About the School

For over 55 years, NVNS has been a play-based, cooperative preschool that nurtures confident kids, connected families, and a love of learning that lasts. Play-based education meets young children right where they are (curious, active, and eager) and helps them build the foundation for later academic learning. With our 4:1 student-teacher ratio, every child is truly seen and supported.

We believe in learning that reaches beyond four walls. Glen Canyon offers numerous opportunities for imaginative play, sensory play, building gross motor skills, and honing listening and observation skills. Every year we go to the SF Botanical Gardens, have visits from the SF Fire Department and a reptile enthusiast. Other events have included trips to the Presidio Tunnel Tops, Cal Academy of Sciences, the pumpkin patches in Half Moon Bay, and more.

Inside our classroom, children explore different thematic areas at their own pace. Art, manipulatives & puzzles, a maker’s space, dramatic play, blocks & building, or bikes, mud, and chalk on the back patio.

We are proud members of the California Council of Parent Participation Nursery Schools, serving families from Noe Valley, Eureka Valley, Bernal Heights, Potrero Hill, the Mission, and beyond.

Meet Our Staff

Zac Oldenburg

director

Zac comes from a family of educators and has spent the past 10 years working in special education and early childhood education. His teaching philosophy is “make good people,” which he practices by creating a safe and developmentally-appropriate space for children to explore, make mistakes, socialize, and have opportunities to learn and grow.

Corinna Nicolson

Teacher

Corinna Nicolson enjoys nurturing the growth and development of young children by meeting kids where they are and helping them address the next challenge. She fosters children’s critical thinking and problem solving as well as enabling them to express themselves. She loves to sing, dance, and get silly in the classroom. Corinna has a deep background in the performing arts including dance, theater, music, and music pedagogy. She has a B.A. from San Francisco State University and has studied child development at Saddleback College.

Cassidie Clayton

teacher

Cassidie Clayton first became involved in education as a parent-teacher at NVNS. She enjoyed her experience at the cooperative enough to make a career change, and had soon earned her Early Childhood Education certificate from CCSF. Her 9-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son have since moved onto public schools in San Francisco, but Cassidie feels right at home leading nature-based projects and exploring Glen Canyon with children of NVNS.

Our History

In 1968, a group of parents who met regularly at Douglass Playground felt there was no childcare facility in Noe Valley. By January 1969, they had mobilized to create the neighborhood’s first parent-participation school in its first location in the Lebanon Presbyterian Church on Sanchez Street (now known as the Noe Valley Ministry).

From its earliest days, NVNS has emphasized family involvement, community, and developmentally appropriate, child-centered learning. Over the decades NVNS continued to grow and evolve with the neighborhood, maintaining its cooperative governance and its commitment to outdoor play, music, and hands-on learning experiences.

Now NVNS operates from the SF Rec & Park clubhouse adjacent to Christopher Playground and the beautiful Glen Canyon. Throughout every move, the school’s model — parents and staff working together to nurture independent people — has stayed the same.