Preschool Update

Last month I attended a retreat for preschool directors. This group consists of directors of church preschools in San Diego County. I was glad to meet with other preschool leaders, share ideas, encouragement, and was looking forward to a little rest. At dinner the first night, my table of directors began a conversation about the increasing work of handling behavior issues in preschool, which led into serving and including children with special needs in our schools. The CDC reports that “1 in 6 children aged 3-17 years were diagnosed with a developmental disability” during 2009-2017. These numbers appear to be on the rise, and the demands are great on educators as we work to provide quality, compassionate, successful educational experiences for all children. After listening to several colleagues’ frustrations at dinner, I realized RBCPC is ahead of many of these preschools in our inclusivity: understanding, planning with parents, and sharing resources. During dinner, I listened, asked questions, offered resources and ideas to help support these directors, and in turn, their staff, and their preschools. If you see one of our preschool teachers (or any teacher), please share a word of thanks for all the heart and hard work they do every day for these precious children. Our preschool staff truly values your prayers as we continue to teach and nurture the children in our care. Kim