|
|
Little Scholars preschool set to open
|
By Rick Laney
of The Daily Times Staff
Children have always been attracted to Katie
Teffeteller. With parents who operated a successful preschool program
for nearly two decades in Florida and a bachelor’s degree in education
from the University of Tennessee, she always dreamed of being
surrounded by kids. Now her dream is coming true.
In the coming
weeks, Teffeteller will begin registering students for her own
preschool called the Little Scholars Christian Academy, 940 Brown
School Road, Maryville. It is a dream she, her husband and her parents
have invested in and cultivated for months.
“This has been in
the planning stages for about a year,” Teffeteller said. “I’ve always
wanted to do something with kids, but I also wanted to be a
stay-at-home mom — that was very important to me.
“My parents offered to help get this off the ground, and we just had to take them up on it.”
After
looking for property suitable for them to build a new preschool
building, Katie and her husband, Jeremy Teffeteller, reluctantly agreed
to look at an existing house on Brown School Road.
“We kept
telling the real estate agents we didn’t want a house,” Katie said. “We
want to build a school, but they convinced us to look at this place and
— to our surprise — it was absolutely perfect.
“We pulled in, and it looked exactly like the schoolhouse we envisioned.”
Designed
to be a nurturing and creative environment, Little Scholars Christian
Academy will help little minds and bodies grow, according to
Teffeteller.
“We have great oversized playgrounds that were custom designed,” Katie said.
“And we have a three-acre campus unlike anything else in Blount County.
“We will challenge kids to learn in a safe environment.
“And we’ll pay a lot of attention to each child in small-group settings.
“Children
learn through play so there will be a lot of free time for play and
exploration in addition to the teacher-instructed activities.”
With
students ranging in age from 6 weeks to 5 years old (pre-kindergarten),
Teffeteller has already employed four teachers and plans to hire as
many as 15 teachers and instructors depending on the number of students
who register.
Her teachers are well educated, with an emphasis
on creativity and a fresh approach to early childhood development.
After interviewing countless applicants, Teffeteller said there were
only a few who met her criteria.
“They have to be teachers and
have the knowledge to instruct,” Teffeteller said, “but they also must
demonstrate that they are creative.
“It has to be fun. We’re all about education, but we’re also about fun.
“We are not a daycare center. We are definitely a preschool.”
Using
the popular A Beka curriculum, the Little Scholars Christian Academy
will begin registering students over the next two weeks.
For more information about the Little Scholars Christian Academy, go to www.littlescholarsofmaryville.com or call (865) 981-5799.
Originally published: August 26. 2007 3:01AM
Last modified: August 26. 2007 2:19AM
|
|
|
|
