Preschool coming to Hermosa

After the lack of childcare options in the county was declared a “crisis” late last year, there will soon be more options coming to those in the Hermosa area. The Custer School District Board of Education decided to move forward with the development of a preschool in Hermosa for this upcoming school year.
A survey sent to parents in the district in February indicated that 85.7 percent of respondents in Hermosa and 80 percent of respondents in Custer feel that there is not an adequate supply of preschool in their community.
Out of 59 respondents in Custer, 36 reported need for preschool for children between 3 and 5 years old. Of 28 respondents in Hermosa, 10 reported need for that same age group.
For junior kindergarten, which is offered in the district, children must be 5 years old by Sept. 1. The new preschool in the district would be intended to serve children about 4 years old.
In Custer, preschool options from the school district are still up in the air, however. There is worry that the district would compete with the YMCA, which already struggles to provide this needed service to the community.
“I think that we’re stalled in Custer,” said curriculum director Nora Smolnisky.
“There’s this doomsday idea that we would drive the YMCA out of business if we opened a preschool, but there’s also a way to adapt to that...” said Smolnisky. She said that the YMCA could offer a half day program that kids from a potential half-day program provided by the district could backfill into.
The YMCA is certified to provide childcare, which is different from early education, such as preschool. The district would look to offer that next level of education.
“We’re looking at preschool, not daycare with the trappings of a preschool, which [The YMCA] does well. I’m not saying that what they‘re doing is poor,” Smolnisky said.
The potential cost of the program was also discussed at the meeting, with superintendent Mark Naugle suggested $300 per month for a half day program—a cost based on the $600 per month cost of the YMCA’s full day program.
On Monday, July 31 at 1 p.m., there will be a meeting of the Early Learner Collaborative at St. John the Baptist Parish Center to continue moving forward with the issues of early education and childcare in Custer.
Smolnisky also brought up Growing Roots, a non-profit that will be opening a preschool in Custer for this school year.
Smolnisky said that Growing Roots, which she is on the board of,  is “just a bunch of parents that want to open a preschool” and would give the district the option to take over the preschool with their staff and materials should they choose to.
For now, they will be gauging interest for the Hermosa program from parents. The board plans to meet with YMCA board of directors to discuss options for more preschool options in Custer moving forward.
“I’m really excited about this. I think this is a great step,” said Naugle.
In other news from the meeting, the board:
• Swore in members Sara Barrick, Larry Baker and Travis Hartshorn for additional terms. They also elected Jeff Barnes and Michelle Lehman as president and vice president, respectively.
“We’re getting to a very veteran board, which is good,” said Naugle.
• Continued exploring options for the CTE (career and technical education) building expansion and how it may be able to cut down on the use of the Armory or eliminate the need for the building altogther.
The board moved to schedule a special meeting Aug. 1 at 5:30 p.m. in the board room at the Armory for the purpose of discussing the  expansion and how it can best meet the needs of the district for years to come.
“We need to look out into the future, because it’s not going to be cheaper tomorrow than it is today,” said Hartshorn.
• Received an update on Team Billy from the behavioral counselor Sonja Tennyson and Dr. Stephen Greene, who has been working with the district on this program for the past year.
“Really, we’ve seen so much success with it,” said Tennyson.
Greene reported that at least three students taking part in the program were headed to special education, but their issues were addressed and resolved before being referred. He says that even just teaching simple breathing exercises to a student can have a big impact on their behavior and self-regulation.
Some staff also reported that they were on the verge of burnout, but are now back from the edge after participating in Team Billy. One of the main goals of Team Billy is to ease dysregulation in teachers, and then in turn, ease dysregulation in students.
• Continued a discussion of cellphone use in schools.
Junior high students are now not allowed to have their cellphones while at school, having to keep them in their bags or in lockers for the duration of the day. This policy has been met with mixed reactions from both parents and students.
When it comes to the privilege of cell phone use in school, principal Tobey Cass said that the junior high students were “not handling it very well.” High school students are allowed to have their cellphones on them, and in fact, many classes incorporate the use of certain apps as learning tools or resources for the students.
• Tabled the acceptance of a bid on the new parking  lot project at the east campus by the Jr./Sr. High School until the special Aug. 1 meeting.
• Tabled the approval of a contract between the district and Dean Kurtz Construction for the pre-construction work and CMAR on the actual building project until the Aug. 1 meeting.
• Decided to hold off on approving the final budget until some documents can be reviewed and finalized. This will allow the district to lower their levy recommendations, and therefore lower the tax burden. They also approved a contract for former business manager Lisa Fluck to serve as a resource and consultant to the business office.
• Reviewed standardized testing results from each building. Overall, each principal was pleased with the results, which showed that students in the district are above state averages in many content areas. They also identified areas for improvement.
• Acknowledged HOSA for their participation in the International Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas.
“It was a phenomenal trip. It was a great experience for our kids,” said activates director Joey Kortermeyer.