By Tyler Dahlgren

Dr. Mark Lenihan stood on the sun-splashed pavement outside of the main entrance to the Wayne Early Learning Center and thanked the people who made the dazzling new facility possible.

It was a Friday morning, the first day of August. School wouldn’t be in session for another two weeks, but passersby wouldn’t know it by the packed parking lot and large crowd assembled in front of the Wayne Community Schools superintendent. Students, families and community members waited eagerly to get a peak at the new school, which will house Pre-K through second-grade.

After the ribbon was cut, they came pouring in, snagging a cookie on the way. What followed was wide eyes and, from the young students especially, excited giggles. WCS student services director Misty Beair couldn’t stop smiling.

“When we were working with the designers on this, one of the things we talked about quite a bit was to make this building feel as inviting as possible,” said Beair. “We wanted our students and visitors to feel like they are supposed to be here. We wanted it to feel warm. It’s the most inviting, amazing place in the state.”

Beair’s not wrong. The Wayne Early Learning Center is bright, welcoming and oozing with positive energy. It was also a tremendous need, one identified by a community group put together to assess facility needs before the pandemic. The idea was shelved until November of 2022, when a recommendation was brought to the Board of Education. The bond passed successfully four months later, and ground broke in October of 2023.

“We’re very proud of the end product,” said Haussman Construction’s Mitch Connot. “CWP, the design team, and Morrissey Engineering did an amazing job designing the building. It’s very unique. You won’t see another one like it anywhere else in Nebraska. There’s a lot of awesome little things that are specific to the early learning ages that kids are going to enjoy and the community is going to be proud of for a long time to come.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house that followed was the first of millions of memories that will be made inside these walls for many years to come, an investment by the community into the school district and the school district into the community.

“It means growth,” said principal Courtney Maas. “The comradery of the community coming together to put this beautiful building here, it’s just amazing. Everyone has worked together, from the city people redesigning a sign for us to figuring out how the traffic flow is going to work, it’s been such an expansive, team-wide effort.”

Connot said that the smiles on the kids’ faces was the perfect payoff for a project his team has been married to for two years. Luke Virgil, director of economic development for Wayne America, said the school is a huge win for early childhood development, a commitment WCS has long-prioritized.

“We know that early childhood is an issue across the state, so it’s great to see our local district really stepping up to the plate to help out with it,” Virgil, who spoke to the crowd after Lenihan, said.

Maas said that the Early Learning Center signified growth, and that’s an exciting prospect for a forward-minded school district and community. In years prior, WCS had over 500 students under one elementary roof. This facility will help the district better meet the needs of kids. It’s a better place to learn, a more attractive place to teach.

“When we’re recruiting staff, we’ll be able to bring them here and show them this,” said Lenihan. “We’re fortunate to have a great relationship with Wayne State. There’s not a day in the school year where there’s not several Wayne State students here, whether we hire them as paras in the kitchen or if there’s student teaching or substitute teaching. For them to see this will help a lot.”

It’ll help keep teachers around, too, said Lenihan. Lisa Meyer has taught kindergarten in Wayne for 17 years. She’s switched buildings several times over the years, but sitting in her bright new classroom, with a big smile on her face, she’s never looked more at home.

“It’s so exciting,” said Meyer, whose new room even has its own bathroom (a big deal for a classroom full of five and six-year-olds). “What’s even more fun is that we get to have the littles with us now. The preschoolers are going to add a whole new fun dimension. We were always the babies, the littlest ones. Now we get to be the older kids. It’s going to be so fun.”

Sarah Oltjenbruns is the school’s librarian. Over the summer, she acquired nearly 500 new books for her room, which was a popular stop during the open house.

“It feels great,” Oltjenbruns said of her new surroundings. “A lot of people have put a lot of work into the library. It’s been a long process, but I think the kids will love it.”

The inclusive playground is worthy of a story itself. It wasn’t quite ready for use, but kids raved about it nonetheless.

“It’s very exciting for the community, for the kids and the teachers,” said first-grade teacher Kathy Ostrand. “It’s a beautiful, bright building. Some of our previous first-graders said, ‘Why didn’t we get a playground like that?’ It is just beautiful.”

The doors to the Wayne Early Learning Center stayed open until six, with a steady stream of students and patrons coming for their first look. 

“The partnerships we have with the City of Wayne, with Wayne State and all of the industries in town, those are so valuable and this wouldn’t have been possible without them,” said Lenihan. “The community has really invested in this, and we get so much support from our city and from community groups. I think this just helps enhance that because they get to see something they did that made a difference.”

In towns like Wayne the school is often the central hub, said Sherry Jones, Nebraska State Board of Education member representing District 6 and a retired teacher with 35 years of classroom experience.

“I just wanted to be here today to share in their excitement,” Jones said. “Having been out of education for eight years, I always like to get back in the schools. I stay in touch with what’s going on as much as I can, and I’m very grateful to be a part of today.”

Maas believes that all children deserve the best, no matter their background or where they come from. And this building, she continued, is the very best.

“They deserve everything that this is,” said Maas.

It was a heartwarming start to something new in Wayne. On the morning of August 14th, young students strapped with backpacks will walk into those front doors for the first time, a bright start to a new school year.

They’ll make their first memories at the Wayne Early Learning Center.

The first of millions.