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Teacher Proposes Pre-Kindergarten Prep School

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By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 13, 2008

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LAKE MAGDALENE - A Hillsborough County teacher is hoping to open a preschool geared to preparing children for kindergarten at the Cathedral of Jesus of Nazareth.

Ella Doherty, 68, wants to enroll 3- and 4-year-olds at the Academy for Bright and Gifted Children, the proposed 50-student preschool at 14322 N. Boulevard.

Doherty, who teaches young offenders at Leslie Peters Halfway House, would convert the church's 2,045-square-foot social hall into the preschool. She has applied for a special-use permit to allow for the child care facility.

The church is one of the congregations of the Philippine Independent Catholic Church, where Doherty is a member.

Doherty, who has taught for 25 years, said she ran a similar preschool in Queens, N.Y., for 10 years before moving to Tampa in 2002.

"I think that I could well use my talent for preschool because I am concentrating on their readiness skills in math and reading, so when they go into kindergarten, they are ready," she said. "Some kids are not ready at all for kindergarten. They know the concepts but not the abstract."

The focus at the Academy for Bright and Gifted Children also will be on computer literacy, she said.

The number of classes and teachers will depend on how many children are enrolled, but the state ratios require one teacher for every 20 children, she said.

A zoning hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. July 15 in the boardroom on the second floor of the County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd.

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

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