3 decades of 3-year-olds
June 18, 2008
By Ari Cetron
Lynda Schupp to close preschool after 31 years
Lynda Schupp opened her own preschool at the urging of a friend who was disappointed with the current offerings in Sammamish.
“She told me, ‘Lynda, you can do better than this,’” Schupp said.
So, in January 1977, she did just that and has spent the last 31 years tending to the needs of more than 350 of the plateau’s 3- and 4-year olds from her home-based school.
“I have loved being a small part of my preschooler’s lives,” she said. “It was just my gift from God that I was able to find a job that meant this much to me.”
After 31 years, however, she decided she needed to end it.
“Its was just time,” she said. “You kind of know that. It’s interesting.”
When she started teaching, her house on 216th Avenue was the only one around.
Her children were bussed to Redmond Elementary, and there were even fewer stores on the plateau than there are today.
“My mother-in-law thought I had moved to the ends of the earth,” Schupp said. “There was no bank. There were no stores. You did everything in one day when you went to town.”
It wasn’t long, however, before other houses started to sprout up around her, a change that Schupp welcomed, because it meant a chance for her children to have playmates.
While the city changed and grew around her, Schupp remained largely the same, said Sue Campau. Campau had children in Schupp’s first and second classes.
“She has a way to make children feel special, Campau said. “It isn’t just a profession for her, it’s a passion.”
Schupp is known for keeping involved in her student’s lives, Campau said. Most of the students who stayed in the area would get a card from her at their high school graduation, which Schupp often attended.
Schupp even found herself invited to the occasional graduate’s wedding, such as former student Erica Tidball.
“She was great with all of the kids. She really cared about us,” Tidball said.
Tidball lived in the neighborhood and remained close friends with Schupp. “She is just one of the kindest, most selfless people you could meet.”
Current students, like Russell Johnson, 5, are also fond of the woman they call Miss Lynda. Russell said he likes her, ‘a lot,’ and that, “She teaches us a lot and I really like when she teaches us.”
He then went back to playing with some blocks.
Other changes
Beyond the changes in the city, Schupp has witnessed changes in educational philosophy, some of which she doesn’t cater to.
When she started teaching, not as much was expected of the children.
Now, parents are trying to set their children on a trajectory for the Ivy League, and many enter kindergarten already reading and doing simple math.
“There is more pressure to go there, knowing that,” Schupp said.
She does not entirely approve. Her students would certainly be able to write their names, and learn basics like colors, numbers, and shapes, but they would not learn to read.
Instead, they will learn how to get along with their peers.
“I think the most important part of my school is the social aspect,” Schupp said. “It’s learning through games and learning through fun. They’re little kids. They need to play.”
To help encourage that philosophy, Schupp, over the years, transformed her house into a pre-schooler’s paradise.
There is a large room dedicated to the children’s play area, along with a long table (with the legs sawed off, so it’s sized properly for 4-year olds) where they have lessons and do art projects.
Her backyard has big grassy areas with swings and trees, and a paved plaza for rainy-day play.
Former parent Nancy Bottko liked the philosophy. She said her children learned what they needed in a fun, loving atmosphere.
“They would always come home with funny little songs or finger play poems,” she said.
And the children were always happy to go and learn.
“The kids were very excited to get up and go to miss Lynda’s,” Bottko said. “As far as I’m concerned, the woman walks on water.”
Current parent Haven Scholz agrees.
“She has meant a lot to a lot of people,” Scholz said. “The plateau is just a better place because of her.”
Next steps
Schupp’s school, which would run about three days a week, would normally be over for the summer around this time, so she expects this transition into summer to be fairly typical.
“I think its going to be September when I say, ‘Oh, wait, I don’t have a school calendar,’” she said.
Her husband is also going into semi-retirement and the two plan to have some long weekends together.
They have a cabin on Whidbey Island where they’ll likely spend some time, Schupp said. However, she has no plans to leave Sammamish.
“We love it up here,” she said.
She’ll also be able to spend more time with her grandchildren.
Schupp said she will truly miss her school, and especially miss the relationships and support she has found with her student’s mothers, but she vowed to remain a part of the community.
“I don’t want to become isolated in this little house,” Schupp said.
Editor Ari Cetron can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 233, or samrev@isspress.com.
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I still have fond memories of my first experience with finger painting in her class. As well as developing friendships with my classmates that endure to this day. Thanks Linda Pinda, we love you, and cherish the memories.