The Tyrone Area YMCA preschool has reached a new accomplishment, the before and after school programs are now licensed by the state of Pennsylvania.
The process began when executive director Amy Hampton and the staff at the YMCA were notified that the preschool had to be relocated or the facility as a whole would lose its YMCA charter.
“As a condition to keep our YMCA charter, we had to find a suitable location for our preschool and flex care,” explained Hampton.
Therefore, it was necessary for the staff at the YMCA to find a new location for the preschool, which had been meeting in the upstairs of the YMCA building for over 20 years.
The move had to be to a facility that could meet specific criteria in order for the preschool to be licensed.
After some research, an agreement between the Tyrone Area School District and the Tyrone Area YMCA was made, and the preschool made its move at the beginning of the school year to the Tyrone Area Elementary School building.
Currently, the school district allows the use of its facility under the condition that if it should need the space in the future for expansion, the YMCA preschool would have to relocate.
Hampton said right now it is the perfect solution for the preschool and the YMCA as a whole, especially since the preschool issue came around the same time the YMCA was dealing with the back taxes issue.
The YMCA has had to deal with making up approximately $70,000 of back taxes as well as a revocation of its charter if the preschool wasn’t relocated.
Currently, the preschool meets Monday through Friday at the Tyrone Area Elementary School building. The preschool program consists of a three-year-old class, a four-year-old class and a pre-kindergarten program. Flex care begins at 6 a.m. before school, and ends at 6 p.m. after school.
According to Hampton, the before and after school flex care programs are licensed by the state. The preschool is not licensed by the state due to the YMCA’s Christian affiliation, which is waived by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Licensure for the before and after school flex care means the YMCA must meet specific criteria, such as child to staff ratio, extensive training and paper work, CPR and first aid certification for staff, fire drills and other safety precautions.
Hampton said the best part about the move is now being located at a building that can meet all the safety requirements of licensure.
She also wants to thank the school district, faculty and staff, and principal Michelle Dutrow for allowing the YMCA to have the preschool at the elementary building and for making the YMCA staff and children feel welcome at the building as well.
“I think we have one of the best programs in town,” said Hampton. “I think co-directors Linda Klesius and Ann Cushion did a great job under pressure to pull this all together.”
The YMCA preschool staff consists of co-directors Linda Klesius and Ann Cushion; Donna Glunt as the three-year-old teacher and music teacher; Chris McKinley as a morning aide; Arlene Lewis as an after-school program and art aide; Jane Morrisey as an after-school aide; Kendra Blaska as and after-school aide; Amanda Fetters as a pre-school aide and Mary Lou White as an after-school aide.
According to Klesius, the move to the elementary school has made the preschool programs stronger. She said there is now a waiting list because of the child to staff ratio that needs to be met.
She also said another plus of being located at the elementary school is that the children who are enrolled in the programs become familiar with the building and environment, which makes the transition from pre-kindergarten to kindergarten more smooth.
For example, the preschoolers eat in the cafeteria, use the playground equipment and gymnasium. The children are able to become comfortable with their surroundings at the elementary building, which makes the transition to Kindergarten easier.
Also, the YMCA preschool is able to incorporate some of the same curriculum of the school district into its programming.
“The principals, all the staff and janitors have welcomed us to the school,” said Klesius.
“Everybody’s been wonderful up here, from the janitors to the teachers,” added Cushion. “The facility is much nicer, and we can use the outdoor playground equipment, which we didn’t have at the YMCA. Also for the after-school programs, we have use of the computer lab and the use of the art room.”
