A Helping Hand Comes To The Rescue

For over 50 years, Wee Folks Preschool has been an important part of the Hanna community in helping children succeed in early education. Recently, the program was on the brink of closing its doors.

Due to a lack of funding, Wee Folks was left with no choice but to leave the building near Miners Plaza Shopping Center because of the cost of rent. This left parents concerned about where to send their preschool-aged children if the program couldn’t operate.

Carbon County School District No. 2 Superintendent Darrin Jennings and Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Middle High School Principal Eli Hobbs stepped in to help the program. Jennings said it was brought to his attention that the early education program has struggled financially to keep its facility operational. Jennings and Hobbs met with another principal for suggestions and ideas to keep Wee Folks operating in the northern Carbon County community.

“We met with Hanna Elementary Principal Jackie Jones to kick around some ideas in finding solutions,” Jennings said. “Together we met with Wee Folks’s director Becky Meyer to find out how they can help with their program. After our meeting, we went out on the field and looked at other campuses that would be a great fit for the early education program.”

Jennings said he wanted to present a plan identical to Encampment K-12, where they have a preschool on the campus. He hoped to convince the Wee Folks Board of Directors his plan could work out and keep the early education program running.

“I got together with the Wee Folks board and asked if we could help create a similar situation to what we have in Encampment,” Jennings said. “Encampment K-12 has a preschool on their campus and the thought of losing a preschool up north is something we did not want to happen.”

The solution is to move the Wee Folks program to HEM Middle High School. He said he hoped to bring the program to an elementary school, however, the Hanna Elementary School campus didn’t have available space.

“We looked at our facilities and came up with the best plan to move them to H.E.M,” Jennings said. “I was hoping to give them a place at our elementary school because that makes the most sense but there was no room on campus which is why we picked the high school.”

Jennings said he is a strong advocate for early childhood education. He said young children benefit from the early education opportunities Wee Folks provides for the Hanna community.

“Early childhood education is so important,” Jennings said. “I could not see that going away. It is necessary for our northern community”.

Hobbs said he was concerned Wee Folks could disappear if they did not get any support or funding

“Wee Folks has been an important part of the Hanna community for a long time,” Hobbs said. “They were in a position where they could not be fiscally viable anymore. Mr. Jennings spoke with board members who lived in the Hanna area and asked them what they thought about his plan to save the early education program. He and the board members came to me and said, ‘Hey, what can we do to help these guys out.’”

Hobbs arranged a location on his campus if the Wee Folks could not find a place on an elementary school campus and met with his staff.

“I got together with my staff to talk about how we can rearrange classrooms and make room for them as well as what changes we can make in our schedule,” Hobb’s said. “Our staff was willing to cooperate and to allow them to move into our building.”

Hobbs took the next step in meeting with the Wee Folks staff and state officials before Wee Folks moved into the HEM campus He said he wanted to make sure the safety of the children met the state standards before the early education program could use the classrooms.

“We had several meetings with the Wee Folks staff on what they needed, how it needed to look, and what type of setting they will be working in,” Hobbs said. “We spoke with some of the people from the state for different inspections to make sure everything is legal and up to date. They were able to approve us without any major hiccups.”

Hobbs said after everything was done, people who were involved came with open minds and everyone collaborated well. He said the support by the school board shows what a major contributor pre-school is on how well students will perform in the classroom when they go into grade school.

Jones said she was glad to help in any way she could in keeping the Wee Folks program in operation. She said Wee Folks’ early education program has been an important part of preparing children for the next level of education.

“ I have been a lifelong resident in Hannah and our community knows how valuable the Wee Folks program is,” Jones said. “We have students who came from that program and we knew when Wee Folks were in jeopardy, something needed to be done.”

Because there wasn’t any space in the elementary school, Jones worked with Jennings and Hobbs on helping the Wee Folks find a place to move their program. Jones said she is willing to do whatever she could to help save early education for the community. She credited Hobbs for being the problem solver in helping to keep the Wee Folks program running.

“Mr. Hobbs did a lot of the troubleshooting with his staff at the high school,’ Jones said. “It is wonderful that everything is going to work out. Other than just having the Wee Folks at the high school I had a lot of conversations with my kindergarten teacher Teira Scott and she wanted to work with the teachers at Wee Folks to help bridge that gap between preschool and our kindergarten program.”

Jones called Jennings a true friend of education and to the communities of Carbon County. She said he is the voice of the students and parents.

“He is an advocate for the children,” Jones said. “ He does what is needed in the best interest of kids. When Mr. Jennings first heard about what Wee Folks was dealing with, he immediately contacted me. We have worked together in troubleshooting and did some building searching to devise a plan. I am happy Mr. Hobbs proposed allowing the Wee Folks program to stay at his campus.”

Jones also praised the Wee Folks teachers for their dedication to helping the children be ready for the next level in their education. She said Jennings’s leadership and the school board’s final decision have made it all possible to keep the early education program alive and well.

“A lot can be said about the teachers at Wee Folks, “ Jones said. “The work they have accomplished with Mr.Jennings and his leadership has made this all happen. I thank our school board for making the final decision. Our district got a lot of correspondence and positive feedback from parents and the Wee Folks staff. With blessing from the school board, the early education program has found a new place to stay.”

Becky Meyer, Wee Folks Director, said she is grateful to the Carbon County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees for helping her program. She especially thanks Jennings and Hobbs for keeping their program alive.

“Mr. Jennings and Mr. Hobbs have been so wonderful in making this important move happen,” Meyer said. “We were in total shock at the responses we received once the word got out to the school board. I will speak on behalf of my staff and board that when Mr Jennings said he would do all he could to help save our preschool he delivered on his promise.”