Harker's New Preschool is Approved and Taking Applications!

San Jose, CA – The Harker School received final approval July 18 from the state and licensing agency for its inaugural preschool, which opens Sept. 3.

Located on Union Avenue, Harker Preschool sits on an 8-acre site which was purchased by The Harker School from the county last year. Renovations have been underway since January to prepare for the preschool opening.

The Harker School has three other San Jose campuses where it operates its lower, middle and upper schools. “We’re very excited to add the preschool to our K-12 school community,” said Chris Nikoloff, head of school.  

The new play-based preschool will offer programs for 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds and transitional kindergartners. With a focus on child-centered learning and teacher-guided explorations, Harker Preschool will offer a curriculum rich with music, art, movement and nature. All of the preschool teachers have college degrees and backgrounds working with children.

“We are building a very special place for young children, with kind, passionate and highly qualified teachers giving guidance. We also have a large, thoughtfully developed campus, and the best blend of early childhood education philosophies enabling children to develop and learn while engrossed in rich, hands-on play experiences,” said Andrea Hart, director of Harker Preschool. 

A Bay Area native, Hart previously spent 11 years working as a teacher at the Bing Nursery School, the play-based laboratory preschool at Stanford University. She started her educational career years before that teaching in local Montessori preschools. Hart is also a former student of the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership at Columbia University.

Applications for admission to the preschool are currently being accepted, with notifications of enrollment going out on Aug. 9. Interested parents may register online or by coming to any of Harker’s campuses for a preschool registration packet. Harker Preschool will hold several informational tours for prospective parents to learn more about the program, view the campus, and meet the school’s director, teachers and staff. For parents to get the most out of these events, they are encouraged to arrange child care for their little ones.

“We are all so excited about the new preschool,” said longtime Harker employee Kelly Espinosa, who oversees the school’s summer and preschool programs. “It is a beautiful facility that promises to be a one-of-a-kind experience for young children,” she added. 

Three preschool information events will be held this month on July 18, 21 and 23. For more information about the new Harker Preschool, contact preschool@harker.org.

Preschool license number: 434413575.

Founded in 1893 in Palo Alto, The Harker School is a coed, non-sectarian independent school serving greater Silicon Valley, with an enrollment of 1,700 students on three San Jose campuses.