Harvest Preparatory experiencing ‘exponential' growth

Harvest Preparatory Academy is growing, and with that growth comes the need for additional classrooms.

Mario Ybarra, chief executive officer/principal, reported that because of its ongoing waiting list of students, the academy entered into an agreement with the City of Yuma to lease the old Parks and Recreation building at 1793 S. 1st Ave. to house its preschool program.

“We have been experiencing exponential growth,” he said. “We have a waiting list right now of 122 kindergartners, 55 preschoolers at our San Luis site and 30 here in Yuma.”

The new location is in close proximity to its existing Yuma campus, he explained, helping to better serve the community with its centralized location.

Through its partnership with the city and First Things First, the academy was able to receive additional funding for the preschool site to offset its out-of-pocket costs for the facility.

“We approached the city about a year ago to see if they would be interested in partnering with us and they were,” Ybarra said. “So this school year we decided to go ahead and move forward with our expansion.”

The new classrooms will provide room for 20 additional students, said preschool director Melissa Espinoza, adding that Harvest Prep established a preschool on its campus three years ago but the space has become too small.

The building is being completely remodeled on the inside, said Sophia Cazares, project manager.

The grand opening will take place on Aug. 1 during which time the academy will hold an orientation for parents and students to create a smooth transition for the first day of school on Aug. 15, said Espinoza.

Additionally, with this expansion comes the opening of two new positions, which in turn creates job opportunities for the community, said Minerva Flores-Carrazco, operations assistant/public liaison.

She said both positions require early childhood credentials and will be posted online at www.harvestprep.com.

Sarah Womer can be reached at swomer@yumasun.com or 539-6858.