As Sac City moves to close rustic schoolhouse preschool, families hope for reprieve
Amanda Chapman stood before the Sacramento City Unified school board on Thursday and said the situation at the preschool she teaches at was dire.
“I’m hanging on by a thread,” Chapman told the board. “But I refuse to give up.”
It might not be enough.
Chapman teaches at Edward Kelley Preschool, one of the district’s final two parent participation preschools, which has been identified for closure because of SCUSD’s ongoing budget woes. The district faces a $170 million deficit and possible state receivership.
Closing Edward Kelley will save money — it and a similar program at Tahoe Elementary currently lose $228,000 annually. But parents who stood by Chapman on Thursday and more than 1,200 people who’ve signed a petition to save Edward Kelley aren’t ready to see the preschool go just yet.
Why people care about Edward Kelley
Chapman had many adults around her when she stood at the school board podium, with some of the adults holding a banner and even a couple of young children on-hand. Several parents spoke in support of saving the preschool.
It was a testament, in part, to how well-regarded Chapman is as a teacher.
Sarah Demshar’s son Ira, 3, is currently in Chapman’s class. Demshar is a preschool teacher herself, as she told The Bee during a phone interview on April 23, so she has an idea of everything Chapman does to make a difference.
“On any given day, she’ll start with a really robust storytime where she teaches the kids about a subject,” Demshar said. “She’ll have books, she’ll have printed-out pictures, she’ll have diagrams and she’ll really involve them in the process, way more than you even have to.”
Then there are the things Chapman does that go beyond lesson planning. “She really helped us with learning how to go potty at school,” Demshar said. “She went above and beyond and set a timer on her phone to help my little guy, because he didn’t want to stop playing and so he would just hold it as long as he could.”
Alison Alexander’s three-year-old daughter began at Edward Kelley in January. Alexander said the children adore Chapman. “She’s very calm in a very chaotic environment,” Alexander said. “You can just tell when someone’s doing what they’re supposed to do.”
What makes Edward Kelley different than a standard preschool is the involvement of parents. Chapman explained that the parents are essentially students as well and that she even includes them when she takes attendance.
“Our parents become so confident with working in the classroom and understanding the development of their children that oftentimes our preschool parents leave and move on to their child’s elementary school to be part of the PTA, to be the cafeteria workers, yard duties, office managers, classroom aides, volunteer on field trips.”
Chapman added, “Even our former school board president came from parent participation preschool.”
A school with history
From the outside, Edward Kelley looks like something from a different time, with wooden siding, a narrow front porch and a bell tower.
“You can feel the history of it when you’re there,” Chapman said.
The school’s front sign notes that it dates to 1869. The school was rebuilt following fires in the 1870s and 1897.
It was once a one-room schoolhouse, serving eight grade levels, known as Brighton School that served the community of Brighton near what is now Sacramento State. It became a parent participation preschool in 1960 after closing as a regular school in 1953.
It moved in the 1920s to Bradshaw Road on land donated by the current namesake of the school. “Edward Kelley was a man who believed in public education enough to give a portion of his land to support this school,” his descendant Mary MacNicholl told The Bee in 1982.
Chapman remembers Edward Kelley Preschool from growing up in the area.
“We would drive by when I was a kid and I always pictured ‘Little House on the Prairie,’” Chapman said. “But my mom never knew there was preschool happening back then. Because even then they didn’t advertise it very well. It’s always been word of mouth.”
Why Edward Kelley could be shut down
SCUSD spokesperson Al Goldberg wrote in an email that the parent participation preschool programs at Edward Kelley and Tahoe Elementary cost the district roughly $345,000 while only generating about $117,000 in tuition revenue.
“Like other Adult Education programs, Parent Participation Preschool requires funding through tuition to maintain adequate funding,” Goldberg wrote. “Enrollment for Parent Participation Preschool has been low for quite some time, but the enrollment issues have been exacerbated by the expansion of free Transitional Kindergarten by the State of California in the last few years.”
Chapman, who has taught at Edward Kelley for more than a decade and the district for 24 years in all, said that SCUSD once had 28 parent participation preschools.
Goldberg wrote that while Tahoe Elementary’s program will stay open for the 2026-27 school year as the board seeks “additional promotional opportunities to increase enrollment.”
The board took up a similar consideration in early 2025. At the time, Edward Kelley had eight students enrolled, Tahoe Elementary had 41 in three classes and Thomas Jefferson Preschool had 26 students between two classes. Overall, enrollment between the three preschools was at 40% of capacity, according to data from a presentation to the school board.
Thomas Jefferson Preschool has since closed.
During Thursday’s school board meeting, parent Bryana Insixiengmay spoke in support of saving Edward Kelley. “At Edward Kelley, my child is known,” Insixiengmay told the board. “She is seen. She is part of a real community.”
Lily Holt said two of her children had graduated from Edward Kelley. “Please don’t take away this opportunity and chance for my third child,” Holt told the board.
Chapman said in her interview for this story that she was willing to forgo her health benefits to keep Edward Kelley open. She repeated this offer when she addressed the school board.
“I’m going to continue hope until I have to turn in my key,” Chapman told The Bee. “I have to hold on to hope, because this school is such an amazing place. It’s one-of-a-kind.”
Jennah Pendleton contributed to this report.
