A four-year-old named Antuan stepped off the Villani school bus at 8 a.m. and became the first student to walk into Linden's newest school building, a five-classroom facility in Winfield Park where construction work and final approvals were still underway. Principal Frank Minniti met him at the door and walked him into the newly renovated building and into Mrs. Rodriguez's classroom, marking the long-awaited opening of the Dr. Rocco G. Tomazic Preschool Academy.
The opening, according to a TAPinto report drawn from Linden Public Schools, capped a stretch in which the district's youngest learners had been housed in borrowed space at School No. 9, after construction delays pushed back the academy's original September opening. That temporary arrangement began Sept. 2 and continued through the fall before the move to the new Winfield Park site.
The academy is part of Linden Public Schools' broader expansion of free preschool education for three- and four-year-olds, an effort funded by the state of New Jersey. Linden's district has said it can provide classes for nearly 70% of eligible four-year-olds and 10% of eligible three-year-olds, according to mycentraljersey.com, which also reported that the district served 366 regular-education Pre-K students, including 342 four-year-olds, during the 2022-2023 school year.
A Quiet, Well-Rehearsed Morning
Minniti arrived at about 6 a.m., well before the first bus, to run final checks and review arrival procedures with the custodial staff. Families were given staggered drop-off times so parents could walk in with their children, meet staff and see the classrooms before the day got underway, and the preschoolers who attended on opening day, by a preliminary count, were welcomed by the same teachers, aides and support personnel who had worked with them at School No. 9.
Opening-day arrival and dismissal went smoothly, with no major concerns reported. Minniti credited steady communication with families, along with those familiar faces from the temporary School No. 9 setup, with easing the transition for young children walking into an unfamiliar building. He also said teachers managed to transform the new rooms into welcoming learning spaces in about a single day, the product of weeks of coordination among teachers, maintenance crews and district support personnel on furniture deliveries, classroom layouts, materials and equipment.
Superintendent Dr. Atiya Y. Perkins visited the academy on its second day, greeting parents at morning drop-off and spending time in classrooms with the preschoolers. Perkins has pointed to rising demand for preschool seats as the driving force behind the district's facility expansion, and the Winfield Park building fits into that pattern: Linden Public Schools is also expanding access through classrooms in select elementary schools and through partnerships with community providers including Alvey Education Center, Building Blocks Learning Center and The Leaguers Inc., per the district.
How the New Building Came Together
The Linden Board of Education approved a lease with Winfield Mutual Housing Corporation for the facility at 1 Paul M. Greig Way during a special meeting on June 9, with the lease commencing June 1, 2026, and running through June 30, 2031, according to the district. Perkins said at the time that, as demand for preschool continues to grow, the new facility allows the district to expand opportunities for young learners.
The Winfield Park opening is not Linden's only recent preschool expansion. Earlier this year, Sprouts Early Education Academy opened a four-classroom campus at 1025 W. St. George's Ave. with capacity for 60 Pre-K 3 students, and the district said all 60 seats were filled before the school year even began. That campus held its grand opening and ribbon cutting on Aug. 6, with classes beginning Sept. 2, the district reported.
Fitting Into a Districtwide Strategic Plan
The academy's launch is framed by Linden Public Schools as advancing its 2025-2030 strategic roadmap, whose first strategic priority centers on student learning and academic excellence. District officials say the goal at the new academy is for children to develop early literacy, social-emotional skills, curiosity, collaboration and self-regulation, with a pledge of rigorous, engaging, inclusive instruction tailored to every learner.
Minniti, who previously served as vice principal at School No. 4, now leads a building designed specifically for the district's youngest students. For Antuan and his classmates, the move from a shared space at School No. 9 to a dedicated five-classroom academy marks a midyear move from borrowed rooms into a permanent home in Winfield Park.
