Open Center for Children

Open Center is a really heartwarming, caring, and steady place for children. Unlike other expensive centers, Open Center doesn’t feel corporate or institutional, but is a welcoming, organized and structured environment for kids. Many of the staff have been teaching there for several years, which is so rare to see in childcare. Our 2.9yr old daughter attends and we’ve been so happy. Each month has a theme, around which different types of activities are centered (reading, art, and games, etc). Already we’ve already seen results in her learning and other skills. Having steady staff who’ve developed and tested the curriculum over several years really shows.

Our four year old daughter attends The Open Center for Children and we have been very pleased with the school. The play-​based learning philosophy is very effective at engaging the children and the school does a great job of enhancing the experience by hiring outside professionals to weekly teach yoga, music, etc. OCFC attracts engaged, caring parents, partly because it’s a non-​profit organization. Tuition rates are reasonable. Evidence that the model works is the long tenure of the Executive Director and the teachers — they all have significant experience caring for children.

Wonderful pre-​school. We are sending our 3-​yr old there and I wish our older child had gone there. Dedicated staff w/​very low turnover who are clearly experienced early childhood educators. I drop my kid off here in the morning and am fully confident that she is well taken care of and in a great learning environment.

The Open Center for Children is a great preschool with full-​time hours. We love the play-​based learning philosophy and the teachers are experienced and dedicated — some have been at the center for more than 10 years. They recently did a seminar for parents on ways to bring play-​based learning home. They send great weekly updates about the curriculum, and have covered units on space, construction, families, seasons and more. They also have weekly yoga instruction and music teachers come in and a program with Habitat through the Audubon society where kids get to explore different aspects of nature. Community and parent participation are a bonus.

The Open Center is such a special place. We’ve been involved with the Open Center for about 2.5 years now and both of our children have really thrived there. The teachers are great and the sense of community we feel with the other families has been an important part of our experience.

Been involved with the Open Center for 1.5 years now, and now have our second child enrolled. The director has seen it all, and knows what needs to be known to make a school work well. The current crop of teachers have been there for years. Quite a statement that there is no turnover. They pride themselves on diversity and the most progressive philosophy you could ever imagine.
It’s a small school, only about 30 kids. It is non-​profit so it’s not aggressively marketed, or broadly known. Good stuff.
You should find out more, pay a visit, and seriously consider sending your child to the OCFC. I seriously cannot imagine a safer and more nurturing environment for a child to strike out on their own for the first time.