PARK SLOPE CHILD CARE COLLECTIVE

"Our daughter is at PSCCC in the 2s class I
really think it's a wonderful school. The teachers have all been there a
long time, and I always have the feeling they really love both the kids and
their work. Their philosophy is very play- based/child-based with a focus
on social and emotional development and I really feel like my daughter has
developed her social skills and emotional maturity (and her language) in
astounding ways over the past few months. She's also starting to recognize
letters, etc.
That's for the 2s - I can't speak to the 3/4s
classes yet.

In a lot of ways I think they probably do the same
basic day to day
activities as other day cares/pre-schools in the
area - e.g. they
have weekly units where they talk about family, or
transportation, or
emotions. They have activities like yoga or
sign-a-song. They have
special activities, like having a farmer come in
with eggs and they
watch them hatch into chicks. But I can tell
you that when I was
visiting schools last year what struck me as
different between PSCCC
and the other schools was the amazing sense of
warmth I felt from the
moment I walked in - like this was a place where
they were really
going to love my kid. That's what I really
wanted.

One note is that this is the last year that the
founding director is
going to be there - there is currently a search on
for her
replacement. But since the place has been
around for a long time and
the rest of the staff is so stable, I don't foresee
any major
transition upheaval when Renee leaves - but I guess
you never know.

Communication hasn't always been as strong as I
would like. At the
beginning of the year we'd get regular e-mail
updates on what each
class was doing and that really dropped off.
But that was discussed
at a recent board meeting and I'm hoping we'll see
some improvements.

---------------------
One follow up:
I think the jury is out about the
effect of Renee's retirement. I think in many ways the spirit of the
school does exist in the parents and teachers and the other 2 administrators
are very good (esp Amie). And Renee will leave her stamp, having been there for
sooooo many years. I guess I also trust in the parent-led search process.
They are not going to hire someone whose approach is antithetical to the spirit
and nature of the school. That said, some change is inevitable. And
if they hire someone who is a little more crisp... and more organized, that
would not be a bad thing.
END

My son graduated from PSCCC two
years ago and I have nothing but the best things to say about it. As with
most things, whether it's right for you and your son depends on what you want
from a preschool and everybody wants something different. If you're
looking for a warm, nurturing school where diversity is valued, where children
learn to believe in themselves and to get along with all their friends, then
PSCCC is for you. The teachers are all wonderful, the physical space
is great, and they do fun activities. Unfortunately, Renee Rubin who has
been the director for 35 years is leaving, but she is working hard to find a
replacement, so I'm sure he or she will be great too.

1) My 2.x year old daughter has been at
the Collective since September in the Little Stars room. What can I
say--we love, love, love it. The teachers are phenomenal, loving,
committed. My daughter adores them (especially Mae and Joyce and Susi but
they are all lovely). There is a good emphasis on learning through play
but they do wonderful learning things all the time--learning about feelings,
bodies, animals. They hatched baby chicks. They read a lot, sing
songs, offer yoga and a singing class. Our daughter loves it so much... she
wakes up saying, "School day!!" and jumping up and down. The
other kids and parents are terrific as well. The work commitment has not been
onerous at all (as we feared).

On the administrative side, there is a
little losey-goosey quality from time to time but they also know all the
children intimately and are always available for questions or discussion. They
are reasonable about exceptions, flexibility (a few times when our nanny was
sick, etc they let our daughter come in), responding to children's
personalities and styles.

On the negative side, the Collective is
pretty PC but, hey, it's Park Slope. I also have been disappointed that
the side yard did not get used much even in nicer weather. Something
about repairs the church needed to do but kind of vague and still annoying. So
there you have it--my basically unreserved gushing about the Collective.

When
I followed up to ask about PC, here was the response:

By "PC" maybe I really
mean that they tend to overthink or be ultra careful sometimes. My best
example is that they do not allow the kids to dress up for Halloween and do not
do anything related to it, which I think is kind of a shame. Their
explanation is that some children are fightened by some of the costumes.
It seemed more sensible to me to limit what kind of costumes can be worn.
I know it seems trivial but it represented a kind of overcarefulness that can
lead to an over-seriousness. I mean, on the one hand I really want the
administrators and teachers to be sensitive to nuances and kids' feelings but I
feel that it can lead to a kind of humorlessness.
---------------------------

My daughter is in the 2s class at the Park Slope Child Care Collective. I would definitely recommend the Collective to other parents. The staff is warm, dedicated, patient, and professional (and the child/teacher ratio in the 2s class is 2:1, which I thought was amazing). The focus is on social/emotional development, and the teaching is play-based structured around units/themes. This has been great for the two-year-olds - and though I have yet to personally experience how it works for the 3s and 4s, all the parents I've talked to seem quite happy. The space is great, with good size classrooms, an on-site gym, and a small yard, plus they go to a nearby playground and take trips around the neighborhood. They also have weekly classes like yoga and sign-a-song (though warning - the fee for that, while small, is above and beyond the already not-cheap tuition). It's also worth noting that they have a real dedication to maintaining an ethnically diverse student body, which was important to our family.



Kids go a minimum of three days a week. The school?s hours make it a great choice for working parents. You can drop your child off as early as 8am and pick them up as late as 6pm. Plus they do NOT use the public school vacation day schedule ? they have far fewer days off - and school runs from September through July. Most importantly, when I drop my daughter off in the morning I know that she is in good hands - I feel like my daughter is at a pre-school where they truly care about her and her development.



I hope that's helpful

went from 2-5yrs
full days, 5 days/week
Multiple years (including 2007-2008)

Wonderful place! Nurturing, warm and energetic teachers across the board. They truly LOVE the children. Philosophy is child based learning with a strong emphasis on the social emotional development of children... But they do end up knowing how to read and write their first name, know all colors, read and understand numbers. This just happens, as the "curriculum" is really about the soc/emo growth. Very diverse group of kids in every way, including financial/class/whatever I should call it (not just a bunch of rich, white park slope kids). The teachers took such good care of my son, for 3 years and I will be eternally appreciative. Thet went through a difficult period last year with a fire, and had to have many locations, but handled it amazingly well and the children were absolutely fine. They are back in their space now for almost a year. Can't rave about it enough!

Highly recommend
Go with your instincts. Decide what is important to you... More structured learning vrs social development and child centered learning. Observe the children.

Highly recommend

The Collective is an amazing place. It is truly a second home for my daughter, and a treasured community for the rest of our family. It is also incredibly diverse in just about every way imaginable and teaches the children to treasure the diversity. The teachers place a heavy emphasis on emotional development and are very good both at helping children (and families) through difficult times and at helping children learn who they are and why they are wonderful. The teachers do not push reading, writing, math, or any other formal curriculum subject. But children leave happy with themselves and ready to learn in kindergarten. The classrooms are cheerful, many different activities are offered during the course of the day, and the children get outside alot. In October 2006, the school had a devastating fire. The 2005-2006 school year was a mess, with the school moving to a new location several times during the year. But the school is back in its old, fixed-up building, and really is back to normal.

Review Date Fall 2007

We are on our second year at PSCCC - and we are very happy. The teachers and staff are great, very warm and responsive. The school does an amazing job with teaching the kids to communicate and problem solve (although it is basically play-based, with an emphasis on social development). The staff and teachers have been there for years, so there is nice continuity, and the parental involvement really makes it a special place. Even though last year was a disaster (there was a fire, for those of you who don't know, and then the school bounced around a bit while renovations took place) everybody handled it well and most importantly the kids were always the priority. My son loves his life at "school" and has made some great friends there.

Review Date Fall 2007