Long before Summit Learning Center opened its doors, Megan Snow and Coley Stetler had spent years working inside Maine’s education system. They’d seen what worked, what didn’t, and how often families were forced to compromise when it came to child care. With early planning support from the Child Care Business Lab, opening their own program became a way to stop compromising and build something different.

Q&A as told to CEI by Megan Snow and Coley Stetler in their own words, with minor editing for clarity and context.

Tell us your story. How did the idea to open a child care center start, and how did you get to where you are today?

Coley: I worked in Boston in early child care for about nine years. When I moved back to Maine after Meg had her daughter, Maine wasn’t where it is now in early childhood education. I had fallen in love with that work, but there weren’t many opportunities. When Meg was looking for child care, the education piece was really important to her, and she just wasn’t finding what she wanted. There are good programs, but a lot were full or not the right fit.

Megan:
It wasn’t exactly the programming I was looking for. I had been a school counselor for about 15 years. Around COVID, we were both ready to take all that we valued in elementary school education and bring it to early childhood education.

Coley brought me the idea of opening a preschool. We had already started the Child Care Business Lab with Cynthia at CEI, and even though COVID interrupted the in‑person part, we kept going.

Finding the right location was our biggest challenge. Most buildings aren’t designed for child care, so it took a long time. When we finally found this one, we were able to use grant funding through the state’s Child Care Infrastructure Grant Program to do the basic renovations we needed.

We started small. We were originally licensed for 40 children but opened with eight. Although we were experienced educators, we weren’t experienced in child care operations, so we hired people who were. That mix has always worked really well. Within a year, we expanded and are now licensed for 80 children.

Later, once we finished a bathroom addition we had started, we were able to increase enrollment more significantly. Having additional bathrooms made all the difference.

Not long after, we brought on Colleen Burton as our third owner.

Coley:
I like to say she keeps our doors open.

Megan:
She does all the paperwork, HR, scheduling. She keeps everything running so we can focus on the program side. Child care and education is half the job, and the business side is the other half.

You recently expanded beyond Bangor. Can you tell us about that?

Megan:
This past year, we opened a second location in Ellsworth. We had always wanted to increase enrollment in Bangor, and once the bathroom addition was complete, we were able to do that.

Ellsworth was actually where we had originally hoped to open. All three of us are from that area and spent a large part of our educational careers there, but we couldn’t find space at the time. When a building in Ellsworth became available, one that had previously been used for child care, we couldn’t turn it down. It felt too serendipitous.

We hired another former teacher friend with a master’s in literacy as our director there. We split our time between Bangor and Ellsworth. Being hands‑on is really important to us. We want to know all the families and kids, be in classrooms every day, greet kids in the morning, walk them out in the afternoon, and keep communication strong. That’s fundamental for us.

Coley:
Our presence is a huge part of our success. Parents really know us.

Megan:
It’s been a wild ride. Child care is more challenging than we expected. Enrollment can be unpredictable, sometimes you have a full waiting list, sometimes you don’t.

Coley:
Most of our families come from referrals, which means so much to us.

Megan:
About 85 to 90 percent of our kids come through referrals. And now we’re working toward opening a new location in Hampden. We will close the current Bangor building and move everyone there. Our Bangor building wasn’t designed for child care. We’ve made it work, but a purpose‑built building will allow our programming to be so much stronger.

Coley:
When we first opened, we went back and forth between building or leasing. Leasing got us started, but now being able to build and invest in ourselves feels like the right next step.

Megan:
The building we would have designed five years ago is very different from the building we know we need now.

What are you most proud of in your child care journey?

Megan:
Seeing our vision come to life. Watching kids grow from enrollment to pre‑K and knowing we played a vital role. And the relationships. Some families have told us we feel like part of their family. That means more than I could have asked for.

Coley:
The relationships with families and the community we’ve built with our staff. Parents trust us with their most important people. Having a job we enjoy, that our staff enjoys, and that supports kids and families, that’s pretty amazing.

Megan:
We’ve built a community of staff, students, and families that we’re incredibly proud of.

How many families and staff do you serve today?

Megan:
Around 70 children in Bangor and 10 to 15 in Ellsworth. Ellsworth will eventually grow to about 50. We have about 35 employees.

We also partner with Husson University’s occupational therapy program. Their pediatric OT students work with our kids weekly, and many become part‑time employees. It’s been a great community connection.

How did you first find CEI and the Child Care Business Lab?

Coley:
I was Googling grants and resources and found the Child Care Business Lab. Honestly, I don’t know if we would be open without it. Starting a business felt overwhelming.

Megan:
CEI helped with step‑by‑step checklists and realistic timelines. Everything took longer than we expected, permitting, licensing, fire marshal. Cynthia helped keep us grounded, and the connections CEI has in the child care world were invaluable.

Coley:
The Child Care Business Lab broke everything down piece by piece, what steps to take and in what order. The value for people going through it now is huge.

Megan:
CEI also connected us with other providers, which has been priceless for problem‑solving.

Coley:
Cynthia also connected me to another child care center so I could visit and see how things ran day to day. That was incredibly helpful.

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Summit Learning Center has grown through distinct stages, each building on the last, with guidance from the Child Care Business Lab supporting the team throughout the process. After reaching full enrollment in Bangor, Megan and Coley expanded to a second location in Ellsworth, supported by CEI financing. They are now preparing a third center that will replace the Bangor site and mark the next chapter of the business, creating space to deepen programming and invest in long‑term stability for families, educators, and the communities Summit serves.