About Noe Valley Nursery School

Noe Valley Nursery School was started by a group of neighborhood parents in 1969. It has been a successful venture; we have been learning and enjoying ourselves ever since.

This school, like all co-operative pre-schools, is where your child can take those first steps into the world while still holding your hand. You come to school, too. You will be amazed and delighted at the benefits which you, the parent, will receive.

This is a place where you can be your best and it will be enormously appreciated and recognized. It is a place in which children extend the love they have for their parents to other childrens parents, and where parents extend the love they have for their children to other peoples children. It is a rich and healthy environment for everyone involved; the parents, the children and the teacher.

We all learn here, and then we pass it on.

The School Day

A normal school day is from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Working parents arrive at 8:30am to prepare the activities of the day.

We all come together at 10:00 a.m. each day for a snack, which is provided by a member family. Snack is followed by story and music time in the Quiet Room, lead by Susan (our Director) or one of the parents. Susan also leads a special game time in the Trike Room at 11:40 a.m. We come together again at 12:00 noon for lunch, which is brought from home.

Every Friday, we have a gymnastics/tumbling class from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, in the Trike Room.

Every Thursday, children have the option of going to the pool at the Janet Pomeroy Center to swim. The pool is warm, shallow and great for beginners, and there is a trained lifeguard on duty. Working parents drive the children to and from the pool.

Parent Participation

Member families are required to participate in the planning and operation of the school. A thorough description of these responsibilities will be given when you join the school. The minimum responsibilities to the school are:

At least one parent must work at the school from 8:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., either 3, 4, or 5 days per month, depending on the number of days per week their child attends. Workdays will always be on the same day of the week.
At least one parent must attend 2 parent meetings per month, which fall on the 1st and 3rd Thursday evenings, at 7:30 p.m., and are held at the school.
At least one parent must actively participate in all fundraising activities.
Each family must participate in school-wide maintenance days, which are held on the third Saturday of each month. The maintenance requirement changes year to year, and is currently 1 1/2 hours per family, every other month. The first and last maintenance days of the year are mandatory for all members.
Each family will be scheduled in advance to work in the kitchen every 6 weeks or so. Working in the kitchen includes providing snack for the 10:00 a.m. snack time, as well as cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms.
Each member family is required to hold a job for the school. This job can be anything from President of the Board, to Scheduling, to Laundry. New families will be asked to select a job from a list provided at the first parent meeting of the year.