Choosing the Right Preschool for Your Child — It’s an
Education!
By Rhiana Maidenberg
Friendly
Birds: Social skills take wing at St. Paul’s
Littlest Angel Preschool, one of dozens of top-flight
preschools available to families in the area.
Every fall, parents of toddlers
all over San Francisco start burning the midnight oil—tackling
those preschool applications.
While the city does have a few
preschools that require adding your child’s name to the
waiting list before you have left the maternity ward, the
admission process for most Noe Valley preschools is much less
demanding—the majority do not accept applications until the
year prior to schooling.
Still, most parents are
pondering what type of school will best fit their child as
soon as she blows out her first birthday candle.
Jennifer Katz, a speech
pathologist whose practice is located in the heart of Noe
Valley, works closely with many of the area preschools. She
suggests that parents begin their search by touring the
schools and, more importantly, by talking with families whose
kids are currently enrolled. While most school tours
understandably will highlight the positive aspects of their
school, parents often will be more frank, divulging both pros
and cons.
Katz also stresses the
importance of knowing your own child, and what will work for
him. Here are a few questions Katz recommends parents ask
themselves before making their final pick:
¥ Does your child need a
consistent teacher presence, or would a changing rotation of
teachers/parents fit well with her personality?
¥ Would a small, intimate
classroom environment or a large open space with multiple ages
suit his needs?
¥ Does your family need half-day
or full-day schooling?
¥ Would your child function
better in a play-based or structured setting?
¥ What importance does outdoor
education play in your child’s needs?
Tug
of Love: Kids have fun learning the ropes at
Littlest Angel Preschool. Photos
courtesy St. Paul’s Littlest Angel Preparatory Preschool
A Plethora of Preschools
We are fortunate to live in a
neighborhood with many great preschools. From
Spanish-immersion programs to Jewish and parochial preschools
to parent-run cooperatives, the diversity of choices in or
near Noe Valley meets the needs and desires of the community.
Spanish-Immersion
Spanish-immersion programs offer
children a unique opportunity to learn a second language
during a time when young brains are eager to absorb new words
and sounds.
Centro Las Olas, located on 26th Street near
Dolores, is a play-based cooperative immersion program that
admits children starting at age 2. While most of the students
have had previous exposure to Spanish, the school reserves two
spots a year for children brand new to the language.
Buen Dia Family School, on Guerrero near 18th
Street, has been a magnet for Noe Valley residents since 1977.
Thirty percent of the families at the school have at least one
parent who is a native speaker, and over half of the staff are
native speakers. Roxanna Aliaga’s son Leo, now 4, has been
attending Buen Dia for the past year. Aliaga said that when
she first toured the school, she found “an immediate sense of
warmth and happiness from the teachers and the children.”
In September, Language
in Action will open its fourth preschool location
in the Bay Area, this time in Noe Valley on Eureka Street near
23rd. The school, called ÁHolaKids!, promotes
a mixed-age environment, with activities tailored for each age
group. The new site will host 15 children ranging in age from
2 to 5.
For Families on a Budget
The typical cost for a half-day
preschool program (five days a week) in San Francisco is
around $10,000 per year. For many families this is undoable.
Thankfully, there are a few lower-cost alternatives in and
around the neighborhood.
Noe Valley Nursery School was started by a group of
local parents in 1969. Although the school recently relocated
to the Christopher Playground Clubhouse in Diamond Heights, it
is still a fundamental part of the Noe community. Tuition in
the parent-participation co-op is $361 per month for five days
a week. For 5-year-old student Caitlin Dowd, the preschool
experience has been all about nature. Last year, she
especially liked the school’s walks through Glen Canyon, where
she explored native plants and habitats. However, her favorite
part of the day was when “my friend turned on the music and we
all danced.”
Theresa S. Mahler Early
Education School, located on Church Street
near 22nd, is part of the San Francisco Unified School
District. It offers both tuition-based schooling as well as
state-subsidized education for low-income families. In
addition to two regular child-development classes, Mahler also
has one special-education class for preschoolers.
Neighborhood Play Garden, on Grand View Avenue near
21st Street, is a San Francisco “First 5 Preschool for All”
program site. With state and city funding, the tuition for
4-year-olds can be reduced by approximately 50 percent.
Transitional Kindergarten
Beginning this year, California
is pushing back the date/age requirement for kindergarten
admittance, and by the 2014-15 school year, children must turn
5 by Sept. 1 to enroll in public schools. This has resulted in
the need for transitional kindergarten programs for those
students graduating out of preschool while still too young for
kindergarten.
This year, the venerable Eureka
Learning Center, on Diamond near 22nd Street, will
offer just a transitional kindergarten program. With its small
class size and experienced teaching staff, ELC received an
outstanding review from student Shayna Blum, 5. She said the
highlight of last year was attending field trips with her
class, such as visits to the Japanese Tea Garden and the San
Francisco Symphony, and a class at Wonderbugs Adventures.
However, for her mom, Hillary Blum, ELC scores in art,
science, and math, creating the “perfect balance between play
and structured learning.”
Treehouse Pre-K, on Fountain Street near
25th Street, is both a preschool and a transitional
kindergarten. Through its thematic curriculum, Treehouse
emphasizes play-based and hands-on learning.
Religious and Parochial
Schools
For those families interested in
a more faith-based program, Noe Valley is home to an array of
religious and parochial preschools.
Gan Noe, which is part of Chabad of
Noe Valley, is one of the only Jewish preschools in the
southern half of the city. It utilizes a play-based curriculum
and also celebrates Jewish culture and holidays. While the 2’s
and 3’s programs are located at Gan Noe’s Cesar Chavez Street
site, the pre-K class is one block from St. Mary’s Park
playground in Bernal Heights. The most memorable part of
5-year-old Cole Kurin’s day at Gan Noe was picking fresh fruit
and berries (“and squeezing out the juice”) in the school’s
large backyard garden.
There are two main church-based
preschools in Noe Valley: Littlest Angel Preparatory
Preschool in St. Paul’s Catholic Church at Valley
and Church streets and St. Philip Preschool at
St. Philip Church on Diamond near 24th Street.
Littlest Angel offers three
programs: preschool for children 2 years 9 months to 3 years 5
months, a pre-K for children 3 years 6 months to 4 years 5
months, and a junior kindergarten (similar to transitional
kindergarten) for those 4 years 6 months to 6 years old.
Clementine Harvey, 5, loved the cooking lessons with Ms.
Jacobson at St. Paul’s, but her “favorite, favorite part was
when we went to the zoo and my daddy came.”
St. Philip Preschool divides the
children by age, and invites young 3-year-olds (“Petit
Picassos”) to attend Tuesday and Thursday and older
3-year-olds (“Mini Monets”) to come Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday. The “Whirling Van Goghs” (fulltime 3s and 4s) attend
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Although the school
does not accept children under the age of 3, it does offer a
parent-participation 2’s program on Tuesday or Wednesday from
8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Not far away in Diamond
Heights, St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian
Church also hosts a large preschool and daycare.
The program is known for its long hours and luxurious naptime.
Even though these preschools are
located in churches, a religious affiliation is not necessary.
In addition, both St. Paul’s and St. Philip’s preschools are
feeder programs to the elementary schools at each parish.
More to Come
Finally, there’s one more
application that Noe Valley parents might want to fill out.
Next fall, a private preschool with roots in Sonoma—Moldovan
Academy—is moving into the freshly renovated Bethany United
Methodist Church at Sanchez and Clipper streets.
A Directory of Noe Valley Preschools
For more information on
neighborhood preschools, visit Savvy Source (www.savvysource.com).
This site provides general information about the schools’
environment, enrollment, and teaching philosophies, and also
includes parents’ ratings.
(Coming to Bethany United
Methodist Church for 2013-14 school year)
707-996-3755
http://www.moldovanacademy.com/
Pixie Hall Studios
649 Diamond St.
415-400-4846
http://www.pixiehallstudios.com/
The Preschool
http://www.thepreschool.com/
Preschool Preview Night Oct. 17
Parents Place will host its 20th
annual Preschool Preview Night on Wednesday, Oct. 17, from
5:30 to 8 p.m., at the San Francisco County Fair Building,
located at the Ninth and Lincoln Avenue entrance to Golden
Gate Park. With over 100 booths representing the city’s
preschools and child-related services, this event provides
parents an excellent opportunity to survey the preschool scene
all in one evening. For more information, visit www.parentsplaceonline.org.
