Lettuce Patch Early Learning Center opening marks a milestone for early childhood education in Eagle County 

Standing before a crowd on Thursday evening, Danielle Guilmineau felt a sense of relief. 

She and her husband had fretted over who would care for their four-month-old daughter Juliet with Guilmineau’s maternity leave wrapping up soon. 

“It’s incredibly stressful to be a mom holding her newborn, wondering where she will go every day so you can return to work,” Guilmineau said. “The reality is finding available high-quality care in our valley is a challenge for so many families.” 

She no longer has to worry now that her daughter is enrolled at the Lettuce Patch Early Learning Center, Avon’s newest early childhood education facility. On Sept. 10, a ribbon-cutting was held to celebrate the completed construction and mark the official opening of the center, beginning with staff onboarding and classroom preparation ahead of the young students’ arrival on Oct. 12. 

The center will eventually serve up to 165 children ages six weeks to five years. The building itself is 13,595 square feet, including 12 classrooms and four outdoor playgrounds, as well as a full-service kitchen. At full capacity, the center will eventually employ about 40 staff members. Operating the center is Access Early Education Foundation, a Colorado nonprofit that will oversee enrollment, hiring and day-to-day instruction. 

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“Having this center open its doors is so much more than a convenience. It is a lifeline that our valley has desperately needed. It allows parents to pursue their careers knowing their little ones are in a safe, warm and nurturing environment where they can thrive,” Guilmineau said. 

This project has been years in the works, dating back to the 1990s when Traer Creek LLC conveyed the very land the facility sits on for community use. In 2014, the real estate developer deeded the property to the Town of Avon after seeing value in dedicating the land for education purposes. Eventually, in 2021, Vail Valley Foundation began to pursue ways to overcome the childcare desert that Eagle County had been facing. The nonprofit executed a long-term land lease with the town and broke ground on the site in June 2025. 

Steve Coyer, a VVF board member, said a number of factors came into play that led to the creation of the facility. One was the overwhelming recognition of how important early childhood education is. Another was the awareness of community leaders that they had a lack of centers that could actually serve the children. 

“Every center in the Valley has a waitlist a mile long,” he said. “One reason there’s not enough capacity is because early child education is expensive and centers just cannot run on tuition that they charge.” 

To build the center and keep it running, the fundraising came from a community-wide effort. From the government side, the Town of Avon contributed $800,000 in incentives, and Eagle County gave $1 million to the project. Vail Resorts Epic Promise Foundation also provided grant support. Meanwhile, the Vail Valley Foundation has raised more than $13.4 million toward the construction and is continuing to raise money for a $4 million Tuition, Housing and Operation Fund for further facility support. 

“I can wholeheartedly say that this is one of our proudest moments as an organization,” Coyer said. “What can possibly be better than preparing our little kiddos to be excited, curious and capable of making the most of their upcoming school years?” 

When state Rep. Meghan Lukens asks Eagle County constituents what their top concerns for the area is, one item she always hears is early childcare options. 

“I wanted to say how important these facilities are for our learning community and for the future for our state and country because the kids that are coming here are learning the skills they need from early on, and it is truly an investment in our future,” she said at the ribbon cutting. “This is such a tremendous example of public-private partnership and what a community coming together can deliver.” 

With the name stemming from Avon’s agricultural history as a farming community, it only seems right to keep the green theme going. The facility, which is all electric, is designed to have a small carbon footprint while keeping operating costs down. More than 100 rooftop solar panels were donated and installed by Colorado company Active Energies Solar, and are expected to produce more than 72,000 kilowatt-hours annually, enough to power seven American households for a full year. The project was designed by Zehren & Associates and then built by RA Nelson, which used the facility as a pilot project for its Construction Waste Diversion program that has redirected more than 117,000 pounds of waste from going into a landfill.

“This facility is a significant step forward in our community’s well-being at so many levels,” said Tamra Nottingham Underwood, Town of Avon Mayor, who is a long-time local herself. “We hope this will serve as a model for what people can achieve when the entire community comes together to address our most pressing challenges.”