St. Ignatius to close preschool at end of current school year
Posted 10/5/15
By Cindy Gladden Record Staff Writer At the end of the school year, the St. Ignatius Preschool in Concord Hill will close its doors. For nearly a year, the fate of the preschool has been discussed by …
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St. Ignatius to close preschool at end of current school year
Posted
By Cindy GladdenRecord Staff WriterAt the end of the school year, the St. Ignatius Preschool in Concord Hill will close its doors.For nearly a year, the fate of the preschool has been discussed by parish officials, school board members and parents.School board member Mike Kalish said he looked at the issue from a financial perspective when trying to help make appropriate decisions for the future of the preschool.“We needed 20 children to make it work,” he said. “This year we had less than 10. We have no big subdivisions, we’re off the beaten path, and parents could easily stop off in Warrenton or Washington on their way to work to drop off their kids.”Kalish said there are also family members in the St. Ignatius community who provide babysitting, making the preschool unnecessary for many families.“We did try,” said Kalish. “We have a wonderful facility, a wonderful teacher, and we opened the school to anyone. They didn’t have to belong to the church to attend the school.”Mary Glosemeyer, preschool teacher, said it was a “dream come true” to actually teach in the parish where she grew up.“It’s so different than other schools,” said Glosemeyer. “We get to watch the tractors plow the fields or we can walk around the campus with no fear.”Although its location is right in the middle of beautiful, rural countryside, it also presents the challenge of having enough students to make the preschool financially sound.Father Terry Borgerding said in the past the preschool had not been a drain on the parish, but had been more viable. More recently, the church helped subsidize the facility to try to keep it going.“We turned to parish consultors, the school board and parish members,” said Borgerding. “I received wise advice. I appreciate that.”Kalish said that a restructuring plan is underway, with the possibility of the 4-year-old students placed with the kindergarten class in the future.“Down the road we may look at it again,” said Kalish. “The church really wanted to save it, but unfortunately we have decided to close it at the end of the school year.”A town hall meeting was held recently to inform parishioners of the decision. The last day of school will be Friday, May 22.
Teacher Mary Glosemeyer works with students Hunter Oakley, left, and Josie Liermann, during class time at St. Ignatius Preschool. Cindy Gladden Photo.
