New location, more classrooms, an indoor gym & double the space.
Starting Blocks Preschool is beginning a new chapter in a new space more than double its current size in the Anthem Commerce Park on the west side of I-17 to meet the growing demand of educating young learners as residential growth expands in nearby neighborhoods to the south.
The family-owned and operated year-round school has been a staple of the Anthem community for over five years, serving young learners ages 12 months to junior kindergarten (students who miss the age cut-off for kindergarten) in its current location near Crossroads Church, also in the Commerce Park.
Starting Blocks is currently the only Christian preschool in Anthem, and later this month the school will move to the space formerly occupied by Grace North Church, near the corner of 41st Drive and Opportunity Way.
The new 7,500-square-foot space will allow for two additional classrooms and an indoor gym for more space to play. Owner Nick Cicogna said the mission at Starting Blocks is to care for students and prepare them for kindergarten, while cultivating an environment in which students can mature both socially and academically.
Cicogna recalled how the popularity of the preschool evolved over the years, from the school’s initial launch in 2020 during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic to waitlists and the need for a bigger facility.
“The first year and a half was extremely hard in every aspect of running a business. Since then we have stayed focused on providing this community with an academically rigorous preschool, rooted in Christian values and truths,” he told Valley Vibe. “While providing a high standard of care to young students can come with many challenges we have stayed committed to the students. Seeing excelling graduates come back to visit years later with their now attending siblings is a beautiful thing. We now have waitlists and can’t wait to expand our reach with this bigger facility,” Cicogna said.
Renovations have been happening both inside and outside, including the installation of two new preschool-age specific outdoor playgrounds. The new space includes a spacious indoor gym with a glass garage door to allow natural light and the flexibility to offer a full indoor/outdoor play space when temperatures allow. The gym will also serve as a multi-use space for extracurricular activities, including the school’s weekly chapel times.
Students and families can expect a full-curriculum, structured learning environment in classrooms with tall ceilings and plenty of windows to allow for bright and open learning spaces.
“While the bones of the classrooms were mostly in place, Cicogna said of the new space, we did a great deal of updating the spaces to ensure they work for our preschoolers.”
Expansion plans had been in the works for the past couple of years, Cicogna told Valley Vibe, but finding the right space to suit the needs to operate a preschool was the challenge.
“My commercial realtor and I had turned over every stone from Anthem to Happy Valley in trying to find the right space. Finally, when we got word of a church vacating a property we knew we had to jump on it. Funny enough, it’s right across the street from our current location,” Cicogna said.
Tours are available and enrollment is conducted on an ongoing basis.
Starting Blocks Preschool
4135 W. Opportunity Way, Phoenix
623-551-9609
www.startingblockspreschool.com
By Karen Goveia
editor@valleyvibenews.com