Laid-off Spokane teacher opens up her own preschool

SPOKANE, Wash. — You’ve heard it said that when one door closes, another opens. The door to this old school house on the Glenrose Prairie was not supposed to be the door Krista Hastings opened this fall.

“When I got that notice, it was pretty heartbreaking,” said Hastings.

Hastings was mid-way through her first year teaching in April when she got the news that she, along with 200 other teachers, would be laid-off from their jobs.

She knew there was a chance she could be hired back, but the chances were slim.

“Being a first year teacher half time, I was very low on the seniority list,” said Hastings.

So life forced Hastings to take a risk.

“While I was sad losing this spot that I had there, I’m really excited about this new opportunity,” said Hastings.

That opportunity was here, though she didn’t know it when she first saw the building back in January.

“The sellers ended up pulling the building off the market, so we just tabled it. It wasn’t really an issue to think about,” Hastings said.

I guess you could call it fate when the opportunity presented itself once again, right when she needed it the most.

“Within a week of me getting my layoff notice, the building came back on the market. We kind of said, let’s do it,” said Hastings.

That’s how the Little Hive School was born. Kids age three through five will do different activities each day, but Hastings said the main purpose is to have them learn through hands on interactive play.

It’s not the path she expected, but sometimes life chooses for you.

“I can’t wait to see them next spring and how they’ve changed from the beginning to the end of the year,” said Hastings.

Sometimes it’s the teacher that’s learning, too.

Anyone who wants more information about The Little Hive School can visit their website.

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