The littlest grads
Meet the PreSchool Friends Class of 2026 — a future police squad and one princess
I am a long-time volunteer with PreSchool Friends at Grace Episcopal Church in Anniston. The program started in 2001, offering a tuition-free education to 4- and 5-year olds. Through all those years, the program has had one teacher: Sandra Cox, who also spent 38 years teaching in Anniston schools.
Ms. Sandra is finally retiring this year, after giving hundreds of kids a head-start on their education, as well as teaching them to be kind and to respect one another. This community is better for it.
I show up at the preschool once a week to teach music. I introduce concepts like fast and slow, high and low, loud and soft. (They’re very good at loud.)
They introduce me to viral TikTok songs and concepts like “chicken jockey.” This year, we could not count higher than 5 without devolving into the “6-7” meme.
They loved playing “Old Gray Cat” and dancing to “The Stick Song” from the kids’ show “Hey Duggee” — a techo-rave banger that has no right to be as good as it is.
The 2026 class of PreSchool friends graduated this week. At their graduation program, the teachers talked a bit about each student. Allow me to introduce you to:
Ta’Khi: His favorite color is green. He likes to play football and soccer. He’s smart, and a hard worker. When he grows up, he wants to be a policeman.
Juliana: Her favorite color is pink. She likes to draw pictures of her family. She is very helpful. When she grows up, she wants to be a policewoman.
Rio: His favorite color is red. He races to get into class each morning. He knows a whole lot of facts about a whole lot of things, and is very funny. He wants to be a fireman when he grows up.
Amina: Her favorite colors are pink, purple, blue and green. She likes bubbles, books and hugs. She loves to play with everyone. She LOVES apples. When she grows up, she wants to be a princess.
Amelia: Her favorite colors are pink, purple and blue. She likes to swing on swings and climb ropes. She’s smart, and always eager to share what she knows. She wants to be a policewoman when she grows up.
Addy: Her favorite color is pink. She likes to swing, slide and run. She is excellent at coloring. She likes to tell stories. When she grows up, she wants to be a policewoman.
Kaycee: His favorite color is orange. He likes to swing, slide, run and catch. He loves to draw. He always tries to do his best. He wants to be a policeman when he grows up.
After the graduation program, all the families stayed for a cookout in the church gardens. Someone had given the graduates balloons — but Juliana’s balloon popped. So Ta’Khi gave her his balloon.
To quote one of the songs the kids sang at graduation:
“We’re on our way,
“We’re kinder and we’re smarter,
“We’re braver and we’re stronger,
“Watch us be the best that we can be.”
Indeed.