By Kate Hill

Staff Writer

Cazenovia Community Preschool (CCP) recently received a $30,000 grant from the Central New York Community Foundation to update parts of the facility.

Operated out of a retrofitted house at 49 Burton St., CCP is a not-for-profit, comprehensive preschool with a mission to provide well-rounded and nurturing learning experiences for children in the Cazenovia area, regardless of ability or family income. The program’s curriculum emphasizes language, cognitive, social, physical, emotional and creative development.

According to CCP Executive Director Kaleen Sessler, the renovation project involved a redesign of the school’s kitchen, side porch and bathroom to allow for increased space and privacy.

“Snack and art projects have always been done in our kitchen, which was a traditional, single-family home kitchen . . .” said Sessler. “While over the years we have made it work through great teaching and innovative methods, it was time for the space to get an upgrade. The redesign has also allowed us to clear out a storage closet that will be converted to a dedicated Sensory/Motor Lab for students who need alternative education methods. [The need for such a] space was identified over the past couple of years.”

Within the past six years, the preschool has undergone a number of updates, including the additions of a new playground, replacement windows and porches, fresh paint and fences.

“The current project represents the final need, and also one that cannot be done piecemeal from cash flow as the other upgrades have been,” Sessler said. “Upon completion of this project, our long-term facility improvement plan will be effectively complete.”

The CNY Community Foundation is a public charity that collects contributions from donors, manages them to grow over time and then distributes funding to local charities.

According to Sessler, the foundation is a longtime supporter of CCP. In 2013, the organization provided funding to facilitate the transformation of the preschool’s garage into classroom space.

“It was brought to my attention in 2018 that not many organizations in Madison County seek out grants from the foundation,” Sessler said. “At the time, I was finishing up my term as the president of the Friends of Lorenzo Board and had just started as director, [so] I was not ready to jump into something. Over the past 18 months, the staff, board and I spent time identifying the need and scoping the project that best serves our students . . . We were awarded the grant on June 17 and our contractor, Mark Hudson, started on the 19th. Mark has done a lot of projects at the school over the years and has taken very good care of us at CCP.”

Sessler added that she anticipates the current project will help the preschool address some of the new needs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The project and grant are happening at the perfect time for what our world may look like in the fall,” she said. “With the more useful layout, we will be much more able to socially distance while in school. We also slightly amended the original project to add additional hand washing spaces.”

CCP stopped requesting tuition from families back in March, but it has continued to pay its teachers.

Throughout the mandated school closure, the teachers provided lessons and support to students and used the time to tackle some organizational projects that had piled up.

Although the impact of the pandemic on CCP remains to be seen, Sessler is optimistic that the school will be prepared to safely open in the fall.

“Over the 51-year history of CCP, the school has been able to provide an affordable, high-quality preschool education for the children of greater Cazenovia,” she said. “We are confident that we will be able to continue serving that mission going forward. We truly appreciate the support we’ve received from the community and the countless hours of hard work and dedication previous directors and board members have given. With that, we know that we are prepared for whatever may come.”

To learn more about CCP, visit cazenoviacommunitypreschool.com/home.html.

Additional information on the CNY Community Foundation is available at cnycf.org/home.