When Eisenhower Elementary School hosted a Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education meeting last Thursday, Principal JoAnn Blevins and staff were invited to share information regarding the academic programs and the school improvement efforts. Blevins chose to have two staff members report on things that are new to Eisenhower this year. The board heard from Little Panthers Preschool Coordinator Amanda Moran-Jones and the new School Engagement Coordinator, Taylor Gobin. 

Little Panthers

Little Panthers Preschool is located at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 3400 21st St. This was the location of Head Start in Great Bend until it closed in 2019. The school district leases the property from the church. Its oversight is under Eisenhower Elementary.

“A year ago, it was just an idea,” Blevins said of the preschool. It opened last fall.

There are 47 students, 3 and 4 years old, in three classes, Moran-Jones said. She showed board members a video called “A Day in the Life of a Little Panther,” with images of children and teachers having fun as they learned the alphabet or played.

Two of the classes are made up of children of Great Bend USD 428 staff and the third is a half-day program open to 4-year-old children of community members. At this time there is one opening for a staff member’s child and there are a dozen community members who have asked to be on a waiting list.

Blevins said the preschool is open on in-service days when students are out of school but staff are working. The preschool for staff members’ children will also be open in June and July.

District administrators have said they’d like to have more preschool programs. The only other USD 428 preschools are the one at Riley Elementary School and the Helping Hands Preschool at the Washington Early Education Center.

“There is definitely a need for infant and toddler care, too,” Moran-Jones said.

Gobin is one of seven Family Engagement Coordinators hired by USD 428 last year – one at each school. They are a resource for parents and can help answer their questions. They are also there to help families get involved in their children’s schools and education.

The money for these additional employees comes from federal Education Stabilization Funds specifically intended to alleviate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, Goblin said, she was busy make phone calls to parents whose students were quarantined.

She also started a school newsletter. As the school year progressed, the Family Engagement Coordinators took on more duties.

Gobin also helps with efforts to reduce absences and tardies. She might let a parent know that a student has been tardy 10 times, for example, and show that the total minutes can add up to missing half a day of school.

“I do after-school programs and unity nights,” Goblin said. After-school programs have included visits from student-athletes from  Great Bend High School and Barton Community College. Gobin showed a photo of Eisenhower students learning soccer moves from one of the athletes, and one boy who especially enjoyed the activity. “He had a smile on his face and that smile did not go away,” she said.

Unity nights, which are also being held at other schools in the district, allow families to come together for an evening meal and some physical or educational activity.

“Every month I have a challenge for the families,” Gobin said. This month they are entering the “Doodle for Google” contest, where parents and teachers enter doodles by children in grades K-12. Prizes range from Google swag to a $30,000 scholarship.

Blevins said Gobin is making a difference in the Eisenhower community.

“I have seen parents who were reluctant to be engaged become engaged because of the relationship with Taylor,” Blevins said. A number of parents have volunteered for other school activities. They’ve also learned how to be advocates for their children in school.

“Building deep connections as a community — that’s what it’s all about,” Blevins said.

School board member Deanna Essmiller commented on the presentations given Thursday.

“The enthusiasm of all of you speaks volumes,” Essmiller said.