Roughly 26 years after Wesley Learning Center opened at Newtown United Methodist Church for the 1993-94 school year, a new director, Diane Fuchs, has taken its helm.

Former director Rahnna Peck started the Sandy Hook preschool.

“She retired officially as of September 30,” Ms Fuchs said of her predecessor on October 3.

Ms Fuchs said Ms Peck was her mentor, adding that Ms Peck “really got the school to where it is.”

Ms Fuchs’s first day as director was August 19.

She first started working at Wesley Learning Center in 2005, after her son, Zach, was a student there. Ms Fuchs has filled a number of roles at the school, including assistant teacher and teacher.

Before having her son and daughter, Rachael, and working at Wesley Learning Center, Ms Fuchs said she was an office manager for a plumbing contractor. Both her children graduated from Newtown High School, and Ms Fuchs and her husband, Doug, have lived in Sandy Hook for roughly 21 years. Ms Fuchs earned her Associate of Science degree in Early Childhood Education from Charter Oak State College, New Britain.

Ms Fuchs says her favorite thing about Wesley Learning Center is its teachers.

“I’ve worked with a lot of the teachers for a lot of years,” Ms Fuchs said. “I think we are a great school. We provide a great curriculum... One of the things I think is great about Wesley is a lot of our teachers that we have now are parents of children that came through.”

As she spoke about the school, students could be heard laughing in nearby classrooms.

Ms Fuchs said the preschool is adding some new enrichment programs this year.

“We started a gym class on Thursday afternoons,” Ms Fuchs added.

The preschool also has an early morning drop-off program, and Ms Fuchs said there is an effort to expand enrollment. “We’ve extended our hours. We now open at 8 am,” Ms Fuchs shared.

A new handwriting program called “Handwriting Without Tiers” has also been added.

As of June, Wesley Learning Center is once again accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), according to Ms Fuchs.

Her journey to be the director was both long, after wearing multiple different teaching hats, and a surprise in a way. Ms Fuchs said Wesley Learning Center’s board of directors announced the position was open after Ms Peck’s retirement was shared.

“I applied and interviewed, and here I am,” said Ms Fuchs.

According to its website, wesleylearningcenter.org, Wesley Learning Center offers a range of programs, including 3- and 4 year-old programs, five days each week or single days; enrichment classes, like science and art; and its early morning drop-off program.

“We’re starting another twos class on Mondays,” Ms Fuchs added.

Ms Fuchs said the center is flexible and can work with parents to meet their schedules’ needs, as far as how many days a week a child attends the programs.

“We have a lot of different opportunities for twos, threes, and fours. Our goal is to get everybody on the track for kindergarten, so we are very invested in our kids. We are very invested in the program. We offer things such as music, [with] outside music teachers coming in twice a month. We go on field trips... we bring in outside sources for the kids for learning,” she observed. Ms Fuchs added later, “We do a lot of family events.”

The center has a number of family programs already planned for the year ahead.

For all of Wesley Learning Center’s programs and fees, see its website, wesleylearningcenter.org.