Early Learning Preschool gets makeover and celebrates with ribbon cutting

After 41 years in Rio Rancho, Early Learning Preschool on Southern Boulevard celebrated a makeover April 22.

A Leadership Sandoval class project by Team Rio Innovators made it possible for the preschool to get new paint, new flooring and several other things.

"We have been helping Early Learning Preschool with this project over this last year. So initially, we started out by fundraising. We all went out and collected money from our networks. Once we were able to get that together, we also reached out to different contractors and labor providers to see what we were able to pull together," WESST's Sara Osuski said.

The team raised about $12,500, and all the other donations from laborers amounted to about $5,500.

"Everybody on the team worked really hard in their own capacity, whatever strengths that we had to bring to the table," Osuski added.

She also said the kids were excited when they got to see the classroom updated.

"Some of them asked if they were even in the same building or if it was their school and just talking about how excited they are for the the environment that they get to learn in," she added.

The preschool's Executive Director Lacey Giovacchini entered her first year as director as the renovations were being made.

"This will be the end of my third school year, so I'll be going into my fourth school year. My daughter went here, and that's how I discovered the school and we just absolutely love it," she said.

Giovacchini added that the preschool really tries to bring in parents and families to be a community-based school.

"Just to be a community-based preschool and teach these little guys how to start their educational journey off the right way and send them off into elementary school prepared," she said.

For more information about the school, visit the website.