La Sal Elementary School has been in existence, in one form or another, for almost 100 years. Until this week, the rural school south of Moab has provided instruction for students in kindergarten through the second grade. However, on October 17, things changed: head teacher Amanda Shupe and her staff welcomed five new students to officially open the school’s preschool program.
This provision of preschool education did not just happen overnight. The last time the school offered a preschool program was in the 1980s, but local parents’ need for such support has been growing.
“I have been thinking about this need for preschool in La Sal for the past few years,” Shupe said. “Parents in La Sal just have very few options for helping their children become school-ready.”
In the past, Shupe had spoken with staff from other preschools about offering a program in La Sal; they were supportive of the idea, she said, but no steps were taken toward making it a reality.
Shupe got motivated to pursue the idea herself after spending time with Sandra Marshall, a parent and school paraprofessional who shared her passion for an option for the parents of young children in the area.
“After hearing her story, I decided to look into how I could make this happen,” Shupe said.
With no additional funding for the preschool, except to provide school lunch, Shupe and Marshall creatively shifted the elementary school’s afternoon class structure.
“I looked at our schedule and found ways I could work in another group of students who would need extra guidance and support,” Shupe said.
The change allowed the school to fit four grade levels of students in the afternoon, with preschoolers arriving for lunch.
“I spoke with my staff members who would be affected by adding more of a workload to their plates,” Shupe said. “Overwhelmingly, they were totally supportive of adding this for our community. We view this as a service to our parents and students that fills a need here in this small community.”
Shupe has been granted a temporary license to teach preschool for a trial period, which state departments of education offer to give teachers time to meet different licensure requirements while being able to provide needed services.
During the trial period, Shupe, who is in her twenty-third year in the teaching profession, will have to meet requirements that demonstrate progress toward getting her preschool credential so there is state monitoring/oversight in place to assure quality preschool programming.
The preschool advocates drafted a proposal giving the rationale for the program, including historical incoming kindergarten data and the ways in which current school staff would support the program. They presented it to San Juan School District Director of Preschools Paul Murdock, Assistant Superintendent Julie Holt, and SJSD Superintendent Christy Fitzgerald.
The preschool was given the ok for a one-year pilot program, for now.
“There is a whole lot to consider, including ensuring K-2 students still receive the amount of support they need to be successful, before the decision is made about continuing to offer preschool services beyond this school year,” Shupe said.
On the first day of preschool at La Sal Elementary, the young preschoolers came in excited and ready to learn. Some parents even stayed and ate lunch on the first day to help their children transition.
“The first day of preschool was all about learning to be a student,” said Marshall, whose own son now attends. “As a parent, I didn’t realize how much teachers teach basic skills like walking in line, sitting on the rug, washing their hands…It is hard to hold myself back and not help my son with things. You never realize how helpful you have been until it is time to send them to school.”
