Pine Street Pre-K

As children grow and evolve, so do the best methods for connecting with them. No one-size-fits all philosophy serves every unique child, learning style or stage of development. As such, we draw from a variety of educational techniques and current research, all geared to cultivating self-confident, creative, collaborative and joyful learners.

When I began working as an assistant teacher at The First School in 1988, I knew I'd found my dream job. Walking into Ocean Park that first day, I felt the incredible respect for each child. I never dreamed that one day I would be director!

We have designed The First School preschool curriculum and campus progression so that it evolves from nurturing a child's emerging autonomy to promoting initiative and accomplishment, and we hope our love and nurturing are felt in everything we do.Throughout the preschool experience, we support play as the heart of our program.

At The First School, we believe our greatest strength lies in the talents and skills of our staff. Our teachers are highly educated and have deep expertise in early childhood education and preschool curriculum, but most importantly, they are attentive, warm and nurturing. They just love children and are passionate about what they do, every day.

Every last detail of our preschool and transitional kindergarten program is designed to meet the children in a way that is appropriate for their specific age and stage: from flow of the campuses, pace of the day, layout of each space, to classroom materials and curriculum.

Thanks to our low teacher student ratios, our teachers join each child wherever they may be on their individual paths, and advance their learning and social / emotional growth from that point on.Teachers lovingly help each child to discover areas of interest, and develop a broad range of skills. They gently guide the children to express and self-regulate emotions and to becoming empathetic problem solvers with their friends.

In each class, one Group Leader with a PhD and two preschool teachers work with a small group of about 8-12 children to help articulate and narrate first experiences of play, socialization and sensory exploration with the comfort of parents being nearby. Nestled in our beautiful Pine Street Campus, the toddler group is designed for children as young as 14 months of age to begin the journey of becoming ready for preschool life.