Educational Philosophy

Our educational philosophy is the heart of our school and the guiding principle of our teaching. We are a developmental school. We believe all children learn, change and grow at different rates and stages. A constant thread is the belief that all children are unique. We honor who they are and look for ways to teach, based on individual learning styles and interests.

At Crestwood Hills Preschool we offer a play-based education. We strongly believe that children learn through play. Free play is a huge part of our daily program. It is through play that children learn all the social and emotional skills for life.

Our program is also child-centered. The daily activities are often driven by the children’s interests and play a major part in the children’s education. For example, we study whales when a child walks in with a whale book from home. We bring out magnifying glasses and trays of soil when a child finds a little bug in the ground. We let the children lead during singing time on the rug and when they ask to dance, we play tunes. When a child finds a tiny sparkle in the sand, we grab cups and collect treasures. We believe children learn best in a nurturing environment where they are allowed to discover, explore and create.

Crestwood Hills Preschool is a cooperative and inclusive community, which values diversity in all its forms and honors the social and individual differences of all children and families. We believe that our intentional ongoing engagement with diversity - in our learning spaces and in our community - increases cultural awareness, cognitive skills and empathetic understanding among our students, parents and staff.

Cooperative Community

Our Commitment

Our Parent Engagement

Our cooperative community is another distinctive aspect of Crestwood. We are people from different backgrounds with varied life experiences who are united by our common parenting values and who choose to experience our children’s education as a community. Our co-op commitment not only keeps our dynamic school running on all cylinders, but it also allows parents to model the spirit of teamwork and “pitching in” for the good of the whole.

Our Parent Engagement

Our parents volunteer twice a month for three hour shifts to work in their child's classroom. They assist teachers and engage directly with the children -- be it reading a story in the cozy corner, supplying a nourishing snack for the class, or simply sharing their talents and interests. Along with being an important part of their child's first school-based educational experience and building a strong community, many parents report that the opportunity to observe and learn about child development and behavior from our skilled teachers is one of the most valuable aspects of belonging to our co-op.

Our Teachers

Our Parent Engagement

Our Teachers

Not only are our teachers highly qualified in terms of their formal early childhood education, many have been connected with our preschool for decades. Crestwood teachers annually participate in professional development opportunities. Our teachers also recognize the important educational benefits of diversity and inclusion -- cognitive, social and emotional -- for all students who interact with people from different backgrounds, cultures and orientations to the world. Each class has three lead teachers, contributing to an child-to-adult ratio of no more than 4:1.