OPENING OF EARLY CHILDHOOD WING

Dedicated to

EAR LY CHILDHOOOD LEARNING CENTER

After an 18- month building process, early 2019 was an eventful time as St. Martin’s Episcopal School dedicated its new Early Childhood Learning Center and opened for students to experience a “second first day” of school. SMES’ youngest students, aged two through Kindergarten, were excited to move into their innovative new space offering double the size of the previous building. With classrooms and an outdoor space designed specifically for young children, the building replaces the school’s Early Childhood wing that was destroyed by an arson fire on July 4, 2017.

“It has long been the school’s vision to create a larger, purpose-built space to meet the unique needs of our youngest students,” said Head of School Dr. Luis Ottley. “When the fire destroyed the home of our Early Childhood Program, we embraced the opportunity to execute that vision.”

The new building includes a STEAM village that intentionally connects a science lab, tinker space and art room, all geared to foster engagement and collaborative learning among young children. The outdoor learning space and natural play area are accessible from classrooms using garage doors, allowing a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor learning.

“We have been incredibly blessed to build such a unique space for our students,” said Early Childhood Principal Cindy Alexander. “Our teachers and students are thrilled about all of the active learning opportunities the building has to offer. I’m so proud for St. Martin’s to be on the cutting edge of early childhood education with our curriculum supported by this innovative new building. It couldn’t have happened without the support of so many in the community, and I want to thank all of the SMES parents, community members, St. Martin’s Church and the staff and crew at Evergreen Construction who all helped make this vision a reality.”