The hallways of Farmington Preschool Academy welcomed families and teachers on Monday morning with the opening of the new school, bringing 51,900 square feet to the community as it expands access to early childhood education.
According to the district, a majority of the funding was secured by the State of New Mexico with an overall cost of $35 million. The facility is now the largest preschool facility in the state.
Principal Tanisha Edwards said the new building will allow for more learning space and inclusion opportunities to students with delays and disabilities.
“Our rooms were a little bit smaller back then,” she said. “It’s allowing us to have some self contained classrooms so that we can limit some transitions and different things for our students.”
Despite a decline in enrollment, Edwards said the school is holding steady with expectations to serve more students. The new building is set to hold 500 students, according to Edwards.
In February, The House passed Senate Bill 241, the Child Care Assistance Program Act, bringing universal childcare and free preschool to families across the state.
“This historic initiative will serve generations of families who no longer need to worry if quality care for their children is within reach,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham.
Edwards said she has yet to see a spike in enrollment following the signing of the bill, however she does hear from families that they are unaware of the preschool’s presence in the community.
Transportation is also another barrier when parents are considering sending their child to preschool, she said.
The investment of a new building in a community like San Juan County means a lot: students who attend preschool are much more likely to graduate, be employed and less likely to enter the criminal justice system, Edwards said.
“We’re preparing them for preschool and beyond so that they not only do well while they’re with us, but continue to do well when they’re adults,” she said. “A lot of these skills you lean in preschool you don’t remember, but they carry you for a lifetime.”
After the ribbon cutting, parents explored the building, ahead of the open house on Thursday, where they would meet teachers.
Esmeralda Lee, parent, said she is most excited for her son, Mateo, to grow in a new environment after recently moving to Farmington.
Lee said she researched the school on social media and looked at parent reviews when deciding where to enroll her son.
There has been some nervousness from Mateo, Lee said, who has been reassuring him that he will be making new friends with a teacher who will be there for him in this new setting.
Sue Ann Tovar, parent, said she is hoping for her daughter, Angela, to get the early detection she may need that her brother, Joey, got when he attended Farmington Preschool.
“It was very helpful because he has mild autism so we got him into preschool to help with social skills, and eating, and speech – and he just made so much progress,” she said.
After working with his teacher, Tovar said her son was able to join a class with no delay or struggle. That success carried over to his elementary grades too, she said.
Tovar noticed the classroom bathrooms and said they would be helpful in getting her daughter to that milestone while in preschool.
Tovar hopes to see her daughter get the social and academic skills needed before she enters kindergarten while Angela has expressed excitement for the tricycles on the playground.
For Tovar, the biggest barrier in choosing to send her children to preschool has been the distance she feels while they are in class and not at home.
“That was our biggest hesitation, ‘Oh you’re only 4 years old and you’re going to be gone all day,’ but we really love the Farmington schools,” she said.
Hailey Ramer, parent, said her son, Austin, will be attending the preschool after she saw success with her other child in the past.
“I have an older son that went here, to the one on the west side, and he had the worst anxiety, he was just a very shy kid,” she said. “As the year went on, he had such a good teacher and such good classmates, he definitely opened up to where he was so ready for kindergarten.”
After that experience there was no hesitation to enroll her son this year, she said.
Austin has told her that he is excited to start the school year, said Ramer, who is looking forward to her son learning how to socialize and gain skills like sharing and empathy.