Our Shared History

Parental support has been at the core of the school from its very formation. Dr. Gloria Walther was the Director of a successful church-related preschool when the Pastor decided to terminate the school. The parents of the existing students, and also prospective ones, were distraught. So they asked what they could do to keep the school intact. They petitioned Gloria to spin out the school – forming her own preschool – and asked what it would take to do this.

First she needed a building. One of the parents was a realtor, and he found a run-down house in the same neighborhood that she was able to purchase. Then the school community really went to work. One person offered to act as our contractor in remodeling the property.  He prepared the plans, got the required governmental approvals, and directed the construction, working alongside many parent volunteers.

The papers were signed on the house in February of 1996, and the school opened in July of that year. The parents who had been involved in its birth were strongly united, sharing a deep sense of pride and ownership.

As time passed, the parents felt that this school was one worthy of continuing so that their children’s children would have a great place to begin their educations. And so, on July 1, 2014, the school became the non-profit Walther Foundation, Inc. so that it would be on these grounds in perpetuity.