INSPIRE Preschool & Pre-K
New & Improved 2023-2024 Programs
AT INSPIRE PRESCHOOL our goal is to expose our students to a variety of the performing arts including music, dance, theatre, and tumbling. We aim to use those mediums as tools to ensure students are prepared socially and academically for Kindergarten.
Some of our learning objectives include:
- Building character and confidence
- Achieving academic and social school readiness
- Experiencing the value and importance of learning, practicing, and performing
WE OFFER a structured learning environment where your child will discover their world through music, dance, engaging centers (letter recognition, math, gross/fine motor skills, reading, art, etc.), small and large manipulatives, snack preparation, crafts and group circle time.
MULTIPLE STUDIES link music study to academic achievement. More and more studies are also showing that music is important for brain development. With schools removing the arts from daily curriculum, INSPIRE’s goal is to bring music, movement, and the arts back into education.
Register by April 1 and save $50/mo on Pre-K and $25/mo on Preschool.
Preschool Tuition
Tuition rates listed are for the 2023-2024 season. Current rates can be found on our general Tuition page.
- Ages 3-4 | *Preschool
- Ages 4-5 | *Pre-K
- Tues/Thurs
- M/W/F
- 8:30 am – 12:00 pm
- 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
- $250/month
- $375/month
“We have been very pleased with INSPIRE’s preschool. It is a very positive, loving and nurturing environment. Our daughter has not only grown academically but socially as well. We love that she is able partake in the arts during preschool as well as afterwards. It is a really love of hers. She is able to participate and express herself in a dance class right after preschool which I feel is a very well-rounded experience.” – Maia Rudolph, Parent
*$50/mo and $25/mo discount will be applied for all students that register before 3/31/2023
INSPIRE Entertainment
4469 E Baseline Rd. Gilbert, AZ 85234
Meet the Teachers

Julie Buckley
Julie has 18 years of experience as an elementary instructional interventionist and teacher assistant in the Mesa Public Schools.
Julie Buckley is happily married for 38 years with four boys and 3 grandchildren. Julie has 18 years of experience as an elementary instructional interventionist and teacher assistant in the Mesa Public Schools. She has worked in the Title 1 reading Lab with the most up to date researched techniques for reading development. She has also taught in a Montessori preschool. She has certifications in Dibels Next State Testing; Phonemic Awareness; Group Comprehension and Fluency Strategies; and Diagnostic Intervention for Struggling Readers. She knows the importance of vocabulary and oral language in developing reading comprehension and math skills.
Julie has always had a love of music, gymnastics, and art. As a youth, she was in Honor Choir, a State Gymnast, and Cheerleader. She grew up in Mesa and graduated top 20 in her class from Westwood High School. Julie has loved spending the majority of her life serving as a church primary music leader, teacher, and choir director. She also was a Cub Scout den leader for 5 years. She performed for 16 years in a Community choir. Julie loves to sew, golf, sing, and play with her grandchildren.
She is a friendly and energetic teacher who enjoys helping children learn through music and movement. She loves to encourage her students with hands-on manipulatives while learning reading and math skills. As an educator and Grandmother, Julie is eager to use playful activities to engage her young students’ desire to learn about the world around them.

Shelley Van Shaar
Shelley has over 25 years of experience in teaching, directing, and leading in the dance and performance world.
Shelley has been teaching in the dance and theatre industry for over 30 years. She has numerous awards in dance, choreography, and directing–helping thousands of students learn the gift and the art of dance. From 2002-2010, Shelley founded and ran a highly-acclaimed performing arts studio in Kansas and in 2007 was honored as a “Woman of Distinction” by the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce for using her time and talents to make a difference in her community. She is happily married and is the proud mother of four children.
Shelley performed and choreographed professionally for six years in Branson, Missouri, and Biloxi, Mississippi doing 3 shows a day, 6 days a week. She also worked professionally as a model and has done some work in film. She served as the dance technique specialist for Pittsburg State University’s Dance Team.
Many of her former musical theatre and dance students have gone on to perform professionally. Her students’ credits include Teen Beach Movie, Planes Movie, American Idol, The Andy Williams Tribute Show, Sea World, cruise lines, and the Lincoln Center in New York City.
In 2015, she founded INSPIRE Entertainment’s first Dance Company. She continues to judge dance competitions, write curriculum, and do guest choreography throughout the United States.