(Courtesy photo) Purple Panther Preschool teachers join Careers in Education program director Nicole Robinson, second from right, in front of a 50th anniversary display during last week's anniversary celebration. From left are Martine Cloutier, a Careers in Education I teacher; Judy Loftus, Careers in Education II teacher; Robinson; and Angela DeRusha, a Careers in Ecuation teacher and preschool special education specialist.

NASHUA — Aspiring career teachers Katelyn Krisak and Mia Bailey were just toddlers the first time a parent or school staff member led them by the hand through a set of purple-colored doors into a giant room where the color purple was noticably common.

At 3 or 4 years old, Katelyn and Mia and a couple of dozen boys and girls their age may have had difficulty at first pronouncing the name of their new school — Purple Panther Preschool, a minor tongue-twister even for some adults the first time around.

But it wasn’t long before Purple Panther Preschool was a household name for Katelyn and Mia, proud Purple Panther Preschool graduates and current high school students enrolled in the Careers In Education program, one of the numerous programs offered through the Nashua Technology Center.

The aspiring educators were among a steady stream of visitors, including parents, current and former high school and preschool students and city and School District leaders who gathered last week to help celebrate the Purple Panther Preschool’s 50th anniversary.

The open-house style event, with a brief speaking program, took place in the Ronald Jean Child Care Center at Nashua High School South, where the preschool opened in the newly-constructed Nashua Senior High School (today’s NHS South), three years after the program was launched in the former Nashua High School on Elm Street.

It all adds up to 50 years, a milestone that evoked plenty of reminiscing, triggered in large part by the 25 or so years worth of Purple Panther Preschool yearbooks displayed on tables for perusal.

Careers in Education, an elective, two-year program for juniors and seniors, typically enrolls 60 first-year students, which drops to about 40 the second year. The 20 or so students, on average, who depart after the first year did so after deciding a career in education wasn’t for them.

The first year is devoted to classroom instruction and working with the children in the preschool. In the second year, students apply for internships at local elementary schools, where they receive on-the-job training, once known as “student teaching.”

Nicole Robinson, for about 10 years the director of Purple Panther Preschool, said many of the high school students who enroll in Careers in Education had attended Purple Panther Preschool as toddlers.

“I’m one of them … I graduated from this program in 2005,” Robinson said, referring to the Careers in Education program.

She said the preschool is quite popular among parents looking for a suitable preschool for their children, who range in age from 3-5. There’s often a waiting list, and, Robinson said, they’ve never needed to advertise. “It’s always been all word of mouth,” she said.

Another Purple Panther Preschool alum who went on to become a very recognizable name in local education circles joined Mayor Jim Donchess and assistant superintendent of schools Mario Andrade in saying a few words to those present.

When he sat at a table — or on the floor for story time — as a toddler back some years ago, Keith Richard certainly had no idea he would one day occupy the principal’s office down the hall.

Richard’s parents, John and Sue Richard, are also Nashua High School graduates who went on to careers in education. And had the Purple Panther Preschool been around when they were toddlers, odds are they would be among its alumni.

In its earlier days, the Purple Panther Preschool was referred to as a “lab school” whose purpose was to “train teacher aides for early childhood centers,” according to an April 1977 Nashua Telegraph story

on the “Week of the Young Child.”

It was the duty of a “vocational guidance counselor” to place those “trained teacher aides” in “childhood centers” in need of teachers’ aides, according to the story.

For more information on the Purple Panther Preschool, including tuition rates, half-day programs and openings, contact Robinson, the preschool director, at 966-1141 or robinsonn@nashua.edu.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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