"Where Children Come First"
Jay’s Learning Center, Inc. and Little Rascals were started by Christy and James Wisemore. With 4 children of their own, the need for a quality learning environment was not only evident, but very important to them. To this day they continue to be very active in the development of curriculum, oversight of the centers, building up keep, and the board of directors.
The Year Was:
1977 - Jay’s Daycare was started by two sisters from the Kansas City area. They grew from a small childcare facility in the basement of a church, which is located to the east of the current two building facility located on Barry Road.
1986 - Jay’s Daycare expanded their services to Tracy, Mo, and surrounding areas. An old schoolhouse was purchased, renovated and made into a preschool that served children 2 years thru school age. The two sisters would eventually decide to retire and sell their childcare facilities.
2000 – Christy and James Wisemore had an idea, it all began when they approached a relative about the possibility of purchasing their building in Buckner. On December 31, 2000 the sale took place and their ideas and dreams began to grow. Little Rascals was born.
2001 – Little Rascals went through an extensive remodel to get the building up to state child care licensing codes and regulations, along with incorporating some of the visions of Christy and James. Little Rascals opened their doors and welcomed the first child into their facility on May 1, 2001. In September of 2001 Christy was still working full time as an accountant at an architectural firm located in Westport Missouri while overseeing Little Rascals in Buckner. With the desire to be more active in the day to day operations of the learning center, Christy went back to school to earn a Degree in Early Childhood Education, at that time she also started looking for another building to purchase.
2002 – February 4, 2002 James and Christy purchased Jay’s Day Care Center, Inc, at that time James and Christy Wisemore renamed the center to Jay’s Learning Center, Inc., and reorganized Jay’s into A NOT-FOR PROFIT CENTER. After many renovations to the three buildings, Jay’s Learning Center obtained their official license on April 1, 2002.
2005 – June 1, 2005 Jay’s Learning Center, Inc. opened a brand new infant/toddler building in Tracy Missouri. The new addition almost doubled the original capacity of that facility, and made the Tracy facility a two building site. October 17, 2005 James and Christy Wisemore purchased the connecting lot to the North of the Little Rascals’ facility; the objective was to expand Little Rascals’ learning center in 2006.
2006 – November 16, 2006 James and Christy Wisemore purchased a two acre lot in Oak Grove, Missouri. This piece of land will be the home of Jay’s Learning Center, Inc. DBA Little Rascals in Oak Grove, along with housing the corporate office of Jay’s Learning Center, Inc. and Little Rascals. The anticipated opening date for the new facility is late September / early October of 2007. Expansion plans for the Little Rascals’ facility has been put on hold until the new Oak Grove facility is completed.
Today there are a total of THREE locations
serving 236 children daily in the Kansas City area they are:
Little Rascals, Buckner, MO: caring for 35 children,
Jay’s Learning Center, Tracy, MO: caring for 75 children and
Jay’s Learning Center, Barry Road: caring for 126 children.
There are several plans in process for all locations, such as achieving national accreditation through NAEYC, updating and/or expanding the facilities, and acquiring additional childcare facilities, in the Kansas City and the surrounding areas.
All three centers are currently using the self study program offered through NAEYC – National Association for the Education of Young Children. Achieving National Accreditation is the highest honor a learning center can receive, and is the foremost goal of all our centers. | 
