by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
Early Childhood Education Services for St. Cloud School District 742 are on the move. Much of Colts Academy, the former Kennedy building, will now play host to our district’s youngest students.
Roosevelt Education Center, on 3rd street in St. Cloud, burned down this June, likely from a lightning strike. That forced the Early Childhood programs that were hosted at the Roosevelt building to move out just before summer school started, working temporarily out of both Discovery Community School and Apollo High School, both in St. Cloud, for the summer months.
According to the school district’s website, childhood programs including ECFE, Early Childhood Special Education and preschool will be hosted in St. Joseph starting this fall. While not as centrally located for the students as Roosevelt once was, the district says that moving into Colts Academy is the best interim option due to time constraints and space needs. Other services, such as the Welcome Center and homeless outreach, will remain at Discovery.
“We need to have [those services] centrally located,” said Alicia Jepsen, director of Early Childhood Services in an exclusive Newsleader interview. She expressed the Welcome Center and homeless outreach can do the most benefit by remaining in St. Cloud.
Classes begin at Colts Academy on Tuesday, Sept. 2. St. Joseph residents will see some increased bus traffic; the district says about 8-10 additional buses per day will be going to Colts.
Some construction was needed to get the space ready.
“All the tiling is done, the carpet is in,” Jepsen said.
The school also received a fresh coat of paint and new furniture, she said. Many donations were received from the community to help prepare Colts to host the Early Childhood programs, which Jepsen said the district is very grateful for.
The Early Childhood programs will be able to expand their space a bit more in the spring. Little Saints Academy, a local child care center, currently occupies a portion of the former Kennedy building. On July 1, a couple of weeks after the Roosevelt fire, owner Amy Bonfig received word the school district would be taking over Little Saints’ space before the end of her contract.
Bonfig said the Little Saints contract originally extended to April 15, 2015 but a clause in the contract allows the school district to give Little Saints six months notice if they are in need of the space. That leaves them until the end of the year to find a new place to host Little Saints Academy.
“They are my babies, they are everything to me,” Bonfig said regarding the children who attend her care center. She said Little Saints Academy is considering several options for a replacement location, but chose not to disclose any of them at this time.
While the new Early Childhood space might be further from St. Cloud residents, Jepsen said since she lives by Avon, for her, “it’s actually closer to home.” She also says residents can expect the programs to be at Colts for a couple of years, until the school district finds a new home for them.
photo by Logan Gruber
Three-year-old Emmaleigh Kinnear plays with Tom Schnabel, a pre-school and ECFE teacher at Colts Academy’s open house Tuesday evening.
photo by Logan Gruber
From left to right, Alex Bensen, 3, Ella Bensen, 5, and Livaeh Ploof, 2, play in a classroom during the open house at Colts Academy on Tuesday evening.
contributed photo
Little Saints students (from left to right) Felicia Santiago, Tyson Zauhar, Claire Ralph, Carter Simon and Isla Bruns enjoy some coloring time at Little Saints Academy.
photo by Logan Gruber
Some classrooms are still under construction, but will be ready for Early Childhood classes next week at Colts Academy.
