The Gagie School

Dr. Sandra S. Gagie

For over thirty years, the Gagie School has prepared children to become very highly contributing members of society.

From the beginning we set out to provide a very basic, strong educational foundation. We enrich the learning experience with wonderful programs in art, music, and Spanish, band, drama and athletics for children in preschool through eighth grade. Our ultimate goal is to help each child discover and achieve his or her own potential and to become a very highly contributing member of society and citizen of the world.

Gagie School graduates make us proud when they go off to high school. Not only do they receive high academic achievements, recognition in sports, and kudos in the arts, they are also considerate, empathetic, caring individuals who will give of themselves to make the world a better place.

I founded the school because teaching children is an extremely pleasant and rewarding task. They are eager, open minded participants in the learning process. While teaching in a number of public school settings in the Midwest it became apparent that some of the joy and excitement of teaching and learning was missing and so was the teaching of the basic skills — the 3 R’s. From the beginning we set out to provide a very basic, strong educational foundation. We enrich the learning experience with wonderful programs in art, music, and Spanish, band and drama for children in preschool through eighth grade. Our ultimate goal is to help each child discover and achieve his or her own potential and to become a very highly contributing member of society and citizen of the world.

A more short term purpose is to develop within each child a very positive attitude toward school and learning. The individual needs and learning styles of the children dictate curriculum development. We help each child achieve developmental skills appropriate for his/her age level. In the early years insuring a strong foundation is imperative for highly successful academic achievement later.

We believe within each child lie inherent gifts that must be fostered. They serve to help define each individual as his/her own person. The individual is all important. How each child learns, his/her gifts, intellectual, emotional, social, physical and moral growth all lead to development of the whole child.

Our Gagie School memories do truly last a lifetime.

Dr. Sandra S. Gagie

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The History of the Gagie School

The Gagie School was founded in 1976 by Dr. Sandra S. Gagie in her home with six preschoolers each morning and six each afternoon. The positive, developmental approach with children loving the learning process quickly brought more enrollment. This required a larger space — first renting in a church and then the purchase of our 615 Fairview location in 1981.

The Fairview Building, a former Kalamazoo K-3 school, offered four large classrooms with two offices in the middle. This made space for two preschool rooms, one kindergarten room and one room for grades one through three. A highly successful first year led to adding on space for four more classes, and later another area for classrooms.

Purchase of adjacent property behind the Fairview location and construction of a preschool/kindergarten building with a gym made the property an actual “campus”. Woods on the west provide lots of space for imaginative play and physical exercise.

The last acquisition to the east allowed space for two more classrooms, a music building, preschool and kindergarten playground, playing field and sledding hill. A house on that property provides space for teachers’ infants and preschoolers during the work day. A basketball court added last gives our upper elementary youngsters lots of enjoyment. Lots of green space makes our campus attractive and fun for recess time.