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Highlands Today

Preschool Recovers From Fire

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

From left: Eva Ebey, 4, turns in her handout on colors as her VPK teacher, Tracy Dickens, gives her a stamp and her classmate, Blake Mason, 4, looks on at My School Academy of Early Learning, Inc. recently in Sebring.

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By MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: September 29, 2008

SEBRING - As 4-year-old Trista Layport colored animals with crayons, she had a small problem - on her worksheet it read "brown" underneath the outline of a dog.

"I can't find brown; no brown," she said to her classmates at My School Academy of Early Learning.

"I've got brown," a number of children replied.

At the preschool's playground, the 1- and 2-year-olds romped around while office manager Lisa Andujar remembered her feelings after a fire devastated the business a few days after Thanksgiving in 2007. The night-time electrical fire started in the attic.

"For the first 24 to 48 hours I think I was in shock," she said. "You never think it's going to happen to you."

She wondered "when" or "if" the school would reopen. Where could they relocate with about 80 small children?

Once the pastor of the Living Waters Church of God approved of the preschool relocating on the church property on Sparta Road, Andujar said she had a feeling of relief.

But, that relief was tempered by all the work that lay before the staff members.

The preschool, which had been located on Persimmon Avenue for 10 years when the fire struck, had to close for business for three days.

"We did lose clients because people had to find daycare and they didn't know if we were going to open or not," she said. "We had a lot of clients who stuck with us."

During numerous staff meetings, a game plan was developed as they started from scratch to get classroom furniture, learning and activity materials and all the things necessary for a preschool.

Donations from businesses the preschool does business with helped, and parents pitched in with donations.

Owner and director Jennifer Lipowski said they were able to reopen with help from the community.

Getting a new license for a new location usually takes 60 to 90 days, but that was pushed through in three days, she said.

The preschool, which was known as My School Preschool, relocated to the church's fellowship hall, which continues to house the younger children. Three portable classrooms were ordered for the voluntary prekindergarten program (VPK).

"We had a very successful summer program and this is our first brand new school year here and we opened with a full enrollment," Lipowski said. At Thanksgiving next month, "It will definitely be something to be thankful for."

Marc Valero can be reached at 386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com

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