St. James Lutheran Church Early Learning Center Update

March 21, 2023

Dear St. James Church and Childcare family,

We are excited to announce that this past Wednesday, March 15, following an extensive interview process, our Congregation Council approved the recommendation from our Early Learning Center Governance Committee to hire Ashley Drechsler as our new Early Learning Center Director. Please take the time to congratulate Ashley and thank her for her hard work and dedication to the Center. We are grateful for her presence here at St. James. Ashley’s employment started at St. James Early Learning Center (ELC) as the assistant director in May 2020, and she has been the interim director since the beginning of the year.

The search for a new Center Director and Ashley’s ultimate appointment to that position comes in the wake of a set of unfortunate revelations, stemming from an incident in October 2022, on shortcomings in the Center’s duties to thoroughly protect its students, and to timely report any possible lapse in student safety to appropriate regulatory agencies.

Over the past several months, the Center has cooperated in investigations conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and the Adams County Department of Children and Youth Services. Based in part on the results of those investigations, the Congregation Council has made certain personnel changes, including the appointment of Ms. Ashley as Center Director.

While the incident leading to these changes is regrettable, it has allowed us to take a hard look at our policies, procedures, and personnel, and has led to a number of important changes that we believe will make the Center a stronger and safer place for all of our students and families.

With the Director’s role filled now by Ashley, we will begin a process of hiring an Assistant Director. Your prayers throughout this process are greatly appreciated.

With love,