{"id":298010,"date":"2026-05-03T15:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T15:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/298010\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T15:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T15:12:11","slug":"scusd-considers-closing-edward-kelley-parent-participation-preschool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/298010\/","title":{"rendered":"SCUSD considers closing Edward Kelley parent participation preschool"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amanda Chapman stood before the Sacramento City Unified school board on Thursday and said the situation at the preschool she teaches at was dire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hanging on by a thread,\u201d Chapman told the board. \u201cBut I refuse to give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

It might not be enough.<\/p>\n

Chapman teaches at Edward Kelley Preschool, one of the district\u2019s final two parent participation preschools, which has been identified for closure because of SCUSD\u2019s ongoing budget woes. The district faces a $170 million deficit and possible state receivership.<\/p>\n

Closing Edward Kelley will save money \u2014 it and a similar program at Tahoe Elementary currently lose $228,000 annually. But parents who stood by Chapman on Thursday and more than 1,200 people who\u2019ve signed a petition to save Edward Kelley<\/a> aren\u2019t ready to see the preschool go just yet.<\/p>\n

\"Preschool Preschool teacher Amanda Chapman wipes away tears on Thursday as she explains what students, parents and staff stand to lose if the Edward Kelley parent participation preschool in Rosemont is shut down by the Sacramento City Unified School District. \u201cI am willing to waive my health benefits next year in order to help save this program,\u201d Chapman said. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com Why people care about Edward Kelley<\/p>\n

Chapman had many adults around her when she stood at the school board podium, with some of the adults holding a banner and even a couple of young children on-hand. Several parents spoke in support of saving the preschool.<\/p>\n

It was a testament, in part, to how well-regarded Chapman is as a teacher.<\/p>\n

Sarah Demshar\u2019s son Ira, 3, is currently in Chapman\u2019s class. Demshar is a preschool teacher herself, as she told The Bee during a phone interview on April 23, so she has an idea of everything Chapman does to make a difference.<\/p>\n

\"Teacher Teacher Amanda Chapman, center back, looks on as a preschooler shows off his stuffed animal during show-and-tell at Edward Kelley parent participation preschool in Rosemont on Thursday. Chapman takes pride in the educational decorations she has added to the historic schoolhouse, where she has taught for the past 10 years. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

\u201cOn any given day, she\u2019ll start with a really robust storytime where she teaches the kids about a subject,\u201d Demshar said. \u201cShe\u2019ll have books, she\u2019ll have printed-out pictures, she\u2019ll have diagrams and she\u2019ll really involve them in the process, way more than you even have to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there are the things Chapman does that go beyond lesson planning. \u201cShe really helped us with learning how to go potty at school,\u201d Demshar said. \u201cShe went above and beyond and set a timer on her phone to help my little guy, because he didn\u2019t want to stop playing and so he would just hold it as long as he could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alison Alexander\u2019s three-year-old daughter began at Edward Kelley in January. Alexander said the children adore Chapman. \u201cShe\u2019s very calm in a very chaotic environment,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cYou can just tell when someone\u2019s doing what they\u2019re supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Parents Parents Carrie Arguijo-Barnes, center, and Estrella Carew, right, help with a science project with their daughters and other students at Edward Kelley parent participation preschool in Rosemont on Thursday. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

What makes Edward Kelley different than a standard preschool is the involvement of parents. Chapman explained that the parents are essentially students as well and that she even includes them when she takes attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur parents become so confident with working in the classroom and understanding the development of their children that oftentimes our preschool parents leave and move on to their child\u2019s elementary school to be part of the PTA, to be the cafeteria workers, yard duties, office managers, classroom aides, volunteer on field trips.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chapman added, \u201cEven our former school board president came from parent participation preschool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Parent Parent Brian Hopkins helps students Liliana, 4, center, and Natalie, 4, right, make clay dinosaurs as they learn about prehistoric animals at Edward Kelley parent participation preschool in Rosemont on Thursday. Student artwork hangs above. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com A school with history<\/p>\n

From the outside, Edward Kelley looks like something from a different time, with wooden siding, a narrow front porch and a bell tower.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can feel the history of it when you\u2019re there,\u201d Chapman said.<\/p>\n

The school\u2019s front sign notes that it dates to 1869. The school was rebuilt following fires in the 1870s and 1897.<\/p>\n

It was once a one-room schoolhouse, serving eight grade levels, known as Brighton School that served the community of Brighton near what is now Sacramento State. It became a parent participation preschool in 1960<\/a> after closing as a regular school in 1953.<\/p>\n

\"The The Edward Kelley School, a former one-room schoolhouse that is now a parent participation preschool, stands on Bradshaw Road in Rosemont. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

It moved in the 1920s to Bradshaw Road on land donated by the current namesake of the school. \u201cEdward Kelley was a man who believed in public education enough to give a portion of his land to support this school,\u201d his descendant Mary MacNicholl told The Bee in 1982.<\/p>\n

Chapman remembers Edward Kelley Preschool from growing up in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would drive by when I was a kid and I always pictured \u2018Little House on the Prairie,\u2019\u201d Chapman said. \u201cBut my mom never knew there was preschool happening back then. Because even then they didn\u2019t advertise it very well. It\u2019s always been word of mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Teacher Teacher Amanda Chapman listens to Raelyn, 3, after she places magnets to form the letter X during a preschool lesson at Edward Kelley parent participation preschool in Rosemont on Thursday. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com Why Edward Kelley could be shut down<\/p>\n

SCUSD spokesperson Al Goldberg wrote in an email that the parent participation preschool programs at Edward Kelley and Tahoe Elementary cost the district roughly $345,000 while only generating about $117,000 in tuition revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike other Adult Education programs, Parent Participation Preschool requires funding through tuition to maintain adequate funding,\u201d Goldberg wrote. \u201cEnrollment for Parent Participation Preschool has been low for quite some time, but the enrollment issues have been exacerbated by the expansion of free Transitional Kindergarten by the State of California in the last few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chapman, who has taught at Edward Kelley for more than a decade and the district for 24 years in all, said that SCUSD once had 28 parent participation preschools.<\/p>\n

\"Teacher Teacher Amanda Chapman gently pats Natalie, 4, during a snack break at Edward Kelley parent participation preschool in Rosemont on Thursday. Chapman, who has taught at the historic school for the past 10 years, encourages parents to participate in classroom activities. \u201cPeople refer to this as a magical place for a child to be, and it truly is,\u201d Chapman said. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Goldberg wrote that while Tahoe Elementary\u2019s program will stay open for the 2026-27 school year as the board seeks \u201cadditional promotional opportunities to increase enrollment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The board took up a similar consideration in early 2025. At the time, Edward Kelley had eight students enrolled, Tahoe Elementary had 41 in three classes and Thomas Jefferson Preschool had 26 students between two classes. Overall, enrollment between the three preschools was at 40% of capacity, according to data from a presentation to the school board<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thomas Jefferson Preschool has since closed.<\/p>\n

During Thursday\u2019s school board meeting, parent Bryana Insixiengmay spoke in support of saving Edward Kelley. \u201cAt Edward Kelley, my child is known,\u201d Insixiengmay told the board. \u201cShe is seen. She is part of a real community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lily Holt said two of her children had graduated from Edward Kelley. \u201cPlease don\u2019t take away this opportunity and chance for my third child,\u201d Holt told the board.<\/p>\n

Chapman said in her interview for this story that she was willing to forgo her health benefits to keep Edward Kelley open. She repeated this offer when she addressed the school board.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to continue hope until I have to turn in my key,\u201d Chapman told The Bee. \u201cI have to hold on to hope, because this school is such an amazing place. It\u2019s one-of-a-kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennah Pendleton contributed to this report.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Graham Womack<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Graham Womack is a general assignment reporter for The Sacramento Bee. Prior to joining The Bee full-time in September 2025, he freelanced for the publication for several years. His work has won several California Journalism Awards and spurred state legislation.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amanda Chapman stood before the Sacramento City Unified school board on Thursday and said the situation at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-298010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}