More Than a School: The Story Behind Our Building

By, Katie Brandow, LCSW

If you’ve driven through Northeast Bend, you’ve probably passed our building without realizing what happens inside.

To many people, it’s a pair of charming schoolhouses tucked into the neighborhood.

To us, it’s home.

School of Enrichment has been serving families in Bend for nearly 20 years, but this building almost didn’t become ours.

In 2019, after nearly a decade in another location, we learned we would need to find a new home with very little notice. What followed was one of the most challenging seasons in our school’s history. We navigated the small business loan process, purchased two vacant schoolhouses and completed extensive renovations, all within an incredibly short period of time so we could reopen for our families without interruption. We didn’t have other close a single day and we’re proud of that.

It was exhausting, overwhelming and, at times, uncertain.

But something incredible happened during that season.

Our family showed up. Our friends showed up. And our teachers showed up. Parents gave us grace and were SO excited for us.

Some spent their entire weekend helping move classrooms, unpack supplies and prepare the building for children. Two of our teachers were in the middle of moving into their own homes at the same time, yet they still chose to spend their free time helping build ours. That generosity is something we’ll never forget.

Together, we transformed two abandoned buildings into the warm, welcoming preschool that thousands of children have called their second home over the years.

Today, when families walk through our doors, they see bright classrooms, laughter, artwork covering the walls and children learning through play. What they don’t always see or understand is the incredible community that made it all possible.

Every classroom, every playground adventure and every joyful moment happening here today exists because so many people believed in this school and worked together to create it.

If you’ve ever wondered what those little schoolhouses are when you drive by, now you know.

It’s more than a preschool. It’s a place built by a community that believed children deserve a space where they feel safe, known and loved. And for that, we’ll always be grateful.