12-02-2025
Preston preschool receives national accreditation
Preston — Like a student a little scared to look at their grade on a big test, Preston Veterans' Memorial School Principal Ray Bernier wanted to close his eyes as he opened the email last Friday to learn whether his school had passed a critical test after five years of studying.
But the email from the National Association for the Education of Young Children sent the night of Feb. 6 said only that a decision had been made on Preston Veterans' Memorial School's application for preschool national accreditation. Bernier needed to log into his account to learn the decision.
'Accredited,' Bernier read. 'Pass. Pass. Pass' was noted on the various categories of the review.
Staff reactions were a bit more jubilant over the school district's first-ever national recognition.
'We were very excited!' preschool teacher Zoe Geise said Tuesday. 'We went off, showing it to everyone. It's really pretty exciting.'
Bernier pulled a stack of folders and clipped documents some 8 inches thick from a shelf to illustrate the work the preschool teachers and the entire school staff had done to attain accreditation.
Preston partnered with the regional educational agency LEARN for the voluntary accreditation application. Lynn DePina, LEARN's accreditation, quality, improvement support staff employee, worked with Preston staff — including her daughter-in-law, Preston preschool teacher Jillian DePina — on the school's application.
The review included every aspect of the preschool-through-fifth-grade school, from cleanliness of bathrooms and the work of the school health office to curriculum and interactions with parents.
Preschool teacher Jillian DePina said the group even assessed the percentage of wall space in her classroom that was decorated with student art. It needed to be over 50% to meet the criteria.
A NAEYC reviewer visited the school on Nov. 21 after Preston had completed all the paperwork for the school's application. Bernier said the inspector from Chicago was personable and chatty in greeting staff but instantly put on a stoic demeanor when she observed DePina's class.
'She watched me and went through my materials for two hours,' DePina said. 'She went through the closets and (storage) bins. It was very thorough.'
The school this year has two preschool classes, each with 15 students ages 3 to 5, including special education students. The school had three classes last year, with teacher Christine McNeil helping with the accreditation application. She is teaching second grade this year. Para-educators Lisa Barile, Shante Talley, Dawn Stafega and Beth Bonosconi also played key roles.
The full-day preschool day typically includes group play with building blocks, digital sketch pads, Play Dough and other craft materials. Students learn how to hold pencils and crayons and how to turn book pages as teachers read. Students learn to recognize and sound out letters and numbers, and some may advance to beginning reading.
The students eat lunch with kindergarten students in the cafeteria and go outside for recess, weather permitting. That included playing in the snow this week.
The state mandates free preschool for students with special needs, and Preston charges up to $4,000 per year for families enrolling non-special-needs children, with a sliding scale based on income.
Establishing preschool classes in Preston has been an annual budget discussion for the past several years. Superintendent Roy Seitsinger's predecessor launched universal free preschool for two years before it was cut back to a tuition program.
Seitsinger is a strong proponent of preschool to prepare young students for kindergarten and elementary school. He applauded the school for its hard work to attain the national recognition.
'Our passion, professionalism, hard work, and deep caring commitment to our students and their families are reflected in the team and Preston community effort and years of work it took to earn this national honor,' Seitsinger said in an email.
Seitsinger told the Board of Education Monday that the work will continue to maintain the high standards in the accreditation and in five years to seek recertification.
The celebration of the national accreditation will climax on the last day of school when the typical preschool 'stepping-up' ceremony will grow into a full-fledged party with a bounce house.
Preston's celebration of national preschool accreditation came as Gov. Ned Lamont on Tuesday announced proposed legislation he said would 'implement the largest expansion of preschool access in Connecticut history.'
Lamont proposed using $300 million from this year's state surplus to create a preschool endowment managed by the Office of the Treasurer, with up to 10% expended each year through the commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood to expand affordable preschool options for families. Portions of future state surpluses also would go into the endowment.
Lamont said the goal is to make preschool available at no cost to families earning up to $100,000 per year and reduce costs for families earning between $100,000 and $150,000 per year to no more than $20 per day.
The fund also would create 20,000 new preschool spaces in the state by 2032.
