New Director for Evergreen Academy Preschool
A new school year is starting at Evergreen Academy Preschool, and it comes with some exciting changes for our organization.
The first is a new director. After launching Evergreen Academy Preschool and serving ably as its first director, Kelly Arnold recently relocated to Phoenix. In May of last year, she hired an extremely experienced and passionate educator, Susan Decker, who was promoted to Director this month.
Susan has been described as a phenomenal employee, who over the past year has earned the love and appreciation of the students and the EAP staff. You can learn more about Susan’s story here.
“I love the positive, fun, loving environment that surrounds Evergreen,” said Susan. “It’s reflected in the quality of care for our students and the inclusivity for students and staff.”
We are pleased to have her leading our team as we give young children, from 6 weeks to 5 years of age, the experiences they need to become successful learners and contributing members of our community.
Our work was recently recognized by Quality First, a program of Arizona’s early childhood agency, First Things First. We recently earned a 4.74-star (out of a possible 5) for the quality of our program at EAP from Quality First.
This rating means we exceed the high quality standards set by Quality First, which are based on what research shows is important in early care and education:
- Health and safety practices that promote children’s basic well-being.
- Skilled teachers who know how to turn everyday experiences into learning moments.
- Learning environments with age-appropriate activities, books, toys and other learning materials that promote emotional, social, language and cognitive development.
- Opportunities for active play and hands-on exploration throughout the day.
- Teacher-child interactions and engaging conversations that build language and promote critical thinking and social skills.
EAP is currently enrolling students for the new school year. For more information, please call (928) 220-8413 or email [email protected].
Evergreen Academy Preschool Hosts Elevate PreK
Evergreen Academy Preschool is once again hosting Elevate PreK, the highly successful initiative that provides free, year-round, high-quality preschool education to 4-year-olds for families with limited incomes.
The program, developed as part of the LAUNCH Flagstaff initiative at United Way of Northern Arizona, is in its fourth year.
Designed to provide equitable access to high-quality education, Elevate PreK is open to 4-year-old children in households that have incomes between 101% and 250% of the federal poverty level. The class is limited to 18 students.
“In my class, I take pride in all my students, who they are, and where they come from,” said Brandy Short, the lead teacher for Elevate PreK at Evergreen. “We learn based off of the children’s interests and who they are as individuals. By the end of the year, our students are prepared to move on with their education, both academically and socially.”
Elevate PreK and Evergreen students also share some independently contracted enrichment programs, including dance classes and a soccer program. They also work together to have community members, such as the fire department or public library, come in as guest speakers.
Elevate PreK is a collective impact program, pulling together multiple partners, including Building Community LLC, which acts as a family liaison throughout the year, calling families of children in the program and offering support and help with wraparound services.
Elevate PreK is made possible by funding from United Way of Arizona, the Wharton Foundation, the Arizona Community Foundation, the City of Flagstaff, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, Coconino County Educational Service Agency, Desert Financial Credit Union, and PNC Bank.
Families interested in learning more about Elevate PreK, including whether they qualify for this free service, should call (928) 326.8104 for more information.
