A crowd of children filled the main hallway of Seedlings Preschool Center in Dubuque on Tuesday morning. Some of the children clung to their parents, who adjusted the backpacks on the students’ small shoulders. Others greeted their new preschool teachers with waves or hesitant smiles.
“Good morning, Scarlett,” teacher Erin Heims said to a girl wearing a blue dress patterned with balloons. “Can I put a name tag on you, so we don’t get anyone mixed up today?” Scarlett nodded. Her mother, Hailey Runde, gave the 4-year-old a hug before bidding her farewell, and Scarlett joined the line of students standing by Heims.
“Do you guys feel like big kids now?” Heims asked the youngsters. “You’re doing so great.” The students were beginning their school year at Dubuque Community School District’s new preschool center, which opened its doors to students on Tuesday.
Seedlings Preschool Center is located at the Bright Minds Campus, the former Medline facility at 7900 Chavenelle Road. It spans about 15,000 square feet of the building, which also houses Dubuque Y Early Learning Center and a planned 911 operations center shared by the city of Dubuque and Dubuque County. The preschool center includes 10 classrooms, three sensory rooms, a serving kitchen and cafeteria commons and offices, along with a playground and green space.
The district owns its portion of the building, with additional space available for purchase if the district eventually needs to expand Seedlings. Runde said she was impressed by the modern facility. “It’s all brand new, and I think it’ll be awesome for the students,” she said.
Susan Meehan, who is serving as the center’s principal as well as the Dubuque district’s early childhood administrator, said only five classrooms are being used this year for the approximately 80 students enrolled at Seedlings, with plans in place to use the rest next year. Each classroom has one teacher and two paraprofessionals. Teacher Trisha Blaser, who previously taught preschool at Irving Elementary School for 12 years, said she was eager to begin the new school year at Seedlings.
“I’m excited to be able to collaborate with other teachers and just build that sense of community,” she said. Dubuque Y Early Learning Center is collaborating with Dubuque Community Schools to provide wrap-around care for children who might attend morning or afternoon preschool at the district’s center but need additional care throughout the day. Meehan said the available slots for wrap-around care are already filled.
“With it being a half-day program, families have to make a midday point of contact for pickup (or) drop-off, and it’s hard when you’re working an eight-hour shift or a 10-hour shift,” she said. “This affords families the opportunity to have that full-day care.” At about 9:30 a.
m., Danielle Meyer-Tobin shepherded her sons Lennon, 4, and Luka, 3, through the front doors of Seedlings. Meyer-Tobin said she was eager for Lennon and Luka to begin forming relationships with their teachers and classmates.
“It’s beautiful inside and so spacious,” she said. “The location is perfect, too. The kids get to look out the window and see nature.
” Inside the building, Lennon and his classmates in teacher Tiffany Block’s classroom sat on a colorful rug, each clutching a picture card with an image of an animal. Block called out the animals one by one, and each child introduced him or herself when their animal was mentioned. “Lennon, can you tell us one thing you like to do?” Block asked.
“Play,” Lennon responded. His classmates nodded eagerly. “I like to play with trains,” said fellow preschooler Atlas Elliott.
“Guess what?” Block asked. “Later on today, we can play with trains.” Later Tuesday afternoon, Iowa Gov.
Kim Reynolds stopped by to visit the newly opened preschool center before attending a reception hosted by the Republican Party of Iowa, which took place in Dubuque later that evening. Representatives of nonprofit Dubuque Initiatives — which purchased the Chavenelle Road building from Medline — along with officials from the city, county, school district and Dubuque Community Y, gave Reynolds a tour of the facility. During the tour, Meehan and Dubuque Community Y Director of Early Childhood Courtney Morgan emphasized the partnerships between the district and the Y, from wrap-around care to sharing employees.
One staff member currently spends part of the day working in Dubuque Y Early Learning Center and part at Seedlings Preschool Center, a model officials expect to continue. Reynolds praised the facility and said she frequently talks about it on visits to other Iowa communities. “The collaboration, the partnership and the stacking of funds .
.. from private, state and federal (sources) is a model,” she said.
“It’s what we need to create more of.”.
