Last day of preschool for special-needs students

PORTSMOUTH

"This is it, guys - the last day for our honey bunnies," staffer Tammy Moone's voice rang out Wednesday morning through the intercom at DAC Center, the school division's preschool for special-needs students. "Please make sure to have a lot of tissue on hand. I know you're going to need it."

Moments later, teachers and staff members greeted children as they got off buses. It was the last day they'd do so at DAC, the Diagnostic, Adjustive and Corrective Center, which closed its doors to preschoolers for good Wednesday after more than 40 years of operation.

Judi Dixon, a DAC teacher, said she'd miss the small school's family atmosphere. Glenna Cade, a paraprofessional at DAC for 20 years, said she'd miss the building and everything else.

DAC's 60-some students will be dispersed to four other preschools in the city, one of which will be new. That's Olive Branch Elementary, which will become Olive Branch Preschool Center. There, DAC Principal Lois J. Rieckhoff will take the helm, overseeing about 208 students.

About 20 DAC teachers and paraprofessionals will go to Olive Branch and the city's other preschool centers. Around 20 other staffers will work in schools throughout the division, Rieckhoff said.

"It's an emotional time, but I'm really looking forward to a new beginning," Rieckhoff said. Former DAC students will go to school with regular-education students, and that's a good thing, she said.

About 98 percent of DAC students have a speech or articulation deficit, Rieckhoff said. One of the best ways to develop their speech, she said, is to hear "children talking so they have a model to go by."

Meanwhile, as its students go on to new schools and experiences, DAC will house specialized division programs for a year and then be razed, schools spokeswoman Maureen Mizelle said. A road will eventually run through its current site.

Cheryl Ross, (757) 446-2443, cheryl.ross@pilotonline.com