By Jessica Hardtke

photo courtesy of PCOE/ROP

Passionate Teachers
“Our preschool changed my life,” says Regina Swaney, Child Development and Education Instructor with the course. Regina began as an ROP student in the Child Development and Education class (at that time it was called Careers with Children). She served as an intern in the preschool, and later went on to become the director of the preschool. Now she not only teaches the Child Development and Education class; she also oversees the preschool program. “It is extremely satisfying to know that I started at the same place as my students,” says Swaney. “I can honestly say to them, ‘I would not ask you to do something I have not done.’” Swaney says her entire life changed as a result of the program. “I discovered my passion, pursued higher education, and now I get to watch students follow my same path. It’s incredible.”

Crystal Barela, preschool director, also started as a student in 2001. She was an intern before she was promoted. Like Swaney, Barela found her calling through the program. “I am excited to be pursuing my degree,” she says. “I truly enjoy watching the children’s minds and personalities grow, and I am grateful to be a part of their formative years.”

Happy Families
Local resident Rene Palomino enrolled her three children back when the program began. Her daughter, Tanya, now 29 and a graduate of Santa Clara University, was in the very first preschool class at 49er ROP. Palomino recalls, “She enjoyed it so much that I enrolled my second daughter, Nina.” It was such a positive experience for her girls that she then enrolled her son, Tommy. (Regina Swaney was Tommy’s preschool teacher.) “None of my kids ever had a day when they said they did not want to go to school while they attended the ROP Preschool,” says Rene Palomino. Now the next generation of Palominos is attending the preschool. Nina Palomino’s daughter, Jasmine, attended this last year and looks forward to going to the preschool again this coming school year.

Rene Palomino says one of her favorite things about the PCOE Preschool Academy was the low teacher-child ratio that offered her children a lot of one-on-one attention, a benefit still prized by parents with little ones enrolled in the program, parents like MaryAnn Collins. Collins also appreciates the excitement the student teachers bring to their work. “It is great for the children that the student teachers are so enthusiastic about learning to teach,” Collins says. All six of her children have made their way through the ROP preschool.

The PCOE Preschool Academy hosts an Open House on Thursday, August 6, from 2-5 pm. (Preschool starts in August and enrollment is open now.) Parents of preschoolers are invited to stop by, meet some of the staff, check out the Academy's new playground, and enjoy snow cones with the kids. Play activities for children will include story time, play dough, sand and water tables, and puzzles.