Sinking Valley Preschool is 25 years old. The occasion will be marked by a celebration that will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 27 at the Sinking Valley Presbyterian Church.
Sinking Valley Preschool was started in 1979 by three local mothers, Carol Anderson and Penny Black, both of Sinking Valley and Lani Clark, who now resides in Maryland. The women saw a need for early childhood education in this rural community.
They formed a board of directors and Mrs. Bonnie Crawford was hired as head teacher. Mrs. Judy Keller was hired as teacher aide; she retired in 2003 after 24 years service.
The class of 1979-80 had 14 students. Since then, approximately 500 young people have gone through this preschool under the direction of Mrs. Crawford.
This year, as the preschool marked its 25th anniversary, Mrs. Crawford will be retiring. Her main goal was to give each child a good first impression of what school was all about and to show them that they can have fun and learn at the same time.
She has been a dedicated teacher, who teaches the children values that will hopefully last them a lifetime.
Mrs. Crawford resides in Sinking Valley with her husband Jim. They have one daughter Kelli who resides in Hershey with her husband Shane.
Mrs. Crawford is fortunate to have her father Virgil Wineland live next door.
With Mrs. Crawford’s retirement, a new teacher, Mrs. Jen Donnelly of Huntingdon has been hired and will start with the Class of 2005.
Families, former students and friends of the school are invited to the event, which will honor retiring teacher Bonnie Crawford. The event will start with the graduation of the Class of 2004.
