Progress made with play-based preschool

  • By Kelly Sullivan
  • Thursday, May 5, 2016 9:50pm
  • News

Enrollment for next fall is now open for the Nikiski community’s newest preschool.

Parents forming the play-based cooperative have secured space for a nursery and toddler room at Nikiski’s Church of the Nazarene and will be taking up to 12 students in both the 2-year-old and 3- to 5-year-old programs.

“At this time, everything depends on getting children enrolled,” said Katy Bethune, who taught in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District as a Title 1 and early intervention specialist teacher for 17 years and is the head organizer for the group. “If we do not get at least 10 students in our 3-5 class, we will not be able to make the preschool cover its costs.”

There are currently nine open slots in the 3- to 5-year-old program and five in the 2-year-old program, she said.

Nikiski North Star Elementary School Principal Margaret Gilman said she sees a need in the community for the new preschool.

“I’ve met with the cooperative preschool and we work well together,” Gilman said. “Our Title 1 PreK is limited to only 20 slots so there is typically a waiting list throughout the year.The other thing is their program includes 3-year-olds as well.”

Bethune said she settled on operating a play-based school because it teaches children to learn creatively, which is more likely to keep them interested in academics in the long run. She chose a cooperative model to keep costs affordable and so parents can be directly involved in their child’s education and development by having a say in what and how they learn.

The parents are currently in the middle of applying for a license and waiting on inspections from the state’s Alaska Child Care Program office, which Bethune expects will go fairly smoothly.

“All pre-elementary programs, whether private or public must be licensed by the state of Alaska or they are operating illegally,” Bethune said. “This ensures that proper standards of health and safety are followed, which include background checks.”

The church previously used the two rooms that will be rented out for the play-based school as a preschool and daycare and have been recently remodeled, and was also previously licensed by the state, she said.

“The nursery is fully furnished with toys, books and a climbing slide,” Bethune said. “The toddler room will have areas for building toys, art, dramatic play, science activities, a book-literacy area and group area. There is a large fenced playground just outside of the rooms, which will provide great space to play outside, with swings, a fort and a climbing toy.”

The group will meet in May to tour the space and approve a charter and bylaws, Bethune said.

“The bylaws were the first document we created for the preschool and are standard for the operation of a cooperative,” Bethune said. “They include how the cooperative is structured, how membership works, how the board of directors operates, staffing, etc.  We also have a parent handbook which further explains the operational policies and procedures of our preschool. We hope to create a website at some point to have these available to the public.”

The group will be meeting over the summer to purchase “materials, furnishings and supplies needed for the school” and hash out business-related details, she said. Dates for meetings have not yet been determined.

“We are looking for parents who want to be involved in their child’s preschool experience and who want to make friends with parents who feel the same,” Bethune said. “We plan to continue to get together over the summer with our cooperative parent group, meeting at the park or homes to let the kids play and to do some fun messy activities.”

Reach Kelly Sullivan at kelly.sullivan@peninsulaclarion.com.

 

More in News

A 2015 Ford Explorer that was stolen from the Kenai Chamber of Commerce before crashing into a tree near Wells Fargo Bank is loaded onto a tow truck in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Car stolen, crashed in Kenai

The car was reportedly taken from the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, talks with supporters during a campaign meet-and-greet Oct. 12, 2024, at the Southeast Alaska Real Estate office near the Nugget Mall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
‘This is no town hall. This is propaganda’; Begich takes heat at 1st virtual constituent forum

Congressman set to deliver his first joint address to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday.

Protesters stand with signs in support of federal employees, federal lands and the U.S. Constitution stand along the Sterling Highway in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna protesters call for Congress to oppose executive overreach

The local display was part of a “No Kings on President’s Day” effort orchestrated by the online 50501 movement.

Syverine Bentz, coastal training program coordinator for the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, displays a board of ideas during a Local Solutions meeting focused on salmon at the Cook Inletkeeper Community Action Studio in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
In search of salmon solutions

Cook Inletkeeper hosts meeting to develop community project to help salmon.

Lisa Gabriel, left, watches as beach seine nets are pulled from the waters of Cook Inlet at a test site for the gear near Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
CFEC to consider seines for east side setnet fishery

The change is contingent on the State Board of Fisheries approving the gear during their March meeting.

A map of 2025 construction projects scheduled for the Kenai Peninsula. (Provided by Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)
Department of Transportation announces construction plans

Most of the projects include work to various major highways.

Seward City Hall is seen under cloudy skies in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward adds full-time staffer for recently restarted teen rec room

Seward’s Parks and Recreation Department reclaimed responsibility for teen programming at the start of this year.

Gavin Ley stands with the “Go-Shopping Kart” he designed and built in his career and technical education courses at Nikiski Middle/High School in Nikiski, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski students learn professional skills through technical education

Career and technical education gives students opportunity to learn skills, express themselves creatively, work cooperatively and make decisions.

Nikiski teachers, students and parents applaud Nikiski Middle/High Principal Mike Crain as he’s recognized as the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals 2025 Region III Principal of the Year by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education during their meeting in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski principal named Region III principal of the year

Crain has served as Nikiski’s principal for three years.

Most Read