Overview
Our School Preschool teacher-parent cooperative was founded in 1973. It is a non-sectarian, tax-exempt, and non-profit corporation. The school has a Board of Directors composed of parents and teacher-directors. The role of the board is to support the educational philosophy of the school by discussing issues and making decisions, financial and otherwise, to preserve the quality of the program.
Location
Our School Preschool is conveniently located at 776 Cherryvale Road in Boulder. The 2,500 square foot brick ranch house is located in a semi-rural, quiet area that provides a home-like feeling. It is adjacent to open spaces and set back from the road far from urban noise where the children can hear the natural sounds that surround them.
Environment
The inside of our facility is expansive. Children roam freely around various rooms outfitted with various activities. There is extensive floor space for building structures and various role plays. The school resembles a play lab. Children can paint, construct with wood and glue, play music, dance, build with blocks and explore water.
The school yard is large enough to for children to run and play games without obstacles. The sand area is extremely large and 3 feet deep to provide for interesting play possibilities. Children have access to various materials for digging and building for playing alone or cooperatively. There is ample room for climbing. The equipment consists of open cubes, ladders, ramps and a tunnel. These components are periodically rearranged vertically and horizontally to challenge the children and meet their growing physical needs.
We are fortunate to have direct access to huge open fields behind the schoolyard. In winter, handsome Canadian geese can be observed from close range as well as the occasional fox, hawk or eagle. Games of running and rolling "soccer" are devised with children to develop coordination, rhythm in breathing and anticipation of speed and distance to meet a goal. Other favorite field activities include tunnel tag and "chasing the dragon". We use the outdoors as an "outside classroom" taking materials and supplies out to explore the natural environment. Regular informal, physical activities strengthen bones and build muscles in preschoolers, as well as, establish healthy lifestyle habits.
Diversity
As stated in our By Laws Statement of purpose, Our School is an environment dedicated to bringing together children who are physically, mentally, racially, ethnically or culturally similar and different from each other.
A diverse population learns from each other. It complements talents and interests beyond physical appearance or linguistic background. Children enjoy the uniqueness of each without prejudice and learn to prevent or resolve social difficulties by fair negotiations.