Kathy Dallessandro stood in the basement
of her new parish and looked at its 13 pristine classrooms and through the
windows to the playground outside. As she surveyed the scene, the word
“preschool” popped into the teacher’s mind. She didn’t know if there had ever
been one at St. John Neumann Church in Reston. But she and her friend Ann
Hanover wanted to see if it was possible.
Both St. John Neumann and Our Lady of
Good Counsel Church in Vienna will open new preschools this fall. Many other
preschools are growing, including St. John the Evangelist Preschool in
Warrenton. The school is moving into a new building to accommodate 60-70
students, said director Julie Copeland. The school was designed with safety in
mind, she said, with features such as a central camera system.
In Reston, it took three years and the help
of the priests, the pastoral council, the county zoning office and others to
make the preschool at St. John Neumann a reality. The school will have six
teachers for nearly 40 students and will use two classrooms for three classes.
“When the first child registered, we were like, ‘It’s working, they’re coming,’
” said Dallessandro. “People are so excited to have a Catholic option close by.”
No Catholic church in Reston, Herndon or
Sterling has a preschool, so there’s interest inside and outside of St. John
Neumann, said Dallessandro. “Because it’s such a large parish, people want to
feel connected,” she said. “This is a way to build community and to bring these
families closer to their own faith.”

A little girl slides at the St. John Neumann Preschool in Reston during a summer ice cream social Aug. 26.
ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD
Our Lady of Good Counsel already had a
kindergarten through eighth grade school with nearly 400 students when Father
Matthew J. Hillyard, pastor, asked if
they could open a preschool. Laura Wood was working at a Lutheran preschool in
Vienna when she read in her parish bulletin that they were looking for a director.
“I looked at it and thought, ‘No, I
don’t want to do that.’ Then Mass started and the priest gave a homily about
following God’s call,” said Wood. “By the end of Mass I thought, ‘I’ve got to
pick up the phone and inquire.’ ”
As with St. John Neumann, Our Lady of
Good Counsel will use existing classrooms in the parish to house their new
preschool. “Everybody's excited to see what is going on in the classrooms,”
said Wood, who will serve as co-director along with Valerie Harnisch. “Early
on, we had a toy drive, and we were overwhelmed with donations of toys and
things we could use in the classroom.” This year, they’ll have four classrooms and a
new playground for the 58 students enrolled.
Both Wood and Dallessandro are excited
to work in a Catholic preschool. “What is not to love about teaching preschool?”
asked Dallessandro. “I’ve always taught in a faith-based environment, but I love
the idea of teaching in a Catholic preschool, that you can share your faith
with these young kids. That’s my calling in life.”
Jennifer Bigelow, superintendent of
diocesan schools, said preschools are centers of evangelization. “We see our
role as promoting lifelong learning in the Catholic faith, and it is important
to make sure we start as young as possible,” she said.