Sugar Grove Developmental Day School Celebrates the Season
Community Christmas party held last week

Brian Crutchfield from BREMCO, Karen Powell from Skyline, Lee Marshall from Children’s Council, Board Members, staff, parents, and community members helped Sugar Grove Developmental Day School (SGDDS) celebrate retiring its loans on Wednesday, December 17th at a Christmas Party in the Cove Creek Preservation & Development (CCP&D) Conference Room.

Brian Crutchfield made the analogy of the final loan payment to paying off the mortgage on a private home and emphasized the importance of this project to western Watauga County. Karen Powell acknowledged Skyline’s feeling of pride in being associated with this project and remarked that everyone associated with SGDDS must certainly be proud of this monumental accomplishment. Laurie Percival-Oates, Chair of the Board, thanked everyone who contributed their time and talent to the success of this project and introduced staff members who were able to attend in shifts while their colleagues watched over the children.

Staff at SGDDS include: Tawnya Tester, Director; Kelia Caudill, Business Manager; Debbie Scholl, Lead Teacher for the Infant Room (ages 8 weeks to ~15 months), assisted by Julie Reary and Parker Van Allen; Hollie Scholl, Lead Teacher in the Toddler Room (ages ~15 months to ~24 months) assisted by Sarah Alderson; Deanna Taylor, Lead Teacher for the Early Preschool Room; and Lucinda Green, Lead Teacher for the Preschool Room is. Beth Potter is the cook and LaShea Cowan provides classroom support wherever needed.

The mission of SGDDS is to provide quality daycare to meet the needs of families of western Watauga County and surrounding areas; the Board has always considered that part of our mission is to serve the less fortunate in our community. We accomplish that by being the ONLY nonprofit daycare in Watauga and the surrounding counties, and the ONLY daycare that offers sliding scale tuition based on family income. SGDDS also serves as an Emergency Food Bank for families with children in daycare as well as families in proximity to our school.

In addition to the currently repaid no-interest loans, SGDDS has been the recipient of numerous grants and financial gifts that have been so crucial to the success and financial stability of the daycare during this time of loan repayment. Donors include: The High Country United Way, The Marian Stedman Covington Foundation, The Waggoner Foundation, Sam’s Club Foundation, The Lovett Foundation, The Mast General Store, The BREMCO Foundation, Valle Fair, The Wooly Worm Festival, The High Country Women’s Fund, and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. For a complete list of all the donors to our nonprofit daycare, see our website: http://www.sgdds.org/donors.html.