Saline Grows Early Childhood Programs at Liberty School

On a recent morning at Liberty School, preschool students moved from story time to art tables, building toys and outdoor play.

In one classroom, children gathered around a district librarian for a weather song and a spring story. In other rooms, students colored, played with dolls, built with large magnetic tiles and explored areas set up for books, art and sensory play. Outside, children took turns on bikes, swings, slides and a hornet-shaped playground toy.

The morning offered a look at how Saline Area Schools is using Liberty School for early childhood programming as the district prepares to expand tuition-free preschool options for the 2026-27 school year.

Jackelyn Martin, executive director of communications and community relations for Saline Area Schools, and Sarah Barth, the district’s early childhood program specialist, met with The Sun Times News at Liberty School to discuss the expansion and the way the district is reworking space to serve more children before kindergarten.

Saline already offers multiple opportunities. For next school year, the district plans to expand those options.

The expansion also means finding more room inside Liberty School, a building that has changed roles over the years. Liberty opened in the 1950’s as Saline High School and later housed middle school grades. Today, it is home to several district programs and services.

Martin and Barth showed a shared room that is expected to be converted into preschool classroom space. The room has been used by multiple programs for large-movement activities and indoor play when weather limits outdoor time.

As preschool grows, the district is looking at how to make better use of the space it already has. Liberty School is home to early childhood programs, community education, early childhood special education, alternative high school, young adult programming and other services.

The local work comes as Michigan continues to expand PreK for All statewide. State officials announced in March that nearly 55,000 children were enrolled in the Great Start Readiness Program, the state’s primary PreK for All program, as of January. The state said that was the highest enrollment in the program’s history.

For Saline families, the expansion is meant to create more early learning opportunities while keeping preschool connected to the district’s broader support system.

More information is available on the Saline Area Schools Early Childhood Programs website. https://tinyurl.com/Salinepreschool

Featured photo: A Saline Area Schools district librarian leads a classroom activity with preschool students at Liberty School during a monthly visit. Photo by Heather Finch