Titan Tots: Trinity Early Childhood Education Center nears completion

Dec. 19—DICKINSON — Trinity Catholic Schools has experienced a surge in enrollment since 2019, going from 47 kindergarten students to 76 this year. To accommodate this growth and provide extended childcare for students, Trinity is constructing a new early childhood center.

The new center, which began construction in March 2022, is set to open in the fall of 2023 and will have eight classrooms on the first floor for pre-K students and additional K-4 classrooms on the second floor. The extended care offering will allow parents to drop their young children off as early as 7:30 a.m. and pick them up as late as 6 p.m.

DeAnn Scheeler, director of mission advancement, said they've worked closely with Bishop David Kagan and the Diocese of Bismarck.

"We presented the plan of building an early childhood center next to Queen of Peace. And he said, 'You need to build two levels, and you need to make room for more elementary,'" Scheeler said.

Scheeler was initially unsure if the extra elementary space would be necessary, but said the Bishop's vision proved prescient, noting that when people have to take children elsewhere for daycare, they're less likely to view Trinity as the most convenient option once their children reach school age.

Currently Trinity provides two, three and five-day per week half-day pre-K education for approximately 120 kids. Opening the new center will allow them to offer daycare for the other half of the day when children aren't in preschool and enable them to expand that number to about 150.

Construction began in March 2022. The new building has eight classrooms for early childhood on the first floor, with a small rotunda in the middle of the hallway where kids will be able to gather, put on performances for each other or listen to a guest speaker.

"We didn't want it to be like a big bowling lane. When you think about little voices and how they carry in a straight tunnel... so we wanted to coffer this out to allow for better sound, allow the building to breathe and not feel so institutional," Trinity President Marya Skaare said.

The second floor will house additional K-4 classes beginning in the fall of 2024. The parking lot will be separate, with the EC drop-off area facing the opposite direction of the high school to mitigate safety risks.

In accordance with state education guidelines, all early childhood classrooms have their own bathrooms. The new kindergarten room also has its own bathroom. Skaare said Trinity's East and West Elementary Schools have gotten interior upgrades in recent years as well.

Both women praised Marc Mellmer, Trinity alumnus and manager at J.E. Dunn Construction, for his leadership. J.E. Dunn is the primary contractor.

"He really has been nimble in terms of adjusting what we're doing on the project," Scheeler said, adding that he saved the school money by switching to a brick exterior after finding a discount.

Skaare expressed astonishment at how well everything has fallen into place so smoothly.

"We couldn't have done all this on our own. The beautiful thing about being a part of a project like this is you get that sense of that divine inspiration — humans being used to affect his (God's) will in really lovely ways," Skaare said.

She noted that priests are very active at all levels of Trinity education. She said nuns from the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus, a new convent in Dickinson, are assisting as well. Trinity Elementary East students attend mass every morning. She stressed the importance of incorporating faith into a child's everyday life to make it more than just something the do for one hour every Sunday.

"It's just so uplifting just to hear small children greet the pastor, that morning mass is so sweet," she said.

A library in the new building will provide teachers with a space to better promulgate the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a religious curriculum for the youngest Catholic minds.

"It's really remarkable what they're able to achieve in terms of helping littles to understand sacred spaces. Getting little kids into contemplative prayer has been really amazing to see, and allowing their families to experience that too," Skaare said. "It's been very effective for three and four year olds to experience the Holy Spirit in really profound ways. I think it's unexpected even for their parents until they witness it. We want this space to allow us to grow in that direction and to just be that answer for our young Catholic families seeking greater enrichment of faith for their kids."

The expansion was necessary to meet the demand of Dickinson's vibrant Catholic community. She said they've had a long waiting list for several years.

"We decided we're not fulfilling our mission if we're telling kids and families that they can't have access to Catholic education at that pre-K level," Skaare said. "It got to be too many years of saying 'we don't have the space.' Now we need to do something about it. With the support of some very generous donors who share in that vision and share our mission, who want as many kids who want Catholic education as possible to have that opportunity we said let's make it happen. And that's what we're standing in today."