Kinder Prep Academy: A Provider Success Story from Graham County

As a child care business owner, Loretta Desaulniers wears many hats. Loretta chuckled, “I am the owner, director, teacher of 4-and 5-year-olds, and the cleaning and laundry crew.” She opened Kinder Prep Academy in 2015 after teaching kindergarten for 23 years in Graham and Greenlee counties. Loretta and her daughter cared for 10 children that first year. As a testament to her strengths as an educator, half of the kids were from families Loretta had previously taught.

Commitment to quality care helped Loretta grow her child care center to serve 39 children in a low-to-moderate income community with limited access to child care. Kinder Prep Academy focuses on literacy development and provides a comprehensive music and art program to allow children to express themselves in creative ways. The open-concept floorplan of the center encourages student interaction and movement, but there was a real opportunity to make Kinder Prep even better with a $200,000 grant.

Families now walk into a welcome area with bright colors, chairs and a small table inviting children and parents to visit. Fresh paint on the walls brightened the space. By reimagining the flow of the open concept center into the teachers’ workroom, Loretta created a new exit with a more secure door where teachers safely lead the kids to the play area instead of walking near the main road to enter the play space. 

The updated welcome area

The kids love the completely overhauled outdoor space—now double its original size and an ideal place to learn, play, and relax. Loretta also addressed licensing concerns, adding new fencing around the play area, removing weeds and the old brick and gravel surfacing, and installing beautiful new turf. Previously, with the gravel, children would come inside dusty.

Loretta used the grant to install permanent shade awnings made of concrete and steel to withstand Safford’s powerful storms and wind gusts. The shades allow the children to utilize the whole play area, even when it rains, and they protect the outdoor furniture and play equipment. These outdoor improvements will increase Kinder Prep Academy’s Quality First score. Loretta shared, “For safety reasons alone, this was money well spent.”

The renovated outdoor area

Renovations inside improved program support spaces—replacing fluorescent light fixtures and updating electrical outlets. Using the existing plumbing, Loretta created a laundry room onsite and purchased a washer and dryer. This saves her precious hours each week previously spent at the laundromat. Now, staff can wash bedding and clothes on the fly. The revamped storage room is clean and bright, everything has a place and toys and books are easily traded out. Before, the teachers’ break area lacked heating and cooling, but now it is a relaxing, temperature-regulated space that is comfortable for teachers to recharge.

As Loretta shared, “When you build a name for yourself, it’s near and dear to you. With this grant, our environment now matches our reputation.”

The renovated program support space

Arizona Child Care Infrastructure Grant: Graham County Highlights

The Arizona Child Care Infrastructure Grant program was funded by the Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES) and First Things First (FTF) through Child Care Stabilization Grants appropriated in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021.