Kid City USA
Kid City USA is expanding its Indiana footprint with a new preschool location opening in Westfield, part of a broader push into communities seeing sustained family growth across the state.
Their mission is to provide a nurturing environment tailored to the unique needs of children aged 6 weeks to 12 years old. Emphasis is put on the idea that they’re not just a daycare; they’re a community where every child thrives. The Kid City USA curriculum-based preschool prepares your child to feel more confident when they enter kindergarten and elementary school. With their extended before and after school care, parents and guardians can work without worry knowing their child is being taken care of from early morning to late afternoon.
The company, founded and led by Audrey Bruner, now operates roughly 130 locations across ten states, with Indiana emerging as one of its fastest growing markets.
Bruner, who grew up in Indiana and now oversees the company from its headquarters in Daytona Beach, says the state has remained central to Kid City USA’s expansion strategy.
“I’ve always felt connected to Indiana,” Bruner says. “We’ve had strong franchisees there for years, and the communities themselves value early education when it’s done well.”
Westfield, in particular, aligns with the company’s focus on central Indiana. The new location joins a cluster of Kid City USA schools throughout the Indianapolis metro area, including Avon, McCordsville, Whitestown, and Indianapolis. Bruner points to steady population growth and long term planning as key reasons the area continues to attract families.
The Westfield schools reflect the type of development Kid City USA looks for when entering a new community. Both areas are experiencing residential growth, long term investment, and an increasing demand for early education that goes beyond basic childcare.
Westfield-Washington Schools are known for their academic excellence, diversity, and commitment to ensuring high levels of learning and growth for each student. Westfield-Washington Schools are committed to preparing students for real-world success—and local businesses play a key role in that mission. At Westfield High School, the “Life Ready” initiative connects students with hands-on learning through internship and career exploration programs. These programs allow seniors to gain meaningful, on-site experience in fields like healthcare, engineering, finance, media, hospitality and tourism, and more. By partnering with Westfield High School, local employers not only help shape the next generation of professionals but also gain early access to a pipeline of motivated, career-focused talent eager to learn and contribute.
“We look closely at where families are moving and putting down roots,” she says. “Westfield isn’t a temporary boom. It’s a place people are choosing to stay.”
In 2023, the city of Westfield processed 1,829 permits, including 1,149 new single-family home starts. The Westfield Washington School District is the fastest-growing district in the state, their website says. onlineSince 2020, 1,895 new students have started in the district. The district plans to open two new elementary schools next school year and a new middle school in the 2027-28 school year.
Much of the company’s recent development in Indiana has been supported by longtime partner David Nash and his team, who have worked with Kid City USA on multiple facilities across the state. Their involvement has allowed schools to be designed specifically around the company’s operational and safety standards.
Indiana has become one of Kid City USA’s fastest growing states, second only to Florida. Even as early childhood education faces funding freezes and reductions at the state and federal level, Bruner says the company’s approach has allowed it to continue expanding.
“We’re being selective about where we grow,” she says. “We’re placing schools in communities that can support high quality programs without relying entirely on subsidy.”
Kid City USA positions itself as a preschool rather than a daycare, a distinction Bruner says matters most during the birth to five years.
“Anyone can watch children,” she says. “Educating them at this stage requires structure and intention.”
That approach is reflected in the company’s curriculum, which combines early academics with character development. In addition to classroom instruction, the company emphasizes nutrition through participation in the USDA food program and physical activity through structured movement initiatives.
Operational oversight is maintained through both state inspections and an internal quality assurance team. Staffing ratios remain another point of emphasis. While Indiana has adjusted required teacher to student ratios, Kid City USA plans to maintain its previous standards.
“Those ratios give teachers the ability to be present,” Bruner says. “Children benefit from that attention.”
Bruner says those decisions were not made lightly but reflect what has proven effective over time.
“If something is working for children, I’m not interested in changing it just because it’s easier,” she says. “The company’s approach to enrollment reflects a similar philosophy. Kid City USA does not interview children or screen families based on perceived fit. Instead, the schools work with parents to support a wide range of developmental needs, and when a child requires services beyond what a particular location can provide, staff assist families in finding appropriate alternatives rather than simply turning them away.”
Bruner describes this as part of a broader responsibility to families rather than a transactional relationship.
To make sure that your child is happy while away from his or her home, Kid City provides a safe, secure, and exciting environment that they’ll want to come back to every day. Bruner’s own professional commitment to early education is reinforced by her role as a grandmother to three young children, all under five.
“You see very quickly how much those early years matter,” she says.
The preschool prides themselves on allowing children to grow and develop in a hands-on, literacy enriched environment. Use of TV or video is limited to educational purposes only with proper authorization. At Kid City USA, they use curriculum to promote the development of all stages in each child. Most of all, they provide our families with loving, trained caregivers who understand that all children develop differently. Their program works diligently to develop the social, emotional, cognitive, physical and character development of each individual child while respecting the uniqueness of each family’s customs and beliefs.
As Kid City USA prepares for open houses and grand opening events in Westfield and Kokomo, Bruner says the company’s focus remains steady.
“We’ve had to adapt as an industry,” she says. “But we’re not willing to adapt at the expense of children.”
Kid City is committed to exceptional childcare and early childhood education in a homelike environment and is committed to providing families with a safe, healthy, structured environment filled with love and encouragement.
You can find out more about Kid City USA at kidcityusa.com
