New preschool and day care near Greystone plans August opening

Construction on a new Covenant Classical School and Daycare near Greystone is well under way, with a goal of being complete and open by August, the school’s CEO said.

The school and daycare is located in the Tattersall Park development off Alabama 119, along Greystone Way. It will cater to children ages 6 weeks to 6 years old, CEO John LaBreche said.

This will be the third Hoover location for Covenant Classical Schools and Daycare, joining others in Trace Crossings and on Valleydale Road near Southlake, LaBreche said. The school also has sites in Homewood, Pelham and Trussville, as well as two existing schools and a third under construction in the Huntsville area.

When asked why Covenant Classical wanted to open a site near Greystone, LaBreche said he has always lived in the Greystone area and coached soccer at the Greystone YMCA for the past 10 years or so.

“I just like that community and felt like there was a good demographic need,” he said. “This site just had everything we were looking for.”

He particularly felt that area needs a preschool and daycare with a Christian perspective and strong focus on academics, he said.

“We push the Bible pretty aggressively,” he said, noting his schools teach the 10 Commandments, Beatitudes and Biblical character traits and have daily Bible sessions.

Covenant Classical was started about 17 years ago uses Abeka curriculum for math and phonics-based reading instruction. Children who attend there typically score in the 96th and 97th percentile on SAT tests, and those who attend at least four years usually leave the school with a first-grade reading level or better, LaBreche said.

But the school tries to provide a balance between academics and fun and will have multiple play areas at the location near Greystone, including age-appropriate playgrounds, a covered porch area for play when it rains, a splash pad and soccer field, he said.

The 22,000-square-foot school being built off Greystone Way should be able to accommodate up to 280 children, though it may take some time to get to that student population level, LaBreche said. As of mid-January, more than 35 children already were signed up, he said.

The school will have 18 classrooms, with children being split up by age group, LaBreche said. He anticipates having 40 to 50 faculty and staff when the school reaches full capacity, he said.

The building has an open design with a lot of windows and glass to allow for natural light, green tinted glass to filter out UV rays and multiple security features, including cameras and biometric fingerprint scanners, he said.

TurnerBatson Architects designed the building, and construction is being handled by Murray Building Co., LaBreche said.

The building and land alone is a $6 million investment for Covenant Classical, and the total investment is higher with the cost of playground equipment, staffing and business operations, LaBreche said.

His company has been eyeing this location for a long time. There have been multiple changes with the Tattersall Park layout and development, and it took 26 months to close on the site, he said.

The facility will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Prices range from $230 a week for ages 2 ½ and older to $260 a week for infants through 1-year-olds. For more information, go to covenantclassical.com.