Walking into the new Jaymes Academy location is like stepping inside a box of crayons.

The 10,000-square-foot preschool and daycare at 13189 Old Nashville Highway is filled with vibrant colors that match the excitement and passion that owner Angie Phay has for teaching and caring for children.

Jaymes Academy provides early learning adventures for infants, toddlers, preschool, and pre-kindergarten. With locations in Nashville, La Vergne, and Murfreesboro, this new facility in Smyrna is the academy’s fifth location. It includes classrooms for infants through preschool, a cafeteria, and both outdoor and indoor playgrounds.

There are also large, bright murals that cover the walls and include adventurous animals while featuring words that describe Jaymes Academy’s values: love, kindness, education, service, inclusion, and fun.

“We want to create an experience and serve families. We have a servant’s heart,” Angie says. “Your child’s educational adventure begins here.”

After being introduced to Angie by commercial real estate broker John Blankenship, Dow Smith Company guided Angie through the design-build process all the way from the conception of her idea through the construction of the building. Aaron Fisher served as the project manager/estimator and Nathan Pfeifer was the project’s superintendent. This project is unique in that Dow Smith Company owners (Dow Smith, Joey Rhyne, Shauna McConnell, and Trey King) are in a joint partnership with Angie.

“The design is really cool,” Aaron says. “Everyone really loves it. We’ve gotten lots of compliments on it from everyone from city officials to just people who’ve driven by and called our office and commented on it. We used one of our favorite architects, Kevin Goins, and he designed a beautiful craftsman-style building. It really catches your attention when you drive by it.”

The idea for the building came to Angie more than a dozen years ago, Angie says.

“And here we are now with a building that started with a vision on a piece of paper,” she says. “I’ve been so proud and impressed with Dow Smith and Aaron and Nathan and Joey. I just appreciate them so much.”

The new location’s design and so many of its features are the culmination of Angie’s 30 years in childcare. She says she wanted to create an environment that is most conducive to exceptional childcare and also for employees to be successful. She’s focused on the well-being of students and employees, offering benefits such as flexible work schedules and mental health days.

“We’re trying to do as much as we can to be on the cutting edge of being different,” she says. “We’re just super excited about it.”

For more information about Jaymes Academy, log on to www.jaymesacademy.com.