School Spotlight: Upward Bound Preschool, Santa Maria

Upward Bound Preschool has been a ministry of Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Santa Maria, California since 2000. The church has been a part of the Orcutt community in Central California since 1960. In 2024, Brendan Harrell accepted the Call to serve as pastor at LCOS. Brendan and his wife, Katie moved to Santa Maria with their two young children. Brendan and Katie come from opposite ends of the US – Brendan grew up in the Washington DC area, and Katie grew up on Oahu in Hawaii. In December of 2024 the preschool director at Upward Bound stepped down, and after a long search, Katie Harrell accepted a Call to serve as the new preschool director. Katie is one of the very few early childhood directors in the CNH District who are Called and on the Synodical roster of the LCMS. The current preschool has 21 children that are 2-5 years old. May God bless the ministry of Upward Bound as they daily share the Gospel of Jesus Chris with young children and their families!