Two University City residents, Mary Coppola and Susan Burns, met at a nonprofit, progressive preschool in South Charlotte in 2001.
They made a commitment to start a similar preschool in their own community. Believing that "play is powerful," the co-founders of the Piedmont Progressive Preschool opened their school shortly thereafter.
Housed in the Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church since then, the school now has a class of 10 2-year-olds, 12 2- to 4-year-olds, and 16 4- to 5-year-olds. Each class has two teachers, and the 2-year-old class also has a full-time parent volunteer.
Freedom of thought and action, as well as honoring visual aesthetics, are central to the school's philosophy.
That spirit was clear April 19 at the Fifth Annual Goods and Services Silent Auction. Raising money for school supplies and scholarships, parents and teachers bid on restaurant and massage gift certificates, children's books, wine and cheese baskets, and more than 100 other items.
The children's artwork dazzled participants in an array of paintings, silhouettes and craft projects decorating the space. Standing out in front of red, blue, yellow and green canvases was a mosaic-topped round children's table with matching chairs, created by the 4- and 5-year-old class.
Home-cooked delicacies and desserts, festive drinks and conversation filled the beautiful church sanctuary.
Auction chairperson Paula Canavan, the mother of a 3 1/2-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter who thrive at the school, summed up the warm mood: "A family atmosphere abounds at Piedmont Progressive Preschool. The parents run the school, and everyone volunteers."
The school puts on potlucks twice a year, and new parents are welcome to the community via play dates and a variety of get-togethers. Canavan's family moved to Charlotte from New Jersey, leaving her family and friends behind. She knows how important it is to find a network of supportive parents and a safe haven for children while in transition.
She expressed her daughter's sorrow over the loss of her grandmother's daily presence when they first moved to Charlotte. The teachers rallied around her daughter, and soon she was involved in the many activities offered at the school.
If a child expresses an interest in a particular activity, the teachers put materials out the next day for him or her. Teachers and parents pay close attention to the children's cognitive and emotional development.
The teachers are trained in discovery-based learning, and the children learn at their own pace. When Paula's sister came to visit, her niece came home and told her aunt, "Did you know red and yellow make orange?" Her aunt asked, "Did the teachers tell you that?" Her niece quickly responded, "I learned that by mixing the colors together."
True to Piedmont Progressive Preschool style, children learn and explore through the power of play and action.
Want more info?
For more information about the Piedmont Progressive Preschool, call the school from 9 a.m. to noon Monday-Friday at 704-510-1022. It is at 9704 Mallard Creek Road in the Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church. Gail Summerskill
