L’Anse Creuse school wins makeover

CHESTERFIELD — Call it “Extreme Makeover: Preschool Edition.”

The Anna Mae Burdi Early Childhood Center, part of L’Anse Creuse Public Schools, is receiving a $50,000 makeover after winning a sweepstakes.

Teacher Fran Pigeon won the School Specialty $50,000 School Makeover Sweepstakes, which asked school employees across the United States to nominate their schools for the award. The winning teacher received a $500 School Specialty gift card as well. School Specialty is a vendor for schools and other educational institutions.

“Over the summer, one of my staff members saw a social media post (advertising the sweepstakes),” said Annemarie Miller, director of the Anna Mae Burdi Center. “She saw the social media post and shared it with all of our staff here at Anna Mae Burdi and we had a lot of staff enter.”

Pigeon approached the contest by making multiple submissions a day, securing the grand prize for the Chesterfield preschool.

“We were just shocked (upon winning),” Miller said. “I didn’t even know that my staff were doing this. This was just something that they came up with and saw and they love their school so much they decided to enter.”

Pigeon will have the honor of deciding how the $500 will be spent on her classroom for 3-year-olds, while Miller has been working with School Specialty on how the wider remodeling will be handled.

“We are going to be remaking our before and after care classroom, which is basically an extension of their regular preschool,” Miller said. “This is for working families. The room opens at 6:30 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m., so these are students that are here with us all day. We really want to make this room feel special. It’s kind of like their home away from home.”

While the before and after care classroom is receiving the bulk of the $50,000, the front lobby will receive the remainder of the funds with the installation of a sensory wall and a bubble tube.

Delivery of renovation items is expected on Dec. 20, with the “grand reveal” of the facility updates set for Jan. 6, 2025. Purchasing, delivery and installation costs are all covered by School Specialty.

“The Anna Mae Burdi Center is a wonderful space for the district’s youngest learners to learn and grow, and winning this grand prize highlights all the great things our staff does to provide for L’Anse Creuse preschool students,” Tony Sedick, interim director for elementary education, said via email. “It has been very exciting to work with School Specialty in providing this redesign for the classroom, and we look forward to seeing the final product in January.”

More information about the Anna Mae Burdi Center can be found at lc-ps.org/schools/district/burdi.