‘Eyes on me’

Clark County Preschool is the first preschool-for-all in the state of Kentucky built with a sliding scale cost to families. Parents describe few other preschool options in the area, and of those options they are are less quality and more expensive than the county preschool. Parent Janelle Danis had already paid a deposit on a private school for her son, when she heard the preschool for all program opened up. She describes more clear speech in just a few months of attendance.

When a child needs soothing or correcting, Emily Smith, 32, kneels to the child’s level and commands attention by almost whispering “Eyes on me.”

Since August, any 4-year-old in the county can enroll in preschool regardless of family income — a sliding-scale program the district says is the first of its kind in Kentucky. Emily is one of the team at Clark County Preschool that carries out principal Jill Blanton’s vision. Emily and her instructional assistant Amber Miller run a classroom of 16 “friends” — teachers refer to students as “friends” and students refer to teachers as “friends” as well — with more than half having an individualized education plan.

Emily has no children of her own, but her face lights up when she talks about “my kids.” Her method is positive reinforcement, meeting a child where he or she is: trace your name, write your name, brush your teeth, sit in a circle, ask for help — the basics of being a person.

“We want to shape them into who they’re going to be,” Emily said. “We want them to be good people, and we want them to care about people, and we want them to build trust and relationships — and who would I be if I wasn’t showing them how to do that?”

One of Emily’s families is Courtney and Jerry Muir and their son Walker, 3, who spends a fair amount of his day trying to get Emily’s attention the way boys do. He smiled coyly as he blew bubbles into his milk through a straw. She noticed and asked, just as coyly, “Are you blowing bubbles?” He answered with a long “no” while making no effort to hide the bubbles.

This year, Jill made Emily an assigned team lead for her hall, where she is responsible for 10 teachers, three floating assistants, and more than 100 friends. Jill called Emily’s growth — personal and professional — remarkable, and is mentoring her deliberately.

Emily drives about 45 minutes each way from the Berea, where she lives with her boyfriend Cory and three dogs. When asked why she would drive so far, she said “I’m not giving this job up. This is an amazing program. My kids are great.”

Emily isn’t sure she wants Jill’s chair. Whatever comes next, she says, “I want to still be with these kids.”

Jill isn’t worried. She’s mentoring Emily the way Emily guides a 4-year-old: kneel down, get close, wait for the eyes.

Eyes on me.