New Horizon Academy, a Minnesota-based childcare organization, has opened four schools in Nebraska this year with two more on the way.
Nebraska has been in the depths of a childcare shortage, like most of the U.S. The Buffett Early Childhood Institute estimated in a 2025 report that the state faces a potential gap of 17,568 spots, with a 2026 report showing the Omaha area faces a shortage of more than 4,000 potential spots.
Chad Dunkley, CEO of New Horizon Academy, said he saw the shortage in Omaha and the surrounding areas, along with the growing population. The first four schools that opened brought 736 new childcare spots to the area.
“We’re happy to be part of the solution of adding childcare capacity to a community that needs it,” Dunkley said.
Two of the schools are located in Elkhorn, one in Gretna and one in Bennington. Another one is set to open in Lincoln in February, followed by one in Papillion in spring 2028. Dunkley said the company has a software program that analyzes future home building and what drive paths are most ideal for going to work and home.
Clare Sanford, vice president of government and community relations at New Horizon Academy, said childcare is a crucial part of a community.
“Childcare is infrastructure just like water, sewer, electricity, all the things that housing or that new business development needs,” Sanford said. “Childcare is just a part of that infrastructure that needs to be there a little bit before the families get there and need it.”
Dunkley said they prefer opening multiple schools in a city so the educators can support one another, whether it’s sharing staff when needed or just connecting with other teachers who get it.
New Horizon Academy also has a team of behavior and mental health specialists to support teachers in the classroom with a student who may be struggling. Dunkley said the organization also has a program to help pay for teachers getting their child development associate, which is a national entry-level credential for childcare.
“The reality is, it’s expensive to do it well,” Dunkley said. “You have to have really good curriculum. You have to have the kinds of supplies and resources in a classroom that children need to thrive. Most important, you have to have amazing teachers who are well trained.”
Sanford added that not every childcare provider has those resources, which can lead to closures in areas where families need childcare.
New Horizon Academy has operated for 55 years, Dunkley said, and it started expanding outside of Minnesota about 30 years ago with schools in Idaho. It upped its expansion efforts about 10 years ago, and now has schools in Des Moines, Kansas City and Omaha.
Before diving into Omaha, Dunkley and Sanford said their staff met with the mayor’s office so they could learn how to help with Omaha’s Poverty Elimination Action Plan. Most recently, the mayor’s office created a survey for families to share their experiences with childcare.
In addition, Sanford said New Horizon Academy accepts childcare subsidies, which is government support for the cost of childcare for families. She added that some schools don’t accept it because of the hassle with paperwork.
“It really means a lot to us when we see a family who maybe never thought that because of their income level or because of a crisis in their life, that they would be able to have what we’re providing for their children, and we say ‘No, welcome. We are here for all children and families,’” Sanford said.
The leaders at New Horizon Academy have also helped champion a program in Minnesota where the state pays a small portion of teacher’s wages, making it easier to keep tuition the same.
“If your wage is $20 an hour and you can go to $22.50, that could be life-changing, and the government is picking up part of that, so you didn’t have to pass that additional wage increase onto the families,” Dunkley said.
They hope to advocate for families in Nebraska, too. Sanford said she wants to see families get the care they deserve for their youngest children.
“No one ever says, ‘Well, you shouldn’t have kids if you can’t afford ninth grade,’” Sanford said. “This is education. This is human development.”