Curriculum, children’s learning and development within the school are supported through a process of constant reflection and analysis by the school’s teaching teams and pedagogues. this work drives professional development, ensuring it is responsive and respectful of the specific setting of the school, aware of work happening globally and abreast of current research.
About First Pres
The Nursery School was founded in 1959 by the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica to serve the coastal community. As with many cities, Santa Monica has changed over the decades. In the midst of this transformation from a small town to a burgeoning urban area, the school has remained a place of stability and a reference point for considering children and early childhood education within the community. Enhancing this sense of continuity is the fact that many families return generation after generation, supported by teachers and staff who have been a part of the educational team for not only years but decades. There have only been four directors since the school began.
The school functions as a private, not-for-profit school that welcomes families from all backgrounds and experiences. The school as an organization serves as a foundation and value to the surrounding community’s own growth and development.
Since the mid-1990’s, the educators and staff at First Pres, led by director Mary Hartzell at the time, consciously studied the quality education programs from Reggio Emilia, Italy, and other progressive educational settings across North America. Ongoing collaboration, dialogue and consultation with educators from Reggio Emilia, Italy, particularly with Amelia Gambetti and Lella Gandini, as well as relationships with other schools have supported our school in being a research-based organization to realizing the program that it is today.
Since the mid-1990’s, the educators and staff at First Pres, led by director Mary Hartzell at the time, consciously studied the quality education programs from Reggio Emilia, Italy, and other progressive educational settings across North America. Ongoing collaboration, dialogue and consultation with educators from Reggio Emilia, Italy, particularly with Amelia Gambetti and Lella Gandini, as well as relationships with other schools have supported our school in being a research-based organization to realizing the program that it is today.