The Park Preschool
Executive Director Kevin Artale & Educational Director Ellen Offen
Ages 2-5
275 Greenwich Street
theparkpreschool.org
Award: Outstanding School
Describe your school’s core educational philosophy.
The Park Preschool was founded in 1989 with our guiding principle, the belief that children learn through play. We focus on personal development and let each child learn and discover at his or her own pace. In our mixed age group setting (2-year-olds to 3.8-year-olds and 3.9-year-olds to 5-year-olds), the younger children model appropriate social and academic strategies by watching the older children. The older children reinforce concepts that they have already learned by teaching their younger peers. Our age appropriate social atmosphere allows the children to feel comfortable and secure. Learning becomes a positive experience. They can read, paint, or build a beautiful structure of blocks.
Tell us about a few of the school’s achievements or distinguishing programs.
Since the founding of The Park Preschool in 1989, we have become an integral part of the Tribeca and Battery Park City community. From its inception, The Park Preschool offers schedules and programming that meets prospective family’s needs. We advocate for children with varying needs; whether it be speech or language issues, children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders), or children that require an extra boost of Social/Emotional therapies. We work in conjunction with these children’s providers to ensure that the classroom teachers fully comprehend the techniques to be utilized for these children as well as, in some cases how the classroom teachers could benefit from the providers expertise and knowledge.
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What’s new?
During the summer of 2017, along with the decorating and organizing expertise of one of our former families, we took on a renovation project of the whole school. We installed new laminate flooring in all of the classrooms, placed a new floor in our gym, and the entire school was painted, new lighting was added, sofa cushions were provided in the library areas in all classes and new plush carpets were also added to enhance the new atmosphere of the school.
What do you love about your school?
The Park Preschool is always grateful for our kind, devoted and nurturing staff. We are also grateful for our families that together form a strong and supportive community that enhance the wonderful makeup of the school. In our inclusive environment where we understand not all children need the same things to grow, learn or develop skills at the same time as their peers. Our mixed age group classrooms create a familial environment that more closely resembles the children’s home environment.
