April
2007
My
name is Teresa Cook. I have been the teacher at Strawberry Patch
Parent Cooperative Preschool for 13 years. Both of my daughters
went to Strawberry Patch Preschool. Before I started teaching,
I knew I loved being around children this age. I was hired when
my youngest daughter, Samantha, started her second year at Strawberry
Patch Preschool. I have been married for 23 years to my best
friend, Don and we have lived in the Roy and Yelm area for 19
years. I am so fond of this preschool and the families involved
with it.
I would like to give some background information about Strawberry
Patch Parent Co-op Preschool. It started out in Yelm in 1972
and was moved to Roy in 1981. The preschool was held in the
Rebekkah Lodge for 14 years when Judy Mezen, a parent from the
preschool had a vision to move the preschool to a safer environment
for the children. The lodge was just too old and drafty for
the preschool. Judy took a grant writing class and the board
of directors held many fundraisers. After a lot of work, Judy
and her husband Ted led the project of building the new preschool
on the Roy Elementary School grounds. It took nearly a year
of Saturdays to complete the preschool building. In March of
1996 we moved in. Many families and community members were involved
with building this beautiful place for our children.
In February of 2003, we became accredited with NAEYC (National
Association for the Education of Young Children). We are one
of only four accredited cooperative preschools in Washington
State.
This year we joined the Yelm Chamber of Commerce. We want to
be present and involved in our community.
I am so proud of the accomplishments of our preschool and the
wonderful parents and family members involved.
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