Staff, students
adjusting well to pre-K move
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Staff and parents alike seem pleased that the Presque Isle pre-K program, which for the past 13 years had been located across from Presque Isle Middle School, is now part of Pine Street Elementary School.
SMILING STUDENTS — For the past 13 years, the Presque Isle pre-K program had been located across from Presque Isle Middle School, but is now part of Pine Street Elementary School. 
SAD 1 officials said it made sense to utilize the school’s empty classrooms, and recognized that the move would make for one less transition for the children and that it was more convenient for parents who may have older kids already at Pine Street. Enjoying their new classroom are, from left, front row: Boaz Holmes, Courtney Dockham, Bryce Plourde, Izabelah Spoto, MacKenzee Michaud, Caleb Cameron, Landen Marquis and Charli Casavant. Back row: Mia Shaw, Erin Ackerson, Presque Isle High School volunteer; Duke Waskovich. Alexander Carson, pre-K teacher Nancy Watson, Brynna Fox, Callie Nadeau, Tyler Hart and Lance McIntosh.
“Coming to pre-K is new for the children, and having them here is new for us, so it’s taken some getting used to, but the kids are adjusting well,” said Loretta Clark, administrator of the pre-K program and principal at Pine Street. “I was amazed at how smooth the first day of school went. There was a lot of pre-planning, and I really have to applaud the staff. Everyone pitches in and is helping out where they can. It’s amazing.”
The district’s pre-K program dates back to 1999.
“I was the teaching principal at Westfield Elementary School when it closed in 1999, and we [SAD 1] decided to look at starting a pre-K program,” said Clark. “I headed up the program when it started 13 years ago in the fall of 1999, and it’s now come full circle.
“We started the Skyway Education Center across from the middle school, and we thought once we had space allocated within the elementary school we would eventually move the pre-K program,” she said. “We never expected it would take 13 years to do that, but it finally happened.”
Clark said the transition has gone well.
“We had a lot of changes anyway that we were implementing within the school such as staff cuts, having recess before lunch and redesignating playground areas,” she said, “so this was just one more change for us.
“We had to look at a lot of logistical pieces like the flow of traffic because with the pre-K added into the mix, we wanted to make sure that things like dismissal at the end of the day went smoothly,” said Clark. “We’re still tweaking things here and there, but overall things have gone remarkably well.”
There are several benefits to having the pre-K program housed at Pine Street.
“The classrooms are much more open than they were at the education center,” said Clark. “They used to have a tall shelf that divided the classrooms, so there were issues with noise.
“Having your own real classroom in a designated area — I find — is very helpful,” she said, “and it cuts down on the noise. They do have a curtain between the classrooms so they can open it up and go back and forth if they choose, but having their own space is important.”
Pre-K teacher Amy Daniels, who taught at the former site for nine years, said the move was challenging, but well worth it.
“It was a lot of work packing everything up and getting it here,” she said, “but we’re all settled in and we like it here.”
Having to share building space with the University of Maine at Presque Isle and being somewhat removed from the goings-on in the district, Daniels said they felt somewhat “forgotten” at the education center.
“We also had such a small staff that if one person was out, we really had to work to cover it. That was difficult. Before we didn’t have walls and it was loud. Luckily Mrs. [Enola] Boyce, who has since retired, and I worked really well together and we coordinated our songs so we were doing them at the same time and not distracting each other,” said Daniels. “It’s so much better having our own rooms. Even though I can kind of hear what’s going on, it’s not so loud that it’s a distraction and I don’t think the kids even notice it.”
Daniels said her favorite part of being at Pine Street is “getting to see the students I had before.”
“When we were in our separate building, when they left, if I didn’t see them in town somewhere, I didn’t see them again,” she said. “Being here, I get hugs from so many of them every day because they know me. For me — personally — that’s the best part … watching the kids grow up a little bit longer. I love that part.”
Clark said she has observed that the older students are acting like big brothers and sisters for the pre-kindergartners.
“The older children get off the bus with them and they like helping the younger students,” she said. “The second-graders especially are thrilled to have little ones here that they can mentor. We’ve seen a lot of that.”
Another positive is that the morning students have the option to eat breakfast at school.
“Because we have the cafeteria here and they didn’t,” Clark said, “they can have breakfast here if their parents wish.”
The rooms that Daniels and Nancy Watson are now in used to be a kindergarten classroom and a spare pre-K/kindergarten classroom.
“It was the perfect location for us to put them,” said Clark. “They still have their own area; they’re not in the same hallway as any other grade and they’re not too far from the main door to get to their classroom.
“Another big plus is that each room has its own bathroom. At the other location, they had to share the bathroom with the adult education students and either a teacher or an ed tech had to always go with them,” she said. “That is a huge advantage for them here.”
The pre-kindergartners — as well as all other grades — have their own door to enter when coming in from the playground.
“By having designated playground areas, we’re seeing less injuries and conflicts and we hope that will continue,” said Clark.
Other positive changes resulting from the move include more time for art, music and physical education.
“They now have gym twice a week; they only received it once a week before and they get the use of a gymnasium for the first time,” Clark said. “They’ll have music once a week, but they’ll get to go to the music room rather than have our music teacher Jerry Levasseur go to them. In addition, they’ll have art every other week.”
“With music, for example, we had to combine both groups which was 32 kids, and only the morning kids got to have music,” said Daniels. “Now they’ll all have music once a week. We only had gym once a week for 15 minutes; now they have gym twice a week for 20 minutes, and while we do a lot of arts and crafts projects, they’ll now have art every other week which is a bonus.”
Daniels was apprehensive when she first heard about the move.
“I thought, ‘Oh no!” because that’s a big change. I had already heard that my colleague was retiring, which was one big change to begin with. To hear that we had to pack up and move put me in a panic mode,” she said, “and it took me a while to get over that, but we worked together and got everything ready and hit the ground running.
“It’s been a good thing,” said Daniels, “and overall it’s beneficial for everyone.”
Danielle Perry’s two children, Aidan, a pre-kindergartner, and Kayleigh, a second-grader, both attend Pine Street.
“They ride the bus together and it’s more reassuring for me; my older daughter is like a mother hen. She makes sure he waits until the bus is stopped to cross the road, she sits with him on the bus and gets off with him,” said Perry. “She’s really good that way.
“I think it was easier for Aidan to start school to know that he had a familiar face there,” she said. “Having both kids at one school makes for a lot less confusion. It’s easier to keep everything organized and contained. For example, School Sprit Days will all be the same so it will be easier to keep track of everything.”
Though she had “no qualms” about Aidan going to the former pre-K location, she quickly recognized the benefits of having both children go to the same school.
“I thought it was great,” said Perry. “As parents, we had thought about how we would divide our time if there was say an open house on the same night, but it turned out to be an unfounded worry.
“I like the fact that everybody’s all together. It seems easier all the way around … budget-wise it makes sense, busing-wise, etc.,” Perry said. “I think it was a great decision.”
A longtime supporter of the pre-K program, Clark said she’s happy to have the administrative duties back on her plate.
“I think this is one of the best things that our district has ever done,” she said. “That early intervention is key and it provides students assistance with speech, concepts or motor skills through our screening process.
“This is one less transition the little kids are going to have to go through,” said Clark. “Before they would be at the education center for one year and then they’d come here. Now, they’re becoming familiar with the school and the teachers and they’ll be here with us for four years. I think it will work well for everyone.”
There are presently 64 pre-kindergartners enrolled at Pine Street.
