Walking into the Faith Family Fellowship preschool, formerly Chi Alpha Academy, one may pass by brightly colored decorated walls, cubicles housing lunch boxes, and you may hear the gentle strains of children singing.

The teacher is teaching the children the song of the inchworm, and letting them measure assorted green plants with an inchworm ruler to help them learn the letter “I.” School is now in session.

With the closing of Chi Alpha Academy on July 31, Faith Family Fellowship is now focusing on its preschool program for children ages 2-5, said David Stevens, associate pastor of education and administration.

Stevens said he has seen the population of Spanish Fort increase in the last few years, particularly with new families from other parts of the country moving in.

Stevens said that the largest enrollment Chi Alpha ever had was 285 students.

One reason that Chi Alpha closed its doors was competition from the new public schools in the area, namely Rockwell Elementary, Spanish Fort Elementary and Spanish Fort High School

Many of the Chi Alpha students now go to Central Christian School in Robertsdale and public schools in Daphne and Spanish Fort, Stevens said.

He added that teachers have relocated to other schools, some Christian and some public.

The reaction to the school’s closing was sadness rather than negativity, Stevens said, since the ministry has been here since the 1980s.

Stevens’ children, Zack and Savannah, had both attended Chi Alpha.

“We have passed the torch to other Christian schools,” Stevens said. “The goal of the preschool is to provide a foundation for preschoolers, both academically and spiritually.”

Stevens is the administrator of the preschool program and is responsible for the overall planning and operation of the school. He visits the preschool every day and knows a lot of the children from the church or the community.

School admission is open to the public and all denominations and races are welcome, he said adding that the ratio of males to female is about equal.

Director Angela Weissgerber handles the day-to-day operations. Teachers invest in the children and often go the extra mile and want to help the parents and the children, she said.

“This is a developmental preschool and they will get what they need for kindergarten,” she said.

Weissberger, who has been a teacher there for five years and the director since February 2006, has first hand knowledge as a parent also, with all three of her children attending preschool there.

The school follows the A BEKA system, which is a based on excellence in education from a Christian perspective.

“I consider them my kids,” Weissgerber said of the students. “They are a great bunch and I look forward to seeing them every morning.”

The first day of school for the preschool program was Aug. 9 and after school-care is offered. The preschool program follows the same calendar schedule as Baldwin County schools to make it easier on the parents, as parents may have children in other schools.

The maximum number of children the school can accommodate is 75, and according to figures provided by the school, 63 students had enrolled as of last week.

The church will start building a new playground soon for the preschool which should be ready by the spring of 2008. The facilities director is meeting with all kinds of different people getting input on the playground, Stevens said.

Mothers of Preschoolers, a national ministry program will begin in September, and Faith Family Fellowship is starting a chapter as well. The church also offers Mom’s Day Out, which is available Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The preschool was remodeled over the summer with new, brighter wall colors and new themes. The preschool is not the only entity in the building, Stevens said. When Chi Alpha was in the building, it was somewhat difficult to coordinate usage of all the other parts of the building, he said. He said it is now much easier to have full blown activities in other parts of the building, such as the gym.

There is hope that the preschool will continue to grow as much as the facility can grow, Stevens said.