By Misa Murohashi, The North American Post
Megumi Preschool celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2022, since opening in 1992 as Seattle’s first bilingual Japanese-English preschool. The principal Yoshimi Suzuki founded the school after she studied early childhood education at Seattle Central Community College.
Yoshimi moved to Seattle at 14, when her father Rev. Yoshihisa Sawano took the position as pastor at the Japanese Baptist Church in Seattle. Yoshimi’s mother Yoko Sawano previously worked for the Post as Japanese editor. As a teenager, Yoshimi volunteered and worked at Kawabe Memorial House. Today, she volunteers for Budokan Judo Dojo where her two sons have been taking lessons since 2017.
“We opened our school with two staff and six children. In the past thirty years, 882 children have graduated from our school,” says Yoshimi. “The support and cooperation of countless people over the years have helped us to develop Megumi Preschool as it is today. Words are insufficient to express the depth of my gratitude.”
Info: megumipreschool.com
