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Six Gaither High students, part of the charter class of Little Wranglers, visit the preschool they once attended.
By LOGAN D. MABE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 16, 2003
NORTHDALE -- It took a few bars for Cullen Domaracki to name that tune. But when all the little kids in the front row started making the tell-tale hand gestures to accompany Oh Mr. Sun, it all came back in a rush.
"Once it got started, you definitely remember it," said Domaracki, a ninth-grader at Gaither High School.
Domaracki and five other Gaither students were honored Thursday for their special place in the school's history. They were part of the charter class of Little Wranglers, kids enrolled in the school's developmental preschool, which started on the Gaither campus 12 years ago. The group included freshmen Louis Graniero, Katie Ranscht and Kacy Wyckoff and sophomores Ashley Baroff and Chelsey Manley.
Little Wranglers director Becky Burgue , the kids' very first teacher, invited the freshmen and sophomores to a talent show staged by the current class of tykes.
"I wasn't ready to see them all together," Burgue said. "You have those moments you thought you were prepared for, but it was just weird. I knew them when they were 3, 4 or 5 years old and you wonder what they'll become. It's humbling to be a part of their lives."
Burgue has been the lead teacher of the Little Wranglers program since it began a dozen years ago. In that time hundreds of preschool children have passed through, with most of them moving onto other schools.
A handful have returned now as full-fledged Gaither students, attending classes in the school where they got their educational start before they ever entered kindergarten.
"I remember always looking up at the teacher and thinking, 'I'm going to be here one day,' " said Baroff, whose best memory of the program was nap time. "It (Little Wranglers) was kind of like your world when you were younger. When times get tough in school now, it's like I miss coloring and nap time, the good old days."
Domaracki remembered the "hugeness" of the school, where Little Wranglers often take field trips on campus. But he said the experience better prepared him for kindergarten. "It was a lot easier for me than it was for other kids who had never been to preschool," Domaracki said. "We learned manners and things other kids didn't know."
But there was plenty of play, too. "My best memory was of the dress-up box," Manley said. "There was this huge chest filled with clothes. It was so much fun."
"It felt like it was a second family," Wyckoff said. "Everyone was so nice."
Ranscht remembered when she graduated from Little Wranglers and got to wear a cap and gown. Graniero said he still has the diploma he got that day.
If these Little Wrangler graduates are any indication, the program certainly helped them succeed. All of the students are doing well in school and participate in extra-curricular activities. Manley sings in the chorus; Baroff runs track and serves in the student senate; Ranscht is on the track and basketball teams; Domaracki is a wrestler; Graniero is gearing up to play football; and Wyckoff participates in the school's ROTC program.
"Once a Little Wrangler, always a Little Wrangler," Burgue said.
-- Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 269-5304 or at mabe@sptimes.com