Columbus St. Mary Magdalene’s preschool classes for 3- and 4-year-old children will relocate to St. Agnes Church campus beginning this fall.
The two parishes combined in March. As part of the merger, St. Mary Magdalene School, which serves students through eighth grade, will relocate preschool classes to the newly-acquired campus.
The former St. Agnes School, which closed in 1993, offers several classrooms. The space was designated to St. Mary Magdalene following the merger.
“The reopening of the St. Agnes school building as the early childhood campus of St. Mary Magdalene School is an exciting milestone for Catholic education on Columbus’s west side,” said Dr. Adam Dufault, superintendent of Catholic schools.
“We are not only bringing new life to a school that has served generations of families but also expanding our ability to serve a growing Hispanic community with an excellent Catholic education. This decision reflects the Diocese of Columbus’ ongoing commitment to ensuring that every child has access to an education rooted in faith, academic excellence and the love of Jesus Christ.”
RELATED | Bishop Fernandes sits down with Hannah Heil to talk about new pastoral letter
Principal Leigh Kane said the move will better serve families. St. Mary Magdalene identified a gap in Columbus’ west side that it is working to fill.
“There’s not a whole lot of options for preschool in this area,” she explained. “Our vision was … to provide a developmentally-appropriate learning environment for our youngest learners, where they’re encouraged to explore and grow and have meaningful play and hands-on experiences while nurturing relationships.”
As many as 250 students are expected to be enrolled in preschool through eighth grade at St. Mary Magdalene this year. The school will offer an additional kindergarten class due to high demand.
The move also services former St. Agnes families, who can integrate into St. Mary Magdalene by attending preschool at a place familiar to them.
“We decided that, in order to utilize the space that St. Agnes was offering, it would make the most sense to grow from the bottom up,” Kane said. “The hope is then for them to start at (age) 3 and 4, and they … will be able to stay all the way through until their eighth-grade year.
“The preschool team has been working really hard to make sure that, at our new building, every classroom and learning area has been thoughtfully designed with our youngest students in mind – and with the goal of creating an environment that’s safe, engaging and filled with opportunities for exploration and growth.”
RELATED | Diocesan superintendent speaks at education conference
Parishes on the west side of Columbus have welcomed a growing Latino population in recent years. The number of Latino students at St. Mary Magdalene School has also increased.
St. Mary Magdalene’s preschool staff is bilingual. The preschool will have five teachers on staff this year.
“Coming over to our St. Agnes campus, having this bigger building where the kids have their own playground and a big gym and a sensory room that they can go to – and an art room – and all these different spaces … is going to be very nice,” said Melissa Espinoza, the school’s preschool director.
Espinoza has served at the preschool for about six years. She estimated that 90 percent of children come from Spanish-speaking families.
“We’ve had really positive feedback in the past of little ones coming in and they’re picking up a little bit of Spanish here and there,” she added of non-Hispanic children. “The parents love it – as well as the growth that we see with our kids who come in speaking Spanish and then they really advance, and they end up after the school year speaking English and Spanish.”
Espinoza said the school is hopeful the community continues to grow. Offering preschool classes at St. Agnes will provide room should enrollment increase.
“Our classrooms are ginormous compared to what they were at Magdalene, which is also a plus,” she said. “We also have space to hold more family engagement, conferences and meetings.
“We really value our families and our community, so giving them this extra base now set aside from Magdalene is amazing. I’m excited for what this year will look like.”