“Starting a new year is just a happy time and a new beginning,” said Principal Carmen Banwart.

Banwart was outside, ready to greet the kindergarten students and their parents arriving for breakfast and drop-off, making sure each student felt welcome and valued.

“We’re super excited,” she said. “It was one of several joyous moments since Aug. 16 when we started with our team and all our staff back.”

This is the first time in 31 years that the entire building at 104 S. 17th St. was filled with the laughter and voices of students throughout the school. At that time, it was known as Arey Elementary School.

-Messenger file photo
Early Childhood Center Principal Carmen Banwart reads the morning announcements on the first day of school in August of 2021.

The plan to renovate the old Arey School and create a “kindergarten campus” started in the fall of 2019 with then-Fort Dodge Community School District Superintendent Jesse Ulrich’s idea to move the fifth grade from the middle school to the elementary schools. The plan went through some revisions and reimagining, and eventually the Early Childhood Center was born.

“We are excited for the community to see the new Early Childhood Center,” Superintendent Derrick Joel told The Messenger before the school opened last fall. “It was designed specifically with our littlest learners in mind and will be an incredible learning environment for students for years to come. We are proud that we were able to recommission the building into a school that will be filled with learning and laughter again.”

The $6.23 million renovation of the 56-year-old building was designed by Allers Associates Architects, of Fort Dodge. Construction was done by Jensen Builders Ltd., of Fort Dodge.

Housing the district’s kindergarten, transitional kindergarten and preschool classes, the ECC will serve between 400 and 450 students each year. The school has six sections, or classes, of preschool, two sections of transitional kindergarten and 12 sections of kindergarten.

“We’re blessed to be a part of it,” Banwart said.

-Messenger file photo
Early Childhood Center Principal Carmen Banwart gave students, parents and staff painted rocks to write inspirational notes on to add to the “Kindness Rocks” garden in the ECC’s playground.

Banwart said having the Early Childhood Center creates an opportunity to help introduce young students and their parents into the school district, as preschool and kindergarten are often parents’ first experiences with the school district. The Early Childhood Center also acts as a central location and having all the kindergarten and preschool classrooms together helps foster consistency with the instruction and curriculum.

“It’s a great opportunity, having everything age appropriate for the students and just having that welcoming and inviting environment, it starts with the people,” Banwart said. “We have a great team lined up for the early childhood center. I couldn’t be more thrilled and excited.”

In preparation for the new school year and building, Banwart collected hundreds of rocks to paint and asked parents and students to write an inspirational message. Students then came down with their classes to put their rocks in the “Kindness Rocks” garden in the playground.

Banwart is proud of the diversity her school has among its students and staff.

“What I’m really looking forward to now is that we have several students who are English language learners here at the ECC and we’re so incredibly excited about that,” Banwart said. “It’s just exciting to have people of lots of different cultures.”

She said this year, the English language learner students are primarily Spanish-speaking, and the school is partnering with the families and providing literature materials in Spanish.

“We want all people to feel welcome here at the Early Childhood Center,” Banwart said.

The ECC has 11 staff members new to the district, the principal said.

“I tell all my staff that we will make a difference; we will change the world here at the Early Childhood Center and our scholars are going to do great things,” Banwart said.