staffing,” Shaffer said. “There are a series of requirements based on the developmental needs of the kids.”
The expanding facilities are:
Daydreamers Child Care
1919 Newton Ransom Blvd. will be the future home of Daydreamers Child Care in Newton Twp. Thursday, April 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The facility, which has rented space in the Newton Recreation Center since 2008, is constructing a new building at 1919 Newton Ransom Blvd., less than a mile from the center in Newton Twp. It will be roughly 19,000 square feet, with nine classrooms, a gymnasium, two offices, a therapy room, kitchen and staff breakroom.
Center officials purchased the property in 2024 and received township approval for the project earlier this year. Director and co-owner Amber Sheridan hopes to break ground by the end of the month and move in by summer 2027, the same time the center’s lease for the current building expires. They will move out of the center into their new location if all goes well with construction, she said.
Sheridan said the new building will allow them to serve more families, something that isn’t easy with the space in the Newton Recreation Center, which has six classrooms and an office and serves around 130 children ages 6 weeks to 13 years. She said there has been a waitlist for 10 years, which has grown to more than 300 children.
Sheridan said they will offer the same curriculum and employ the same teachers in the new building.
“This has been a dream of ours for years now, so for it to finally be coming to fruition is really exciting for us,” she said. “We’ve been part of the community for so long and now to be able to expand that and accommodate more families, that’s really exciting for us.”
Edison Early Learning Center
The Edison Early Learning Center on Noble Road in S. Abington Twp. Thursday, April 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A sign is posted on the side of the Edison Early Learning Center to advertise enrollement for the Fall semester on Noble Road in S. Abington Twp. Thursday, April 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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The Edison Early Learning Center on Noble Road in S. Abington Twp. Thursday, April 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The business purchased the former Sickler’s Bike Shop on Noble Road in South Abington Twp. late last year. and plans to open for classes in the fall. It also operates a location in Carbondale.
Director Dawn Toolan said the building was a great fit because of the need for quality early learning in the area. The new location, which sits on nearly 2 acres of land, will offer prekindergarten and kindergarten for children ages 3 to 6.
She said the new location will fill a need for care for Abingtons families, especially full-day kindergarten, which she said many families struggle with because the school district offers only half-day kindergarten.
The facility, which has been in business for almost 19 years, has about 50 students enrolled so far at the South Abington Twp. location and is licensed for 70 students.
Abington Kids Creative Learning Center
An item that celebrates Scranton’s centennial from 1966 sits in a display case at the Lackwanna Historical Society’s Caitlin House in Scranton Thursday, April 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Area businesses, such as Rosario’s Pizzeria and Everything Natural, as well as the Clarks Summit Fire Department are represented in the Abington Kids Imagination Station in Glenburn Twp. Friday, April 17, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Tricycles can be ridden around a track in the Abington Kids Imagination Station in Glenburn Twp. Friday, April 17, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The outside of the Abington Kids Imagination Station in Glenburn Twp. Friday, April 17, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
One of the many murals created by local artists Eric Bussart and Zach Yahn is seen upon entering the lobby of the Abington Kids Imagination Station in Glenburn Twp. Friday, April 17, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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An item that celebrates Scranton’s centennial from 1966 sits in a display case at the Lackwanna Historical Society’s Caitlin House in Scranton Thursday, April 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The center, which already has locations in Clarks Summit and Clarks Green, will open its third location, the Abington Kids Imagination Station, next month.
The two-floor, 15,000-square-foot building on Pine Tree Drive in Glenburn Twp., a former church the center purchased in 2024, will serve children ages 6 weeks to 5 years and offer an indoor play space designed to look like a town, including a pizza restaurant, cafe, grocery store and construction zone. Co-owner Melissa Namiotka said the space, which will be open to the public, is designed to encourage play and imagination.
“Imagination Station specifically addresses the need for that interactive, purposeful play that goes beyond standard supervision,” she said.
Namiotka said the new location reduces her waitlist, which has hundreds of families on it, and provides more jobs locally. She expects to employ 20 additional employees at the new location and enroll approximately 150 additional families.
Namiotka said the Imagination Station helps children build problem-solving skills and their cognitive development.
“As a local mom and as a business owner for over 11 years, I recognized that families in the Clarks Summit area have been looking for more than just a day care,” she said. “They want an enrichment-based, purposeful play environment, and I wanted it to be able to provide that for them.”
Northeastern Child Care Services
The Judy Graziano Early Learning Center in South Abington Twp. Thursday, April 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The child care provider, which operates six centers in Lackawanna, Susquehanna and Wayne counties, purchased the former Chinchilla United Methodist Church off Layton Road in South Abington Twp. late last year and opened it as the Judy Graziano Early Learning Center of Chinchilla in January.
The church, which dedicated the building in 1962, closed at the end of 2024. Northeastern Child Care Services previously operated in the church when it was founded in 1989, Executive Director Margi Lomeo said.
The facility is named for the center’s founder, who Lomeo said is a forerunner in early childhood education, serving on local, state and national boards. The organization plans to rebrand all its facilities with the Judy Graziano Early Learning Center name, which she said Graziano is honored by.
Lomeo said owning the building gives them greater flexibility and opportunity for growth.
“Ownership allows the organization to expand and enhance outdoor educational play spaces, creating a more dynamic, hands-on learning environment for children,” she said.
Lomeo said the new location allows them to serve families in South Abington Twp. and surrounding areas. Like the other locations, it serves children ages birth through 12 years, with more than 100 families currently enrolled.
“We really felt like this was an ideal location,” Lomeo said. “We’ve been welcomed with open arms in the neighborhood.”