After 40 years, the county’s longest-operating preschool is
still going strong.
After 40 years, the county’s longest-operating preschool is still going strong.
The Presbyterian Cooperative Preschool will celebrate its 40th anniversary Sunday from 2-5 p.m. with music, refreshments and entertainment for children. The event is free and open to the public.
“We want to celebrate the importance of community support for the preschool,” said Trisha Brem, director of the preschool.
The school was founded in 1963 by Dori Hoyle and B.J. Havens, wife of then-minister Frank Havens. Hoyle said she and Havens started the school because there weren’t any other preschools in town. Both women had children of preschool age and were looking for a nursery school, she said.
“It pleases me that the directors that have followed were able to keep going and that the school has thrived,” she said. “I hope it continues.”
The school still has its original license, Brem said.
The preschool has grown from one class of 22 children to eight classes of 150, she said. The campus includes three classrooms, a playground, a parent resource room and administrative offices.
The preschool is considered “cooperative” because parents participate in teaching, maintaining the grounds and serving on the board of directors.
“It’s a collaborative effort between the parents of the 150 students,” Brem said.
The preschool is considered a private, Christian school but is open to anyone, Brem said. Its primary mission is the social, intellectual and physical development of the children. Its secondary goal is to get parents involved in the early education of their children.
Many former students have stayed in the area and their children and grandchildren attend the school, Brem said.
Brem is asking for pictures of alumni for a then-and-now presentation.
Current students will sing preschool favorites at 3:30 p.m. and tours of the campus will be available. The Presbyterian Cooperative Preschool is located at 2066 Cienega Road. For more information, call 637-5816.
