- March 7, 2019
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Camryn Andolina, Layla Bowens, Maria Subachev and Magnolia Kokenge. Photo by Brian McMillan
Diana Dall’Orto has been teaching classes at FBCA since 2014. One key to the school's success, according to Director Sandy Emery, is the fact that there hasn't been any turnover on the teaching staff. Photos by Brian McMillan
River Via, Brentlee Petrillo and Alexander Hernandez
Noelle Castello and Hanah Greiner
Lincoln Mahoney
Director Sandy Emery's roots are deep in Flagler County. She graduated from Flagler Palm Coast High in a class of just 72 students — before Old Kings Road was paved. Her husband, David Emery, was born and raised in Bunnell.
Bentley Hoover and Asier Prieto
Mackenzie Titus and Ava Collier
Ava Collier
Jonathan Crouse and Skylar Hecox
Sky Jean-Francois and Skylar Hecox
Sky Jean-Francois pretends to make oatmeal with cinnamon.
Skylar Hecox, Mackenzie Titus and Jonathan Crouse
Ava Collier
Autumn Proffitt
Isabella Calloway
Magnolia Kokenge and Camryn Andolina
Elena Gastel
Diane Stade, Elena Gastel, Dominic Bryant, Camryn Andolina, Magnolia Kokenge, Layla Bowens, Isaac Eldredge and Barrett Hooks
Hanah Greiner, Noelle Castello, Lincoln Mahoney, Ava Ellis, Alexander Hernandez, Maria Subachev, Brentlee Petrillo, River Via and Autumn Proffitt
Mackenzie Titus, Asier Prieto, Ava Collier, Sky Jean-Francois, Jonathan Crouse, Bentley Hoover and Skylar Hecox
Zachary Friese, Ashley Fleites, Leah Udell, Savannah Udell, Isabella Calloway and Logan Reilly
Leah Udell, Savannah Udell, Isabella Calloway and Logan Reilly
First Baptist Christian Academy’s path to becoming the best preschool in Flagler County, at least by one measure, might have begun six years ago, when Director Sandy Emery hired her teachers. With each of them, it was an easy decision.
“You can tell by somebody’s spirit how they’re going to be with kids,” Emery said. “They all just have this sweet, loving, godly spirit. You can tell. And their reputation speaks for them.”
JoLyn Robinson and Diane Stade, who are sisters, began as teachers at FBCA in 2014, as did Diana Dall’Orto. Susan Wanerka was hired the following year.
Today, the Early Learning Coalition data show that FBCA’s Readiness Rate is 89, the best in the county. The rate measures how well a school prepares its 4-year-olds for kindergarten, based on standardized testing.
“These ladies truly love these kids like they’re their own,” Emery said Feb. 27, in her office at 6052 Palm Coast Parkway NW.
The nonprofit private school has 44 VPK students. Like all the other preschools, it’s paid for by the state, at a rate of $4.31 per hour per child.
FBCA’s school began in 2008. Over the years, it added more grades and expanded by leasing the historic courthouse in Bunnell. The growth continued, and the preschool was moved back to the church campus where it is today.
But even with the growth, it’s a tight community. Teachers attend non-school-related sporting events to support the students. And when the VPK staff learned that the mother of one of the students who had attended VPK five years earlier had broken her leg, the staff still pitched in to help. Emery recalled the warm welcome she received when she brought the family a meal herself.
“They all just have this sweet, loving, godly spirit."
SANDY EMERY, director, describing FBCA's VPK teachers
“They asked me to stay and eat with them,” Emery said. “They just couldn’t believe we were still investing in their kids when they had been gone for so long.”
In the classrooms on Feb. 27, students took turns sounding out words as prompted by their teachers. They played on the playground, all with smiles on their faces. And the teachers were smiling, too.
“The scores are great, but the love they invest in these kids is what really makes me excited and proud to be their director,” Emery said.
Visit https://vpkrates.floridaearlylearning.com. Visit http://www.crusadersonline.org/academics/prekvpk.cfm.
