The official ribbon cutting of the partnership between Polywood and Wawasee School. In the photo from left to right, Rob Parker, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce; Katina Robinson, Wawasee Community Schools; Dawn Pickens, Wawasee Community Schools; Ryan Zimmerman, POLYWOOD; Dr. Stephen Troyer, Wawasee Community Schools; Jennifer Phillips, Wawasee Community Schools; Jeremy Drier, POLYWOOD; Renea Salyer, Syracuse Wawasee Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Shelly Wilfong, Wawasee Community Schools; Sherry Searles, LaunchPad InkFreeNews photo provided by Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce.

News Release

SYRACUSE—The Kosciusko County Child Care & Early Learning Coalition, called LaunchPad is celebrating a new partnership between Wawasee Community School Corporation and POLYWOOD. With a shortage of childcare county-wide, LaunchPad has been strategically bringing partners together to solve this workforce issue. 

For over 30 years, POLYWOOD has been transforming outdoor living spaces with durable, sustainable and timeless furniture designs. All genuine POLYWOOD® products are made in the USA from ocean-bound and landfill-bound plastic and are produced in a 99% waste-free facility. To learn more, please visit polywood.com. POLYWOOD employs 800 people in their Syracuse location and are proud to offer employees a suite of premier benefits, which now includes subsidized high-quality childcare seats in a convenient location. 

Leaders at Wawasee Community School Corporation recognize the need for high quality early learning environments for children before they enter kindergarten.  With 90% of the brain developing before the age of 5, providing an enriching and educational program for preschool children is one way that the school district can ensure that children enter school ready to learn.  With an open classroom and a willingness to think outside-the-box, Syracuse Elementary has become a hub for POLYWOOD employees to access care. 

In addition to the POLYWOOD early learning program, Wawasee Community Schools operates three full-day early learning programs for children in the community, ages 3-5 at Milford Elementary, North Webster Elementary and Syracuse Elementary. For more information about enrolling in these classrooms, or to learn more about how a business can partner with the district, you can reach Jennifer Phillips at [email protected] or call (574) 457-3188.

While the school operates the childcare, it is fully funded by POLYWOOD and does not use state dollars.  POLYWOOD currently has job opportunities in their production department and there are a few childcare seats available for parents working at POLYWOOD. These opportunities can be found here: www.polywoodjobs.com

LaunchPad’s mission is to seek to partner with local businesses who invest in the community to build high-quality childcare capacity so that they can attract and retain talent, working parents can be highly productive employees, and children can be in safe, nurturing environments. Call Sherry Searles at the Chamber of Commerce at (574) 267-6311 ext. 5 to learn more.