Harker's New Preschool is Approved and Open for Business

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.

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