Nonprofits
Former home for boys makes fresh start in early childhood education
For decades, Tara Hall Home for Boys helped thousands of abused and neglected boys through some of the worst times in their lives.
When the Department of Social Services started to move away from group homes and it was clear that the facility was going to close, the Tara Hall board came up with the idea of opening a preschool.
Mingo Creek Academy opened on the Tara Hall campus in the western part of the county in August of 2021.
“This is a blessing for these communities,” said Comeletia Pyatt, founding principal and executive director of the school. “It is absolutely imperative that parents learn that the earlier you start, long-term the better it is for parents and for children.”
The board struggled with the decision to start a school during the global pandemic.
“What happened was, it was very necessary,” Pyatt said. “It was important that Mingo Creek Academy opened because Tara Hall Home for Boys closed in the fall of 2020. It was important that they go ahead and continue with the new program.”
That first year there were 15 students. The enrollment is now 32.
“It was kind of scary for a minute because we weren’t sure we were going to get those kids,” Pyatt said. “We got out and we recruited and we pulled it off. We got parents to bring those kids out.”
The current students are what Pyatt calls “pandemic babies.” Many of them had no experience in an educational environment before arriving at the school.
“They came home, they were at home and they pretty much stayed home. They have been nowhere,” she said. “Some parents have done some stuff with them. Other parents really haven’t done anything.”
Pyatt said a lot of people who live in that area of the county are young parents who are working or going to school and can’t afford daycare so they leave children with their parents or grandparents.
Originally the board’s plan was to expand the school to include first-grade classes. However, that would mean hiring certified teachers, which would cost more money.
Pyatt believes a better idea might be to add a pre-K class for 2-year-olds.
“We would have a longer time to work with kids and hopefully make a bigger impact,” she said.
This is the first experience working with young children for Pyatt, who was a teacher’s aide at Waccamaw School when it housed kindergarten through eighth grades; taught at J.B. Beck Middle School and Georgetown High School; and was an assistant principal and principal at Carvers Bay Middle School before retiring.
Mingo Creek Academy charges $50 a week per child. Pyatt believes tuition is important.
“They need to pay something because I believe in buy-in,” she said. “I believe if we give everything for free, there’s no value.”
However, the school offers scholarships and low income families can qualify for vouchers from the state.
One source of money for scholarships is Palmetto Giving Day, which is May 7 and 8.
During last year’s event, the academy received $186,540 in donations.
“It gives the board the opportunity to provide those scholarships that parents get so that their kids get the opportunity to come to a program such as this in this area,” Pyatt said.
Along with scholarships, the money was used to buy a second bus and pay for repairs and renovations on the campus.
Palmetto Giving Day also introduced Mingo Creek Academy to a wider audience.
“That’s been great,” Pyatt said.
The school is only using a portion of the sprawling Tara Hall campus on the banks of the Black River. Pyatt is looking into hosting summer camps and possibly bringing back Paddle Fest, which was a popular Tara Hall fundraiser, in August
“I’m excited about that,” she said. “Tara Hall is legendary in the lives of troubled boys. I really think we need to figure out a way to tap into that.
