Each day is unique and no child is compelled to participate in every activity, but our day is organized around a flexible schedule.

Every child is warmly greeted. Each is invited to one of several activity centers to help them separate and ease into their school day.

Because we have a large staff, we are all able to tend to the wants and needs of the children. Except for two circle times for the entire class, we work in small groups on a variety of activities, and we never deprive a child of individual attention when it is needed.

Typical small group activities include sand and water play, baking and cooking, feeding our birds, fish and rabbit, Montessori materials, reading stories, planting, play-doh, and special projects for holidays.

Art activities include easel painting, collage, water colors, scissor cutting and clay. Play areas offer the opportunity to develop large motor skills on our climbing equipment, riding toys, and merry-go-round.


A fully licensed facility. Professional staff trained in child development. High teacher to student ratio. Learning, laughter, and play in a calm, creative environment. A loving and caring family atmosphere where each child is special, with emphasis on politeness and respect for others.	Safe, well-equipped private play space. Flexible schedules, with makeups offered for absences. There is no annual contract. Year-round operation (full program in June, July, and the first part of August.) Our specialists in French, drama, reading, puppetry, and science are full-time staff members.

Our teaching approach is eclectic, utilizing the best of what is known today in the field of Early Childhood Education, including Montessori and Bank Street:

1. We emphasize the importance of observing the children and following their "sensitive" periods when they are most receptive to learning. If a child shows an early interest in learning to read, we have the resources to make it happen. We believe there is no arbitrary age for reading acquisition. Using the child's cue as our guide, we avoid pressure in any direction. Children must grow and learn at their own pace.

2. We believe learning and play should be integrated. Phonics, for example, is taught through many songs, and games. Science is introduced with hands-on activities.

3. We believe in learning through discovery with sand and water projects, play with blocks, large-scale art, easel and finger-painting.

4. We respond to the children's need for independence. They want to do things for themselves, real things, adult things. We provide opportunities for pouring their own juice from small pitchers, preparing the fruits and vegetables for their snack, hanging up their own coats on special hooks at their level, washing tables and chairs, and choosing their own materials from low open shelves.

5. We organize the classroom for individual as well as group work. We never insist that children join a group activity. Their right to work alone is respected. Children will join in groups when they are ready. They need to see themselves first as empowered, accomplishing individuals. Here at school, they do have ample opportunity to participate in group activities during outdoor play, in rhythm and circle games and during snack time.

6. We favor inter-aging. Mixed-age groups provide the most natural setting for socialization. Younger children see the older ones as models. Older children have the opportunity to help the younger ones, building their own competence and self esteem.

7. One of our primary objectives is to help the children create a calm, cooperative classroom. We incorporate strategies that lead to mutual respect - teachers respecting children and children respecting one another. The concept of sharing is a learned skill. Through practice, they gradually understand that others have rights too.

8. Above all we aim to create an atmosphere of fun - a happy, secure place where children want to be.

We offer the following programs
see our admissions policy

1. Morning programs for twos and threes (Sample PDF)	9:00am-11:50am
2. Extended day programs for threes, fours, and fives	9:00am-2:10pm
3. Afternoon programs for twos and threes	12:45pm-3:35pm
4. Afternoon programs for threes, fours, and fives	12:45pm-4:15pm

Summer Camp:

June through August - Half and full day programs
(Ages 3 to 5 years old)
- Fun learning, play and creative activities including french reading,
math readiness, art, science, drama and more!

Afterschool Programs:

We offer afterschool enrichment programs in French, the arts, science,
and music throughout the school year for ages 3 to 8.

Our Admission Process

In our admission process, we are looking to find a suitable match between new families and our school. Parents of potential applicants should understand and be comfortable with the VPC philosophy. Our school emphasizes a rich academic curriculum including early reading and math, science and French lessons combined with socialization and play in a warm and loving environment.

Parental involvement in the school is welcome and encouraged. We expect our parents to support our fund-raising efforts, and to join us in our charitable activities. We will ask them to share their special knowledge and skills with the children to enrich our themes and programs.

Request an Individual Visit

Starting in October through December, we schedule our initial round of individual visits with families that have submitted requests here. Applicants for visits are chosen in an ongoing ‘lottery system’. Each potential applicant is sorted by gender and age and then randomly chosen from the applicant pool. In addition, requests for visits received by 11/01/10 are given a higher priority (however, we will consider requests made after this date if the current applicant pool does not meet our gender/age requirement). Please bear in mind that we get many more requests for individual visits than we can possibly accommodate without compromising our individual attention to each applicant.

During Individual Visit

Our choice of conducting individual visits (over Open Houses) allows us to meet parents face-to-face while observing and interacting with them and their child during a typical school day. This also gives the parents the opportunity to view their child in the setting of our school. Parents should treat the 45 minute visit as a relaxed, friendly interview. Our alumni parents conduct visits and answer questions. One or both directors will spend time with and get to know every family and child. We will not conduct a visit for any family that shows up for an appointment without their child. If your child is sick, please call to reschedule.

Acceptance Policy

Applicants that visited in our initial round (October – December), should expect to hear from the school by the end of December regarding acceptance. We will continue with visits and acceptances in to the spring until all of our programs are filled. Applicants who visit during this time will notified within a few weeks regarding acceptance.

After School/Toddler Time
	French on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with Ms. Karima0 (3-5 years) The hour long class will expose the children to the fundamentals of the French language through songs, books, movement, and more. The class will be led by Ms. Karima Megharbi who is a native French speaker, and a full-time VPC classroom teacher. She teaches French every school day with all the VPC children.
	Science with Mr. Thomas on Tuesdays and Thursdays (3-5 years) Mr. Thomas is back again for another WILD year of After School Science! The hour-long, themed class starts with a scientific snack, followed by a fascinating and fun experiment, then a mixture of educational media (Magic School Bus, Bill Nye, Discovery Kids, Going Wild with Jeff Corwin, plus many more), and finally a project and discussion about an aspect of our natural world and how it relates to us. After School Science for Kindergartners Just because your child has graduated from VPC, doesn’t mean they have to miss out on the awesome learning and fun of Mr. Thomas’ after school science class. VPC and Mr. Thomas are offering Science for Kindergarteners this year. All graduates and friends are welcomed! The hour-long, themed class starts with a scientific snack, followed by a fascinating and fun experiment, then a mixture of educational media (Magic School Bus, Bill Nye, Discovery Kids, Going Wild with Jeff Corwin, plus many more), and finally a project and discussion about an aspect of our natural world and how it relates to us. With Mr. Thomas in charge, your child is guaranteed to have a ton of fun while learning about the wonderful and exciting world around us.
	NEW THIS YEAR!!! Rock N Roll Preschool with Mr. Mitch on Thursdays (3-5 years) Led by VPC Dad, Mr. Mitch, this class will expose your children to the rudiments of music paired with letter, number and symbolic recognition skills (e.g. what a note looks like on paper), help develop an “ear for music” by listening to the sounds they create and develop an appreciation of rock music that can be translated to other kinds of music. Mr. Mitch’s rock musicals have been produced Off Broadway and include productions by The Public Theater at Joe’s Pub and the NY International Fringe Festival. He has worked with Tom O’ Horgan, Broadway director of Hair & Jesus Christ Superstar. He studied guitar with Dave Van Ronk (the Mayor of Greenwich Village) and has performed throughout the NYC area as a singer-songwriter, guitarist and bass player. Mr. Mitch’s prerequisites are that your child has a love of music or an openness to explore music and a love of movement. Get ready to rock! Our own, Mr. Tom will be helping Mr. Mitch as well!

Co-Directors Suzette Burdett and Jeff Ramsay,
Assistant Director Brunie Surget

	Suzette Burdett Suzette's degrees are in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. She graduated from New York University and did her graduate studies at Bank Street College. Suzette took her Montessori training here in New York. While working for the NYC Dept. of Education, she taught emotionally disturbed children. In addition to running parent workshops, and doing consultant work in open classroom curriculum, she specialized in language arts for young children. Suzette is also involved in teacher training for the American Montessori Society. She headed an advanced Montessori class at St. Michael's Montessori School, and has lectured at the New School. For many years she served as a counselor for a child abuse hotline. Suzette has published articles on education. She has an adult son.
	Jeff Ramsay Jeff received his BA at Dartmouth College, and his MA from the University of Chicago. Before coming to New York, Jeff taught French language and literature at the U. of C. and Dartmouth. He lived for several years in France, directing intensive language programs for Dartmouth undergraduates. In addition to his work at the V.P.C., Jeff has taught in the afterschool programs of other downtown private schools, including Corlears and Friends Seminary School.
	Brunie Surget Assistant Director and Educational Director Brunie D. Surget, a NY State certified teacher, received her MA in early childhood and elementry education from New York University. She has been head teacher at the VPC since 2000, and is the mother of two VPC alumnae who now attend the Lycee Francais.
	Ruth Selman Suzette and Ruth co-founded the Village Preschool Center in 1979. Ruth is a representative of the American Montessorri Society's Non-Governmental Organization at the U.N. She organizes youth visits to the United Nations - a project where middle school children from every part of the United States tour the U.N. to learn that there is a non-violent, diplomatic option to deal with conflicts among nations.

The Village Preschool Center
136 West 10th Street New York, New York 10014
212.645.1238

We are the village preschool center.
We sing and we work and we play.
We love and we help each other.
We co-operate each day!

you can reach us at village.preschool@verizon.net

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