Nearly everyone has heard of the term “high school sweethearts.” Better yet, most people know friends or family members who fit the description. 

A similar term that likely isn’t as common — or even used — is “preschool sweethearts.” 

Yet, this is the term that Abby Hollenbaugh, teacher and director of CMC’s Mini College, used to describe two of the preschool’s alumni who are now married to each other with a family of their own. 

“Fostering relationships is what we’re all about,” Hollenbaugh said. “I think this story is just so unique that these preschool friends are now a couple with a family of their own … But in so many ways, I’m not surprised.” 

Reilly Anderson and Tess Jankovsky were students at the Mini College in Glenwood Springs in the 1990s.  

The Mini College is an auxiliary program of Colorado Mountain College, meaning that it gives early childhood education students an opportunity to earn real-world experience in a preschool classroom. The community preschool currently cares for 25 students ages 3 to 5, and has served the community for 45 years. 

After finishing preschool, Anderson and Jankovsky attended the same elementary school, middle school and high school. 

“We both grew up together since probably three or four years old,” Anderson said. “We had overlapping circles of friends.” 

It wasn’t until after college that the two started dating, and eventually tied the knot eight years later in 2015. Today, after spending a few years post-college in Seattle and moving back to Glenwood Springs, Anderson works as a piano teacher out of a private studio, and Jankovsky is an internist physician at Valley View’s internal medicine clinic. But most of all, the couple spend their time as parents to their two children. 

The older of the two, Adeline, is in her first year at the Mini College, which Anderson and Jankovsky said has been special for them. 

“There’s definitely some sentimental aspects to it for me, just remembering my good experiences there,” Anderson said. “Everything from the playground to the inside, to the books and the rhythms and the teachers … I don’t think much has changed, really. You go in there and it kind of just feels like the same place.” 

Anderson and Jankovsky both mentioned their appreciation for the teachers at the Mini College, and their ability to preserve what makes the preschool so unique. 

“I did think it was really striking when we went to go check it out and put (Adeline’s) name on the list,” Jankovsky said. “We walked inside and it just took me straight back to memories and years spent there … It still had that very warm and familiar feel … It just felt really right to be bringing her back here.” 

To Adeline, sharing in the past experiences of her parents is just as special. 

“She’s at an age where she loves to hear stories about when we were her age and what things were like, and it’s just amazing to be able to tell her stories,” Jankovsky said. “She loves that connection and that makes it all the more special for us, to feel like we share that with her.” 

To Adeline’s luck, her family has even been able to recreate some of those special memories, mostly thanks to the level of involvement that parents have with the Mini College. 

“Reilly’s dad, when we were in the Mini College, came and played the guitar for everyone,” Jankovsky recalled. “He popped into the school not too long ago while Addy was there to play the guitar.” 

As if the memories weren’t enough, the couple said they chose the Mini College for their children because of its proximity to their home, which is just one of many features that makes the preschool such a flexible option for parents. 

The Mini College offers both full-day and half-day options to accommodate the different needs and schedules of families enrolled in the preschool. 

“We want to stay flexible, knowing that parents have different needs and different goals for their children,” Hollenbaugh explained. 

Another reason Anderson thought the school would be a good fit for their daughter is the school’s philosophy, which Hollenbaugh describes as a “play-based” philosophy inspired by Italy’s “Reggio Emilia approach.”  

“We believe that children learn best through firsthand experience and play and learn in community with one another,” Hollenbaugh said. “When you think of traditional schooling, you think of … children sitting and listening, everybody doing the same thing at the same time. And truly, we want to honor the uniqueness of each child, and young children in particular really need to learn with their whole being.” 

This approach to learning manifests itself in the students’ involvement in the community, something the Mini College manages and encourages. 

“I also really enjoy seeing how much the teachers bring the kids into the community, they are not just in the school,” Jankovsky said. “Valentine’s Day, they had baked cookies and they walked around the greater CMC campus giving them out to people. They take walks around the neighborhood, they were out checking out the helicopter at the hospital the other day … they’re very much intermixing with the community at large.” 

Even with their unique connection, Anderson and Jankovsky aren’t the only alumni who have come back to the Mini College with their children. 

“Coincidentally, I think there’s two or three other people we … grew up with in high school who have kids there right now,” Jankovsky said. “You just feel very connected and part of a community there.” 

“What I think is really unique about us is that we’re just so rooted in the community,” Hollenbaugh said. “Since I’ve been here, it’s not unusual that we have children whose parents attended here when they were small. So I think the roots in our community are just particularly strong.” 

The Mini College has been a large influence in some Glenwood families for generations, many of whom are happy to partake in alumni reunions and reignite their appreciation. 

“Last year, we had a … family dinner together, and we had a lot of older siblings, so I said, ‘Let’s get a picture of all you alumni together.’ So all these older children came up,'” Hollenbaugh recalled, laughing at the memory. “But then we had these parents coming up, and (I thought), ‘Oh, of course!'” 

With how special the school is to Adeline’s family, it’s likely that her younger sibling will soon grow up to attend the Mini College, too.