History of Grace Christian Preschool
Idea started in 1991
Brought to congregation in 1992 as a ministry of our congregation and was approved for downstairs. Right before our opening in September 1993 found out that we could not use downstairs because of fire codes. Congregation approved the use of the Fellowship Hall on a temporary basis.
1993 was our first year. We started with two classes. One three year old class (10 students) and one four year old class (15 students). We put four year olds in our first three year old class, because we couldn’t fill it. Over the years we added classes, two three year old classes Tuesday & Thursday and two four year old classes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This year (2003) we have gone to one three year old class (morning-14 students) and one four year old class (afternoon-16 students) Tuesday & Thursday; and two four year old classes (32 students) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Total students = 62.
In 1997, the congregation established a building fund and put money into a dedicated account for a separate facility for the preschool. In 2004 Boyd Ruby joined the Preschool Board and spearheaded the then dormant idea of expanding the preschool into its own building.
Architectural plans for a new preschool building with two class rooms were drawn up in 2005 and approval was granted by the city to begin the building in spring 2006. A ground breaking ceremony in August of 2006 started the construction faze of our new preschool building, which we hoped to have ready for classes for the 2007-2008 school year. The exterior was completed with existing funds in the spring of 2007 and sale of the house property on highway 30 provided enough funds for completion of the interior. Building always takes longer than you think, and thus with a few delays we missed our September 2007 deadline. With a lot of hard work and dedication from the builders and helpers involved we held our Open House and Dedication on March 9, 2008.
Our first teacher was Jan Person who was the wife of the minister at Creekside Baptist Church. The assistants were Velma Troxel and Trish Davidge. Mrs. Person taught from 1993 to 1996. Christine Nastrom began teaching in 1996 until 1999 when she left to teach in the public schools. Kristy Warneke taught the 1999-2000 school year and then her family relocated to California. Christine Nastrom was hired as teacher in 2000. Connie Nelson became the assistant in 1997. Christine and Connie work well as a team and were a blessing to our program. Kristy Warneke returned for the school year of 2007-2008 and continues to be our much-loved teacher. Our assistants are Alison Jones with the three year olds and Clairissa Williams with the four year olds. The staff is looking forward to the 2010-2011 school year.
Our tuition started out as $40 for the three year old students and $55 for the four year old students, and has now risen to $95 for the two day a week program and $135 for the three day a week program. We are a non-profit which charges enough to pay our expenses. In 2002, the preschool board developed a scholarship fund with the help of board members Geof & Marilyn Lankow to help families having financial difficulty.
The preschool’s core values include: Christian preschool; Ministry of our church; Affordable to the majority and comparable to other preschools in our area; Curriculum developmentally appropriate to age; Christian staff—able to work within the Lutheran framework, associate degree or more in teaching, head teacher must be trained in early childhood education, and the teacher will participate in continuing education and teacher forums including the District teacher’s conference.
The first preschool board consisted of: Janet Wentz (founder), Pam Ruddell, Teri Griffin, George Eberly, and Pastor Tim Van Natta. Janet Wentz was the director of the preschool from it’s beginning until 1999 when she mentored Kara Orr to be the director. Kara Orr was the director of the preschool from 1999 to 2002. In 2003, Kara mentored Deb Christensen to take over as the current director. The present preschool board consists of: Gary Liao (President), Gail Walker (Director & Bookkeeper), Kara Orr (Financial), Jennifer Mock (Secretary), Deb Christensen, Carole Covlin, Boyd Ruby, Darlene Hess and Pastor Phil.
The preschool implemented fundraisers early in the ministry to help supplement the budget. In the early years, the preschool held an Archie Christian Book Fair fundraiser and they sold from House of Lloyd merchandise catalogs. This year we had a "pillow pets" and a tupperware fundraiser. As in past years, the preschool board held a Chili Feed as a fundraiser for our scholarship program.
The preschool has many neat opportunities for the children. Once a week Pastor Phil does a chapel talk for each class. During the year they have various celebrations (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Grandparent’s Day). The children have a Christmas program in the evening. They go on field trips during the year: Zoo, Pumpkin Patch, Children’s Museum. We rent the big yellow school buses for these trips and almost all the children have a parent or grandparent that attend. The fire department comes to the preschool and teaches fire safety. They have visited the eye doctor. The 4 year old classes have a graduation ceremony and the 3 year olds have a promotion ceremony. We have a photographer that comes in and takes class pictures and individual pictures.