SEELEY LAKE – “People think of our country as being rich because of natural resources such as timber and gold,” said fashion designer Liz Claiborne at Salmon Prairie School’s eighth grade graduation in 1988. However she pointed out, we also enjoy something more important, “brains - educated kids. Educated children are a true natural resource…Montanans will all benefit if children are encouraged to pursue a good education”
The late Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg invested in education in the Seeley-Swan Valleys by funding several programs including the music program at Swan Valley School and the Seeley Lake Elementary preschool for more than 20 years. While SLE has been able to fund the preschool for the past three years after the Liz Claiborne-Art Ortenberg Foundation no longer funded the program, the SLE School Board will discuss funding options for the program at their June 15 meeting.
According to retired District Clerk Sally Johnson, Swan Valley School Principal Dan White had a relationship with Ortenberg. When White worked as a part-time principal at SLE he introduced Ortenberg to SLE Superintendent John Hebnes.
In the summer of 1996, SLE received a grant from the Liz Clairborne-Art Ortenberg Foundation written by Hebnes to partially fund preschool.
A sliding fee scale was established where parents paid either full tuition, a portion of tuition or they received a full scholarship for preschool at SLE. Two weeks before school began, Hebnes hired teacher Sheila Devins. When school started the preschool program was up and running sharing space with the music teacher since the new primary wing and gymnasium were still under construction.
Every morning band classes ended at 11:30 a.m. Preschool started Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 12 p.m. In a half hour, Devins and devoted preschool parents including Cheryl Evans, Amy Vernarsky, Tonya Hals, and others, packed up the drum set and junior high sized chairs, wrapped corrugated cardboard around the music teacher’s shelves and pulled materials stored in a backroom to the forefront, transforming the space into a prekindergarten classroom.
The first year the program was limited to 15 students, with priority given to four year olds. The preschool program quickly filled, with several children on a waiting list.
In the Aug. 20, 1997 issue of the Pathfinder, Beth Hutchins reported that the preschool was the most visible component part of a larger educational readiness project underwritten by a grant from the Liz Claiborne-Art Ortenberg Foundation. Linda Bowers, member of the overseeing board and kindergarten teacher, said the motivation for the effort came from “recognizing the benefits of the earliest possible parent involvement with the school system.”
“Longitudinal research studies have proven high quality preschool to be a major factor in improving student achievement,” said Devins.
With then new primary wing complete, the preschool program moved to its current location close to the office and bathrooms for the 1997-1998 school year. Devins said with the increased interest and demand, the preschool program continued three mornings a week for the four-year-olds and added two mornings per week for three-year-olds.
Claiborne and Ortenberg had originally committed their Foundation to fund the program for three years after which SLE would fully support the program. Johnson said Ortenberg and Claiborne met Devins and loved her philosophy of education for preschool children. Devins submitted yearly reports with photos to them personally and they became very supportive of the program.
According to Devins, after the first year, Claiborne and Ortenberg committed to their current funding level for five years. After the second year, they committed to 10 years. Following the program’s third year they said they were very pleased and they would continue indefinitely.
“Liz and Art believed very much in preschool funding and they also believed very much in Sheila,” said Johnson. “They tended to fund where they had relationships.”
Claiborne-Ortenberg Foundation committed to fully fund preschool in 2006 when it was determined that school couldn’t charge some children and not others for a public preschool program. After Claiborne’s death in 2007, the preschool was named “Liz Claiborne Preschool” to commemorate her caring spirit and generosity.
“Art and Liz understood that education is the foundation for success. Education should not stop at high school or college. It is a learned habit that we use daily. Education should be used to not only better ourselves, but for the greater good of the community around us. That is how Liz approached life, looking for opportunities for greater good in the community around her,” said Loren Rose, SLE School Board member at the preschool dedication ceremony. “For those parents and teachers in the audience, [Art] would tell you there is no higher calling than to teach others how to reason, understand, calculate, think critically, ask probing questions and engage socially. Art would encourage us to keep up the good work, reach higher and always do better!”
In 2010, Ortenberg a voracious reader and researcher and still personally invested in the SLE preschool program even after Claiborne’s passing, wrote a passionate letter to SLE acknowledging the importance of early learning on the long term outcomes for students. Devins said he said, “Now more important than ever” and asked how SLE would respond to the important need for preschool services.
Devins wrote a proposal for expanding “prekindergarten” to four days for four-year-olds and increase “preschool. The proposal also included “Tot-time,” one-hour sessions for two-year-olds and their parents. Devins did activities, read stories and offered information to parents.
“Educational research and brain development all point to the impact of early education on long-term learning,” said Devins. “The hope was to provide parents with parenting skills within a nonthreatening, hands-on setting, involve parents in the learning of their child and offer parenting and learning techniques to parents.”
Devins said Ortenberg personally requested that the Foundation fully fund the proposal.
Ortenberg passed away in 2014. Johnson said it was very clear that the Foundation was not interested in maintaining the relationship with SLE or Swan Valley.
The Foundation continued to fund preschool until 2018. Superintendent Chris Stout and the board made the decision to continue funding the preschool using Title 1 funding and the general fund.
According to District Clerk Heather Mincey, this year’s program cost $71,000. This included a teacher, aide and supplies running five mornings a week for four-year-olds and two afternoons a week for three-year-olds. To employ a full time teacher and full time aide with insurance, Mincey estimated would cost $86,000. To fund a half-time preschool teacher, that would be treated as a part-time kindergarten class with no aide, would be around $25,000.
While funding the program through Title 1 and the General Fund is still an option, with a budget shortfall projected, Superintendent Daniel Schrock recommended that funding be used for other programs and curriculum needs.
Other options for funding include using Average Number Belonging (ANB) funds if they have a certified teacher at 0.5 full-time equivalent for “Transitional kindergarten.” This would not be an option until the 2021-2022 school year. Philanthropic donors, like historically through the Claiborne-Ortenberg Foundation, is another option.
At their May 19 meeting, the SLE School Board agreed they would like to see preschool continue for the 2020-2021 school year. They agreed that they needed more information regarding the funding options and would discuss those at the next meeting.
The school board meeting will be at 5 p.m. Monday, June 15. Details about how to attend will be posted at SLE and shared on the Pathfinder’s Facebook page.
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