Catholic preschools on the rise
Lauri Hill is bringing a theology degree from the Franciscans to her latest undertaking – opening a new Catholic Montessori-inspired preschool at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish and school in Belmont.
“We teach them the sign of the cross, the Hail Mary, Our Father, we teach them about the saints,” said the veteran pre-school director about her 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old charges. “We talk about the life of Jesus. We talk about God and creation. We talk about Our Lady.”
The IHM preschool is located on the same campus as the elementary school. So is the new preschool at St. Thomas the Apostle School, perched above the Pacific Ocean in the foggy reaches of San Francisco’s Richmond District.
With the two new parish preschools opening in the 2010-11 school year, the number of Catholic preschools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco rose to 16 – part of a boom in early childhood education by the Bay Area Catholic Church in the past five years. There now are seven Catholic preschools in San Francisco, six in San Mateo County and Three in Marin (See directory.) With just a handful of exceptions, the preschools are affiliated with the parish school and many of the preschool students go on to attend the Catholic “big school” next door.
“A value for the parish specifically is that we become actively involved in the education of the children with the parents so the parents are not alone in the world,” said Father Kenneth M. Weare, pastor of St. Rita Parish, where St. Rita Preschool was founded in 2006.
Archbishop George H. Niederauer emphasized the Church’s role in supporting families in an April 30, 2009 letter sent to pastors and principals that accompanied guidelines for supporting and establishing preschools and child-care centers.
Noting there are a growing number of single parent families and families with both parents working, Archbishop Niederauer wrote, “The Archdiocese recognizes the need for quality child care and believes that the parish can be of service in assisting parents in meeting this need. Many parents look to their local faith community for help with their daily lives. We support the involvement of parishes in helping parents respond to their need to nurture their children when they must also work outside the home.”
Nationally, 54 percent of all Catholic elementary schools also have a pre-kindergarten program, according to the National Catholic Education Association. Twenty years ago, only 31 percent of Catholic schools had a pre-kindergarten program, the NCEA said.
At Immaculate Heart of Mary Preschool, as at most preschools, parents have the option of two, three or five day a week programs.
Most preschools offer half-day programs with the option of some extended child care or full day and half day programs. While preschool programs must meet separate state certification guidelines from elementary schools, most Catholic preschools are included in the elementary school and parish community.
“Occasionally older students come in to read to them,” said Hill, who also founded Star of the Sea Preschool in 2007. Preschoolers attend some elementary school assemblies, visit the big school to listen to elementary students’ special projects, and their families are invited to participate in school-wide events, Hill said.
At the Laura Vicuña Pre-Kindergarten of Sts. Peter and Paul School, director Barbara Simons gives preference to prospective students whose parents plan to enroll them in the elementary school. Unlike most of the archdiocesan preschools, which take children beginning at about age 3, Laura Vicuña Pre-Kindergarten is a pre-kindergarten. Started in 1988, the pre-kindergarten was one of the first in the archdiocese and was originally founded to help incoming students, many Chinese with limited English, to get some preparation before starting elementary school, Simons said. The school draws on the families in the immediate neighborhood and from families where parents work in the nearby financial district.
“It’s academic preparation for kindergarten,” said Simons about her program, already full with a waiting list. “It’s learning reading readiness. I kind of trick them into learning by having a lot of fun.”
Catholic school enrollment trends is leading schools to experiment with various methods of reaching prospective students, and preschools meet a need of families at a time when there is an increased emphasis on early childhood education as well as greater numbers of working parents. Preschools are a great way for a family to learn about the Catholic school as well as for the families to have an entrée to acceptance when it comes time to apply for kindergarten, said Simons. “I think if we can catch the families at the preschool level, I think we have a better chance of keeping them with us,” said Simons.
Dominican Sister Joan Hanna, who founded the Saint Raphael Preschool in 2004, agrees. She sees Saint Raphael Preschool, where the older students are “Saints” and the younger ones “Angels,” as a way to make God real for children. “I think the focus of preschool in the Catholic community is how we begin that formation of children and their faith life: their spiritual journey as well as their sense of community,” Sister Hanna said. “If we are reach real peace in this world we will have to begin with the children.”
Catholic Preschools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco
St. Anne Preschool, 1320 14th Ave., San Francisco 94122; 415-664-7977; stanneps.com; Director Judy Glaeser
St. Paul's Littlest Angels Preparatory Preschool @ Saint Paul Parish, 221 Valley St., Suite X, San Francisco 94131-2320; 415/82-4KIDS(5437); splapp@myastound.net; littlestangelpreschool.child2care.com ; Director Arleen Guaraglia; founded 1988 moved to St. Paul 1994
St. Philip Preschool, 725 Diamond St., San Francisco 94114; 415-282-0143 or preschoolinfo@saintphilipparish.org ; saintphilippreschool.org
Utopia Preschool, Saint Thomas More School, 50 Thomas More Way, San Francisco 94132; 415-317-6269; stthomasmoreschool.org; Director Gloria Perez; Founded 2008
St. Thomas the Apostle Preschool and Pre-K Learning Center, 3801 Balboa St., San Francisco 94121; 415-221-2711; sfsta.org; Director Hope Peterson; opening fall 2010
Laura Vicuña Pre-K of SS Peter and Paul School, 660 Filbert St., San Francisco 94133;
415-296-8549; prek@sspeterpaulsf.org; sspeterpaulsf.org/prek; Director Barbara Simons; founded 1988
Star of the Sea Preschool, 360 9th Ave., San Francisco, 94118; 415-221-7449; staroftheseasf.com; Director Eulalia Halloran; founded 2007
Marin County
Saint Raphael Preschool, 1100 Fifth Ave., San Rafael 94901; 415-456-1702 or 454-1302; hanna@saintraphael.com; Saintraphael.com; Director Sister Joan Hanna, OP; founded 2004
St. Rita Preschool, 102 Marinda Drive, Fairfax 94930; 415-456-1003; strita.edu; Director Glenda Davidson
San Domenico Pre-K; 1500 Butterfield Road, San Anselmo 94960; 415-258-1905; sbukowski@sandomenico.org; sandomenico.org; Director Carole Chase
San Mateo County
Early Learning Center at Notre Dame de Namur University, 1500 Ralston Ave., Belmont 94002; 650-508-3519; ndnu.edu/elc; Director Jan Lawrence; founded 1964
(Affiliated with the university, not with Notre Dame Elementary)
By Valerie Schmalz
August 11th, 2010
