JCPRD buys shuttered Overland Park Montessori, plans childcare expansion

The Johnson County Park and Recreation District bought the former Johnson County Montessori property at 7725 W. 87th St. in Overland Park in May, and is now exploring whether to convert the building into an early childhood education center.

The JCPRD Board of Commissioners approved a contract in August with architecture firm Clark & Enersen to complete a facility needs assessment of the site near South Lake Park in northern Overland Park, according to the Johnson County Post.

"Something we're certainly looking at is using that site to bring expanded childcare opportunities to that part of the county," said Kellen Jenkins, JCPRD's marketing and communications manager.

The assessment is expected to take several months. A formal project proposal won't reach the JCPRD board until January or February 2027.

A school's sudden end

Johnson County Montessori closed in late December 2025 after 60 years of operation, leaving families scrambling for alternatives. The school's owner, nonprofit GoodLife Innovations, shut it down as the organization restructured to focus on adults with disabilities. Enrollment had also hit an all-time low.

Sarah Andrews, a single mother living with multiple health conditions, was among the parents blindsided by the closure. She enrolled her daughter Goldie in a different Montessori school in Mission after the news broke.

"I had no clue that it was just going to close," Andrews said in December 2025. "It just hit me wrong."

GoodLife Innovations CEO Mike Strouse acknowledged the impact in December 2025, telling the Johnson County Post that closing something after 60 years left no good options.

Bigger childcare push

The acquisition fits into a broader JCPRD strategy. The district's 2024 Children's Services Strategic Plan calls for developing five to seven new early childhood operations over the next 15 years, at an estimated cost of $10 million to $20 million.

The demand is documented: for every child in a Johnson County afterschool program, three are waiting to get in, the plan states. Since 2004, the number of students without afterschool care has increased by 60%.

JCPRD already operates the Roeland Park Early Childhood Development Center and Nature Play Preschools at Meadowbrook Park and Mill Creek Activity Center, along with pre-K enrichment and before- and after-school programs through partnerships with local school districts. As of 2024, the district held 89 of the county's 149 licensed school-age childcare facility licenses.