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In the midst of the pandemic, St. Marks Preschool had to close its doors permanently after 60 years of teaching generations of children in the LaGrange community. As a result of that closure, Little Lions Preschool was formed.

The founding teachers of Little Lions Preschool started the school to continue the teachings of Burma Wright, a former preschool director, by continuing her curriculum and traditions of early childhood Christian education.  

“All of St. Marks teachers were all very close and a couple of us got together and decided we needed and wanted to continue on,” said Little Lions Preschool Director Meg McLeod. “We had a lot of feedback from parents saying that they would love for us to continue a school. We are doing this on our own financially and although we are a ministry of Western Heights Baptist Church, we are tenants. But a dear elementary teacher of mine did make a donation in order to help cover some start-up. That’s why we will have a fundraiser-store on our website and other fundraisers to come.” 

The schools campaign, New Spaces with Familiar Faces, brings years of experienced familiar faces to many children of the Troup County area in its new spaces at Western Heights on West Point Road. Registration for the fall 2021 semester opened on Monday online at littlelionspreschool.com/registration. 

“We know we are a little late on getting the registration up, but we are still really excited for this year,” McLeod said. “We’ve already had a few registrants already. We are seeing a few new names but a majority of students are siblings from St. Marks.” 

McLeod said while she was teaching three-year olds at St. Marks, she saw several generations of siblings and families come through. When the preschool closed, many reached out.  

“One day, when I was leaving there getting my personal items, a big burly football coach from Callaway came up to me and said he was so sorry that the school had closed and that he had attended as a young boy and those were the best memories,” McLeod said. “With tears in his eyes, he thanked Lucy Grovenstein and me for being teachers there and said he was sorry for our loss.” 

Little Lions will focus on addressing the lack of early education many children face when they first get to school.  

“Early education is so imperative,” McLeod said. “If a child doesn’t attend a preschool, when they go to real school, they’re going from never being in a school setting into a full day of doing work all day long. They won’t be prepared for that. Preschool is really important for those beginner years of the brain, developing, and working on gross motor skills.” 

Little Lions can take approximately 90 to 100 students for the fall semester. The cost varies on how many days a week the student is registered. 

For more information, visit littlelionspreschool.com or email littlelions@littlelionspreschool.com.