PATTI ABEYTA WANTS TO build a world “one saint at a time.”
In her case she’s not talking about the capital “S” Saints that are the mascots of the Christ Cathedral Academy Preschool, but the small “s” saints, which she calls each child at the school she directs.
AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL ACADEMY, MS. SORIA (LEFT) AND MRS. QUEZADA (RIGHT) POSE WITH A GROUP OF PRESCHOOL STUDENTS ON THE PLAYGROUND. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
For the past 30 years, Abeyta has been helping guide children through preschool in the Diocese of Orange, ever since she was appointed to create the preschool at St. Callistus Catholic Church with 17 students in 1996. That school transitioned to Christ Cathedral in 2013.
“Preschools are my thing,” Abeyta said proudly.
As the preschool director, Abeyta’s “thing” is actually a little of everything: whether it’s directing Francisco, 2, to hurry to the facilities when she notices him doing his “restroom dance,” helping deliver box lunches to students, or comforting a student who is ailing.
“We wear many hats,” Abeyta said of herself and the school staff.
It is the staff that draws many parents and families to the school — and keeps them coming back.
As Wilfred Gelin Jr. picked up his son, Wilfred III, he said the staffers, “have such a loving spirit.”
It is why Gelin enrolled his son and before that his daughter, Savannah, who has graduated to Christ Cathedral Academy.
“They did really good with her,” he said, explaining that the teachers helped her overcome separation anxiety and be ready for more advanced education. “They are learning how to be educated,” he said of his children.
The preschool meets all the California education regulations for preschools. Abeyta said children learn through play but added that there is method to the joyful mayhem as staff help guide kids in their social and emotional development.
WILFRED GELIN AND HIS SON, ALSO NAMED WILFRED GELIN, GIVE A THUMBS UP.
In the process, the children are also educated, learning shapes, colors, letters and sounds in combination so that they are ready for more formalized education. Each week, lesson plans and learning goals are printed and posted in classrooms and online detailing instruction in language development, math, science and arts, as well as fine motor development, faith formation and social-emotional skills. In addition, each day the teacher posts a note on how the day’s activities went.
Every teacher also writes a daily report on what the class covered, such as activities with the popular Mat Man educational character in the Butterfly classroom.
As assistant director and teacher of 3-year-olds, Jacqueline Arias said, “Every teacher focuses on every child as a whole.”
On a typical Friday the yelps of excitement can be heard from the playgrounds, where the tots have their own space apart from the older children in the academy.
This year, the Christ Cathedral Academy Preschool has 88 enrolled students between ages 2 and 4, with about a dozen openings available for 3 and 4-year-olds for the first time since it opened on the Christ Cathedral campus. This is mainly due, Abeyta said, to the state’s implementation this year of free Universal Transitional Kindergarten (TK) for all 4-year-olds and free state preschool programs for income-eligible families.
At the Christ Cathedral preschool, in addition to small class sizes and individual attention, with student-to-instructor ratios ranging from 8-to-1 for 2-year-olds to 12-to-1 for 3- and 4-year-olds, students get a faith-driven education. There is also financial assistance available for families that qualify.
A couple of other ways the Christ Cathedral campus school differs is that it admits 2-year-olds who are still in diapers and require changing. The school is also open from 6:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., giving families a large window in which to drop off and pick up children.
And central to it all, is the faith portion.
“I’m a cradle Catholic,” Abeyta said.
She believes that when children are introduced to the catechesis, or the formal instruction and practices of Catholicism, they will have a solid foundation for life, regardless of their faith journeys.
“When they’re doing their prayers with fingers pointed to Jesus it warms my heart,” she said.
For more information, visit christcathedralacademy.org or call (714) 663-2330.