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Neighbors | Submitted.The 2018-19 Austintown Community Church Preschool children celebrated the 50th anniversary of the school.
Current families, alumni, former staff members and volunteers of Austintown Community Church Preschool Childcare Center, are invited to come celebrate the end of the 2018-19 school year, as well as the 50th anniversary from 6-8 p.m. on May 21, at 242 South Canfield-Niles Road,
To celebrate this milestone, the event will include music, a bounce house, memorabilia to view and more. Cake, ice cream and punch will also be served in the church’s pavilion. The school and classrooms will be open for walks down memory lane.
The preschool first came into operation 50 years ago in September of 1969, with a class of 31 students. Since then, there have only been four directors in the last 50 years. Donna Kuthy was the first director, as well as a teacher, from 1969-1977.
The director position was then passed on to Bev Miller. Miller, who also began as a teacher, served the preschool childcare center for 21 years from 1977-1998. During this time, Miller incorporated the rainbow as the school logo and the song, “Come and Make A Rainbow,” as the school’s alma mater.
Miller also developed and initiated a written curriculum for the children of different ages and developmental needs. Miller also established the children’s library to promote family involvement and literacy skills.
The third director was Cindy Ellashek, who also began as a teacher in 1984 and then assumed the position of director in 1998. Throughout the course of 34 years, with 22 as the director, Ellashek has initiated Chapel Time, which consisted of gathering all the children on a weekly basis in the church’s sanctuary to hear stories from the Bible and to learn about Jesus.
Ellashek also initiated the annual “Journey to Bethlehem,” which is an interactive play put on by volunteers to help the children learn about Jesus’ birth. Ellashek also initiated our Family End of the Year Celebration. This event was introduced to celebrate the students and their families for a successful year of preschool and childcare. These traditions are continued today.
The current and fourth director of Austintown Community Church Preschool Childcare Center is Amy Teeters, who has been with the preschool childcare center for approximately 10 years, first as a teacher and now as the director.
Teeters stepped into the director’s position in June of 2018, when Ellashek retired. Since becoming director, Teeters has implemented Spirit Days, in which the children gather together in the auditorium to celebrate the spirit of Jesus, the spirit of our school and the spirit of each other. During this time the children sing songs, read stories, play games and complete a service project. Teeters also initiated a child greeters program. This program consists of selecting one child from each classroom to help the teacher greet the other students each morning.
Today, Austintown Community Church Preschool Childcare Center has a total of 92 registered students including 61 preschoolers and 31 school-aged children. Our center consists of four preschool classrooms, one school-age classroom, an activity/sensory room and a large motor room.
More information about the preschool and its programs can be found on the Austintown Community Church web site at www.yourACC.org, or on the Facebook page.
For tours of the school, summer registration and registration for the 2019-20 school year, contact the school at 330-793-1843 or email ateeters@youracc.org.