Charlestown Playhouse was founded in 1936 when Elizabeth Foster Stonorov, fondly known as "Miss Betty, " began gathering children for a playgroup at her home. When she decided to start her own school she wanted it to be a community where everyone worked together and supported each other. Charlestown Playschool was a "village" many years before that ever became a buzz word and the co-operative aspect of our program is our founder's legacy.
In 1938, Miss Betty and her husband Oskar Stonorov bought the current building, an old church that was re-designed for play and community-gathering by Stonorov, a noted modernist architect. The iconic oak tree with its tire swing, visible from most classrooms, anchors a natural play yard where children are as apt to explore the woods as they are to play in the sand.
In 1938, Miss Betty and her husband Oskar Stonorov bought the current building, an old church that was re-designed for play and community-gathering by Stonorov, a noted modernist architect. The iconic oak tree with its tire swing, visible from most classrooms, anchors a natural play yard where children are as apt to explore the woods as they are to play in the sand.
Services
What is a Cooperative School
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Charlestown Playhouse is a director-run cooperative in the sense that mothers and fathers, by pooling their skills and labor, work together to support the staff and to provide a better school for their children. All policy decisions are made by a board of directors composed of current and former parents, teachers, and community members.
Family Involvement
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As a parent-cooperative, family involvement is integral to our program and the operation of our school. Volunteering is an important way for families to feel a part of our community. Attendance at two work parties (one in spring, one in fall) or providing the equivalent in time spent on other maintenance projects throughout the school year to maintain our building and grounds.
Staff
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We take pride in the dedication and commitment of our teaching staff. Several of our staff members have been with Playschool for over 20 years. Each classroom is staffed with a lead teacher and a co-teacher or teaching assistant, and one or two parent helpers.
The presence of accredited staff, knowledgeable assistants and dedicated parent helpers in each classroom allows Playschool to offer the excellent child/adult ratio (4:1 or 5:1) that makes our unparalleled child-driven curriculum and activities possible.In 2021, we will using our Staff Spotlights to learn more about individual staff, their inspirations, and their incredible resilience in adapting to Outdoor Learning in a pandemic.
The presence of accredited staff, knowledgeable assistants and dedicated parent helpers in each classroom allows Playschool to offer the excellent child/adult ratio (4:1 or 5:1) that makes our unparalleled child-driven curriculum and activities possible.In 2021, we will using our Staff Spotlights to learn more about individual staff, their inspirations, and their incredible resilience in adapting to Outdoor Learning in a pandemic.
Philosophy
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The focus of Charlestown Playhouse is learning through play, both indoors and outdoors, with an approach that promotes a positive self-concept. Our goal is to lay the foundation for the inner strength and resilience necessary for each child to meet the demands of his or her world. We actively acknowledge each child's need for love and respect.
Our Curriculum
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The curriculum of Charlestown Playhouse is based on the belief that children learn through play. Our curriculum integrates the developmentally appropriate framework of the Creative Curriculum (Trister-Dodge, 2007) as well as the guiding principles of the "Position Statement on Play" from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 2009), into the core of an emergent curriculum.
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