BY AMY BALTODANO
Hays Post
There will soon be a new preschool roaring into town, as Little Tigers University will be opening at the Hadley Center, 209 E. Seventh. Construction began last month and will be completed by the middle of June.
Owner/operator Kyla Eck, intends to have an orientation and beginning of the year party soon, although the date has not been set yet.
The first day of school will be Aug. 17. Eck can be contacted via the preschool’s Facebook page for registration information.
For children ages 3 to 6, there will be one morning and one afternoon session Monday through Friday. The morning session will be from 8 to 10:45 a.m., and the afternoon session will be noon to 2:45 p.m.
“The state is allowing me to take 6-year-olds just for those parents that want to keep their children out of kindergarten that one more year,” said Eck, who has a wide range of experience and will be graduating from Kaplan University with bachelor’s in early childhood development degree in December.
After that, she intends to get her master’s degree.
“I have been a teacher aide, a paraprofessional for an elementary school. I currently have a home daycare, so I’m already licensed by the state for one thing. They’re just licensing me for another, as well,” Eck said. “And I’m a mother to a 2-year-old little girl.”
The students will be getting a wide range of education and the curriculum is based on common core standards called Teddy Care Curriculum.
“It gets them ready for kindergarten and for elementary school,” Eck continued. “However, I will also be incorporating different worksheets, lessons and science experiments, fun arts and crafts activities that aren’t part of that curriculum, but that I’ve found on educational sites or just have come up with on my own.”
Due to Eck’s culinary background, the kids also will be able to do some cooking in the classroom including no-bake cookies and homemade peanut butter.
She said she wants her students to be proud that they are attending this school. The kids will be given T-shirts featuring the school emblem and the slogan.
“The slogan I have for my school is ‘Little Tigers University, a Preschool worth Roaring About.’ The reason that I want that to get out so much is the fact that this school is to give the kids pride in the community, to make them excited about going to school because they are going to a university,” Eck said.
She knew she was going to be opening up a preschool, however she did not know where it would be located. Eck felt it had to be somewhere it was greatly needed and would be able to most benefit the community.
“Well, kids are on waiting lists in preschool for Hays, which I think shouldn’t be happening. There should be enough education to go around for every student regardless,” she said. “Every child deserves a great education of a higher level with great quality, and I know that I can give it. And I want to benefit the Hays community. I want to give back to a community that needs it. So that’s why I chose Hays.”