Despite serving a student population where roughly 30% have individualized education plans, Excelsior Springs Early Childhood Center (ECC) is reporting strong growth across academic and developmental areas.The update was presented during a recent Board of Education meeting by Principal Dr. Katie Andreasen, who shared enrollment trends, student performance data and an overview of ways the program continues to expand.Andreasen began by introducing ECC teacher Olivia McHenry and her students, known as the “Helpful Hippos” — including Amora, River and Millie — shared a yearlong classroom project centered on observation, prediction and hands-on learning.McHenry explained the project was inspired by the book Pumpkin Jack, which follows the life cycle of a pumpkin as it decomposes and eventually regrows. Using that concept, students created their own pumpkin, named “Pumpkin Binks,”...