Honey Tree Preschool Opens Second Glenwood Springs Location

Need child care that fits a 7:30 a.m. shift and a 5:30 p.m. pickup? Honey Tree Preschool is finally answering that call in Glenwood Springs.

After six years of serving El Jebel, co-owners Kelly Beal and Dustin Robertson are opening a second location in the Meadows complex. The new center opens mid-August. It will add nearly 80 child care spots to the local market. That is a significant injection of capacity in a valley that has struggled with the same shortage for a decade.

The facility sits at 515 Flat Tops View Drive. It will serve children from 8 weeks old through 6 years. Infants, toddlers, and pre-K students will all be under one roof. The hours run 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Year-round. No breaks.

“We saw that there was really a need for infant and toddler care down there,” Robertson said.

The timing isn’t random. Families across the region are still hunting for care that aligns with their work schedules. Beal says the long daily window was a key factor in choosing Glenwood Springs as the expansion site. They evaluated options from Aspen to Parachute. Glenwood won.

“We were looking into some different options and doing an evaluation from Aspen to Parachute,” Beal said. “We thought Glenwood would be a great hub.”

The logic holds up. Honey Tree already transports families from Glenwood Springs to El Jebel every day. This move shortens that drive. It also brings jobs closer to employees living in Glenwood, Silt, and Rifle.

Five or six families currently enrolled in El Jebel will likely move to the new center. But the bulk of the 80 spots will be new to the area.

The El Jebel location currently houses 112 children and employs 23 people. The new Glenwood Springs center will be smaller. It will feature five classrooms. It will employ about 12 people. It will hold approximately 76 to 78 children daily.

Staffing won’t be a scramble. Four lead-certified teachers from El Jebel are transferring to Glenwood. They start on day one. Honey Tree is still hunting for a director to oversee the whole operation.

Beal and Robertson took over in 2020. The pandemic hit hard. Schools closed. Businesses shuttered. Honey Tree stayed open for first responders and essential workers. Once restrictions lifted, enrollment climbed.

The curriculum has evolved too. The original model served toddlers through pre-K. Two and a half years ago, they added infant care. They also launched the Wild Wanderers program. This group takes 12 older pre-K students on daily outings. It’s designed for kids who missed the kindergarten age cutoff or whose families wanted them to stay one more year.

Beal’s connection to the valley goes back to 2009. She moved from New Jersey. She planned to stay for one season. She never left.

The expansion signals confidence. It signals that the current El Jebel location is stable enough to support a second unit without bleeding resources dry. It signals that the demand for reliable, extended-hour care in Glenwood Springs is no longer theoretical. It’s a constraint that’s holding back local workers.

The new center opens in August. That’s less than two months away. The question isn’t whether they’ll fill the spots. It’s whether the local housing market can absorb the influx of staff needed to run them.

Honey Tree is planting new roots. The soil looks fertile.