Preschool Picks Up Pieces After Fire

SEBRING - Exactly one week after their school and all its contents were destroyed by a fire, the preschoolers at My School Preschool played with blocks, worked on art projects and read books in their new home.

Jennifer Lipowski, owner of the preschool, walked in the classroom, and preschoolers ran over to give her hug.

"Despite having lost everything, this has been a positive experience," Lipowski said. "It's shown me what a good job my staff does of creating a family atmosphere and how supportive the community can be."

My School Preschool, located at 1002 Persimmon Ave, in Sebring, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in April, was destroyed in a fire Nov. 27. The preschool has relocated to Living Waters Church of God, located at 4571 Sparta Road.

It's taken a lot of creative work on the teachers' part, but they've transformed the empty Fellowship Hall into a classroom, complete with play areas, for housekeeping, blocks, puzzles and manipulatives, an art area and a science section.

"Our main focus is to keep up the quality of the program we have," Lipowski said. "The staff I have is very qualified and creative and have been able to create a wonderful environment. As far as the learning goes, we haven't missed a beat."

The toddlers and 2-year-old classes have moved into Sunday school classrooms. Students who are usually divided into three classrooms now share the large space in the Fellowship Hall.

"There is a lot going on, but there is no chaos," Lipowski said. "Everyone is engaged in what they are doing, and we still have a lot of teacher/child interaction.

"This whole situation has shown me it's not about the location, it's the staff and the families you deal with that make it come together."

John Cooke, who has two children attending the preschool, has been doing odd jobs around the new location helping modify it for the preschoolers.

"My kids' education is everything, and if they don't have a place to go, they can't continue that," Cooke said. "So I've been doing whatever I can to help make sure their and the other kids' education isn't interrupted."

The shelves at the new location still look a little barren because nothing was recovered from the school. Sebring Fire Department estimated more than $150,000 of contents was lost.

"What wasn't damaged by the fire was destroyed by water and smoke," Lipowski said. "Everything from toys, to cleaning supplies, to snacks and teacher resources, which we have been collecting for 10 years, is now gone."

Lipowski said although money from insurance will help to replace some of the items, it does not cover everything that had been collected during the 10-year period.

Donations have been coming in, but the school still needs some of the basics, like books, blocks, dolls, toy kitchen sets, toy cars and child-size furniture. They also need supplies for the office, as well as a TV, DVD player and computers.

Lipowski also is looking for monetary donations or donation of services to help cover the costs of moving and hooking up portable classrooms to the church, which will become the permanent location of the preschool.

Pastor John Schneider said he thinks the partnership will be beneficial for the church and preschool, and he is impressed with the support from the community.

"It's been remarkable to see the community respond to this situation," Schneider said. "I think, even though this area is growing, it still has that small-town atmosphere where people truly care about each other."

To make a donation, contact Lipowski at 863-381-1392.