After 27 years, Roberta Patterson is retiring as Rainbow Station preschool director
FREMONT - It is an end of an era for Rainbow Station Preschool and Daycare. After 27 years of teaching and nurturing young children, the preschool will close its doors when its longtime director, Roberta Patterson, retires on Aug. 31.
Patterson, or “Miss Berta” as she is called by the kids, has been the sole director of the preschool since it opened on Aug. 26, 1996.
Patterson estimates that she has cared for at least 1,000 children in that time. Leaving the work that she has loved for so long will be difficult, she said.
Miss Berta says she will miss the children's smiles and hugs
“It breaks my heart,” she said. “I’ll miss the kids, the laughter, the smiles, the hugs and watching them learn. I love watching them learn something for the first time and say, ‘I did it!’”
Those moments were especially poignant when a child faced developmental or personal challenges.
“I’ve accepted challenging kids when people said I shouldn’t, and it was exciting to watch them grow,” she said. “I had one guy come here with autism. He couldn’t speak, and when he left, he could carry on a conversation.”
Teaching young children was a life calling for Patterson, who earned a degree in early childhood education from Terra State Community College.
“It has always been my prayer to work in a Christian daycare. I’ve always been interested in teaching young kids,” she said. “My mom said that when I was little, I played school and my sisters were the students who wouldn’t listen.”
Rainbow Station is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church. It was not the church’s plan to shut the daycare doors when Patterson retired, but staffing issues are forcing the closure.
“They have not been able to find a director to replace me. People want to be a director or a teacher, but not both, so we can’t find anyone. Sadly, we can thank COVID for that,” Patterson said. “I’ve been praying for the families who are still searching for a new preschool. Not every place is a good fit for every child.”
After retirement, Patterson will continue doing what she loves as she cares for her daughter’s infant twins.
“I won’t be paid in money, but I’ll be paid in memories,” she said.
And Patterson will have the years of memories she made with Rainbow Station children.
Former Rainbow Station children, families invited to celebration
“We often took walks on the bike trail to the river. Kids see things we don’t. There are alligators in the river and dinosaurs and sharks,” she said. “It’s all in the eyes of a child.”
While she carries her memories with her, Patterson hopes the hundreds of children under her care still carry her teaching with them.
“The most important thing I wanted them to learn is that God loves us all and wants us to be kind to each other because he created everyone,” she said.
Former Rainbow Station children and their families are invited to share memories and say goodbye to Patterson during a Celebration of Service for her and the staff from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 17 in the social room of First Presbyterian Church at 120 South Park Ave. in Fremont.
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Rainbow Station Preschool to close when Roberta Patterson retires
