About Us
Meet the Owner and Director
Alyssa Combs is the Owner and Director of Harlan Oaks Early Learning Center. She understands the importance of quality early education not only because of her background and years of experience working with young children, but also because she too is a Mom. Alyssa is "Momma" to Oakley (8) and Harlan (2) who keep her on her toes every day. Her husband, Cole Combs is a practicing attorney in Saint Charles, and they typically spend all of their free time from May to October toting baseball gear for Oakley who is in love with the game. Luckily, Harlan is his biggest fan and has been impatiently waiting for his turn on the field! Solidarity to all the sports parents who support their little athletes no matter how crazy it is!
Choosing a program to care for and educate your children can be one of the most overwhelming and daunting tasks of becoming a new parent. At Harlan Oaks ELC you can stress less knowing that your babies will be loved and cared for the same way we want our own children to be loved and cared for, and more so they will be immersed in a playful, creative, and stimulating learning environment during these most formative years.
How it all began.
Alyssa began her career in Early Childhood Education in the summer of 2008 after she graduated from Millikin University with a Bachelors Degree in English-Writing. She had a dream of writing children's books, and a history as a nanny working with children so she thought why not teach until the "right job" came a long. She spent more than a decade helping to build a successful center in Saint Charles and working her way from Head Primary Educator, to Assistant Director, and finally Director. In December of 2021 life threw her a curve ball and she left her position as Director. Faced with a decision to change career paths and find childcare for her one year old or to start over with a new program, Alyssa decided to take a leap of faith and Harlan Oaks started to become a reality on January 31, 2022. In July of 2022 Harlan Oaks ELC officially became a licensed provider with the State of Missouri and has been growing its family since!
Where it's going.
The field of Early Childhood Education is always growing and developing. Harlan Oaks is committed to staying knowledgeable and relevant in Early Education with a commitment for continuing education for our teachers. We hope to partner with our families and to be a resource and a sounding board because parenting is hard enough, y'all!