The day Martinsville opened its new pre-K building, complete with bright classrooms, new furniture, fresh curricula, and even a playground designed just for the youngest learners, it was more than just a ribbon-cutting. For Principal Sheri Cooper, it was the realization of an 18-year dream. For first-year teacher Julia Seaman, it was a homecoming.

The building itself is a testament to what happens when vision meets action. Superintendent Bob Waggoner, in his very first year, made the project a priority. “People had been dreaming and talking about it for over a decade,” Cooper explained. “But Bob took action, and in one year, it was done.”

The result is more than walls and windows. It’s a place designed to meet children at the very start of their educational journeys. “Learning really begins here,” Cooper emphasized. “If we don’t get it right at pre-K, we’re going to struggle to get them excited about learning later.”

Inside, preschoolers have access to everything from Promethean boards to shelves of age-appropriate toys. Outside, they explore their own playground, safely separate from older children. Over the summer, the school added a basketball and pickleball court that doubles as a bike pad, complete with 15 brand-new tricycles and bicycles. It’s learning in motion, kinetic and playful, in the safest of spaces.

For Julia Seaman, the new building represents something else: her first classroom in the very school where she herself was once a student. A 2019 Martinsville graduate, Julia is teaching three- and four-year-olds in the same district where her own love for learning began.

Her story comes full circle through a personal connection—Cooper, now the principal, was Julia’s kindergarten teacher. “I remember her room,” Julia laughed. “It was bright pink, decorated with horses, and I was obsessed with horses. I used to draw her horse pictures all the time.”

That bond never faded. Julia originally considered speech pathology, but her experiences volunteering with young children during high school drew her toward education. Later, at Millikin University, she added endorsements in special education and ESL, determined to be ready for whatever her students might need.

Now she finds herself back where it all started, standing in front of her own Martinsville preschool class. “It’s only been a month, but I really like it,” she said. “Their brains are sponges right now, and it’s so fun to teach them everything I can.”

Julia’s passion for teaching is rooted in something deeper than curriculum. During her training in Decatur, she encountered students whose lives were shaped by challenges far beyond the classroom. “I remember a little boy telling me, ‘My dad gets out of prison today, and I get to see him,’” she recalled. “He was so excited. It hit me then—I wanted to be here for kids like that.”

Those moments still guide her. “I want these kids to love school,” Julia said simply. “I want them to be excited to be here every day.”

Cooper sees the same spark she noticed years ago. “As a teacher, you dream of seeing your students succeed,” she said, a little teary-eyed. “To watch Julia come back and teach here—it’s incredibly rewarding.”

At its core, Martinsville’s pre-K program is about more than letters and numbers. It’s about socialization—helping children learn to play with others, to share space, to recognize that the world is bigger than themselves. “By the end of preschool, kids begin to recognize there are others outside themselves,” Julia explained. “That’s huge.”

Playful learning is at the heart of it. From imaginative games to cooperative play on the new bike pad, every activity builds skills children will carry forward. “They learn everything through play right now,” Julia said. “That’s how they discover how to be around others.”

Julia also appreciates the practical support that makes her job easier. Grants have provided resources and supplies that might otherwise come out of her own pocket. “It’s phenomenal,” she said. “It’s very weird, in a good way, to not have to buy everything myself. Martinsville is lucky in that way.”

The community, too, is supportive. While the preschool playground remains gated for safety, the pride in what the district has built is shared by all. “This program is ever-growing,” Cooper said. “And that’s a great thing.”

Julia doesn’t know what the future holds, but she’s committed to Martinsville for the long haul. “I like it here. I’ve got a lot of support.”

For Cooper, watching a former kindergartener step into the role of teacher is its own reward. “She’s phenomenal,” she said. “Seeing that kind of success come full circle—it’s very special.”

And so in Martinsville, the foundation for learning is not only being laid for three- and four-year-olds, but also for a new generation of educators. It’s proof that when a community invests in its youngest children, the return is far greater than anyone can measure.