When Liz Reynolds started her new job as a Pre-K teacher at the Sanford-Springvale YMCA, she never imagined she'd be talking with the President of the United States shortly after. But that's exactly what happened, putting a spotlight on the YMCA's new Pre-K program in partnership with the Sanford School Department.
The Pre-K program launched at the beginning of the school year and currently serves 14 students.
The program is a result of collaboration between the YMCA and the Sanford School Department, funded by federal and state grants as part of Governor Janet Mills' state-wide effort to expand childcare options. This partnership has been crucial to the program's success, as noted by Reynolds.
"The support between the YMCA and the school department has been essential," she said. "The school department has been a big part of our success as well."
Andy Orazio, CEO of the Sanford-Springvale YMCA, also stressed the importance of this partnership.
"They approached us because we have a great relationship together with partnerships we are already involved with before and after school programs and other opportunities, and this wouldn't have happened without both parties being interested to move forward," Orazio said.
Reynolds, who previously taught kindergarten at Carl J. Lamb Elementary, noted that some students have had limited exposure to education settings, making Pre-K even more crucial for their development.
"Getting them in here, even just getting them learning how to find their words, to talk to each other, it's so important," she said.
The program recently gained national attention when President Biden spoke with Reynolds via Zoom. This opportunity arose from a chain of events that began with Governor Mills' visit for the grand opening back in July.
Orazio recounted the surprising turn of events: "The Friday after Labor Day, I was getting ready to leave, and I had 15 minutes before I was planning to head out, and I was just cleaning up emails that I knew were just junk, and I almost deleted this one... I looked at the email a little closer and made a phone call to the woman that sent the email, and she happened to pick up and was ecstatic that I called back so quickly."
The White House representative interviewed Reynolds, who had only been working at the YMCA for two weeks at that point. A few days later, Reynolds was talking with President Biden herself.
"I was a little speechless. I had worked myself up for so many days," Reynolds said. "I kept thinking,' what are the chances of this happening?'"
The Pre-K program at the YMCA follows the same curriculum as the elementary schools within the district. The YMCA does offer some unique benefits, including before and after-care options, flexibility for field trips and community experiences, and a spacious classroom environment. Like the rest of the Pre-K programs in Sanford, it also comes at no cost.
"During the school day, they have this great learning experience and learning opportunity to develop themselves to their fullest and it also helps the families, because it's at no cost," Orazio said. "Then we also have worked it out where we're doing a wraparound program so we can help support the families that need care before school and potentially after school.
Orazio noted that eight of the 14 students are part of the wraparound program. The Pre-K program at the Sanford-Springvale YMCA is currently a two-year pilot, with hopes for continuation beyond that period.
"We're working with the state to showcase this as an opportunity for communities that may be struggling with running their own preschool classroom because of space limitations," Orazio explained. "The partnerships of working with other childcare centers is what we already do, and this could be beneficial in that type of environment."