Early Childhood Centers Give Estero’s Youngest Students Valuable Learning Experiences

By Jeff Lytle

 

James and Nicolette Stuckey expected to shed some happy tears when 3-year-old son Enzo joined classmates for the first day of preschool. But instead of driving away after the poignant life milestone, the Stuckeys stayed and got to work as the owners and operators of 7,000-square-foot Ivybrook Academy, located at the new Estero Commons alongside stores, shops and apartments on Corkscrew Road west of Interstate 75.

The big day, August 12, was exactly what the couple came here to do two years ago from New York – start a business that Nicolette, an educator, and James, real estate appraiser turned site and security manager, could do together.

Nurturing Enzo’s education came as a bonus. They bought franchises of North Carolina-based Ivybrook for four sites in Lee and Collier counties, with Estero being the first.

Early education is emerging from the doldrums of a pandemic and hurricane. The Stuckeys join Estero’s growing early education landscape, dotted by entrepreneurs, while non-profits meet needs in communities with pockets of poverty to the north and south.

Melanie Stefanowicz, CEO of the Early Childhood Coalition of Southwest Florida, agrees the market reflects the demographics of Estero, which, according to U.S. Census data, is highly educated — 40% of the approximate 38,000 population is employed, and per capita income is around $70,000.

“This area is getting younger,” added James Stuckey, “and more people understand the impact of early childhood education.”
“This is not daycare,” he said.

 

In Common, Yet Different

Each preschool contacted for this story outlined similar tenets, such as individualized instruction, creatively learning by doing, nurturing excitement for lifelong learning and respecting others.

Yet, each site offers more. Ivybrook, for example, sees the world as a giant classroom where children are guided to the satisfaction of answering their own questions. A sign of success, Nicolette Stuckey says, is happy students who feel secure and valued.

“The students will teach us,” she added.

Meanwhile, at Ocean Academy, with roots a quarter-century deep, the emphasis is on Christian “spiritual unity,” Director Samantha Yaney said.

When she says Ocean is a family affair, she means it. Her daughter is a teacher, her granddaughter is a student, and Yaney’s parents are custodians at the school and adjoining Ocean Church. The building is a former supermarket — big enough for miniature indoor soccer and a children’s chapel, where worship turns into dance parties.

“I am so blessed,” she said.

Creative World owner Amy O’Malley also operates the faith-based Preschool at The Lamb located next to Creative World. Both schools, she said, emphasize STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) and how they impact daily life.

Subjects rotate monthly, each culminating in a show for classmates and families.

“We celebrate curiosity and enjoy every ‘aha’ moment,” she said. “My greatest joy is walking into a classroom and asking children an open-ended question about what they are learning and seeing how excited they get to share the knowledge.”

At The Global Child, founder and CEO Virginia Brown delivers “global” by incorporating Spanish into greetings, colors and numbers, often with the help of music — a proven aid to children’s attention and memories. Brown, who owns three franchises elsewhere and has global experience in the field, said she found U.S. students lagging in curiosity and knowledge of the world, so she teaches the customs of various foreign countries as part of the school’s curriculum.

 

Program Details

 

Comparing schools’ costs is challenging because programs are so different. Stefanowicz, of Early Childhood Coalition, cautions some tuitions can approach a second mortgage. She is hopeful, though, for bipartisan government action to improve funding and parent eligibility thresholds going forward.

Ivybrook, for example, can accommodate a full weekly enrollment of 250 students as young as 18 months through the state-subsidized voluntary pre-Kindergarten program (VPK). Sessions are half days, the Stuckeys explained, for families who want only orientation to academic and socialization skills.

That means no nap times or meals, which appeals to teachers who want to focus on their work.

At Ocean Academy, all enrollments, starting with 1-year-olds, are for full days. With 130 students and a new VPK wing, Ocean does not advertise but still has a wait list, with the largest demand for 3-year-olds, Yaney said. The big draws, she added, are faith-based learning and class sizes capped at 12.

Yaney shared that a church-school relationship can work both ways. A family’s church membership can follow Ocean Academy enrollment, or churchgoers can send children to the academy.

With The Global Child open in Estero for two years now, Brown welcomes 50 full- and part-time students starting as young as 6-month-olds through preschool age, and the school aims for 75 in the future.

The Lamb’s 175 students, ages 2 through pre-school, attend part-time, while adjoining Creative World programs, for 255 youngsters from 6 months through VPK age, are full-time, O’Malley said.

 

Impact of Early Education

Civic leaders point to early education’s crossroads of education and business.

Joe Ryan, chair of the Greater Estero Chamber of Commerce, attended the Ivybrook ribbon cutting and painted the big picture:

“The chamber is thrilled to see new early childhood education businesses not only contribute directly to the local economy, but also provide invaluable resources for our youngest residents.

“In addition to creating new, high-quality jobs and tax revenue, childhood development centers have an amplifying effect by freeing up more adults to participate fully in the local workforce,” he said, adding they foster “a well-educated, capable and resilient” workforce for tomorrow.

Akiya Maston, principal of Estero’s Pinewood Elementary School, sees results at ground level — in kindergartners who can follow directions; know their letters, sounds and names; have positive interactions with peers; and hold longer attention spans – “which translates to a smoother entry into their K-12 academic career.”

Her bottom line: “Overall, students tend to achieve higher diagnostic and assessment scores versus those students who have yet to have those early learning experiences.”

Editor’s note: This story represents only a sampling of Estero’s diverse early childhood education options. For more opportunities and details on programs and pricing, please search keywords online and request school tours.