Aug 29 in Success Stories
Written by: sarah
LaFontaine Preparatory School will have an official ribbon cutting ceremony on August 2, 2011 at 116 Meridian Way, Suite 2, across the street from the Richmond Centre. The new school is a structured pre-kindergarten setting with half-day sessions for morning and afternoon offering art, dance, yoga, music, and technology. Gus LaFontaine is the owner and administrator of the facility. LaFontaine graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2001 with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and earned his Master’s degree in Instructional Leadership in 2008. LaFontaine has taught first grade at Waco Elementary and fourth grade at St. Mark Catholic School before being deployed to Afghanistan, where he spent a year. LaFontaine was commissioned as lieutenant in 2009 and has served in the Kentucky National Guard since 1998. He said his deployment was a blessing in disguise, allowing him to realize his dream and save money to open the LaFontaine Preparatory School.
While in Afghanistan, LaFontaine was referred to the Eastern Kentucky University Small Business Development Center. Michael Rodriguez, Director of the Center and John Preston, Management Consultant were able to assist through e-mail the basics of starting an academic based pre-kindergarten school and made the necessary contacts with the Eastern Kentucky Child Care Coalition for regulations and licensure information. Upon returning in February of 2011, LaFontaine began looking for a location and working out most of the details and tasks in order to get his business up and running.
LaFontaine Preparatory School is a structured program for four-year-old learners with a top-notch curriculum and a vision to give children a solid foundation to draw upon as they move into kindergarten and beyond. The goal of the school is to deliver a diverse experience in the arts. Classes start September 6, 2011. To learn more about the school, visit the school’s website at www.lafontaineprep.org or call (859) 582-9405.
