Being a collective is central to our identity and our community. Like elsewhere, when everyone pitches in, it strengthens and enriches the school and the bonds we share. The Collective is more than 50 years old. In this time, we have learned a lot about how to best achieve our goals of having parents meaningfully contribute to the well-being of the school and fostering community. In general, each parent is obligated to do at least 18 hours of “work” per school year. This work can take many forms. Occasional weekend maintenance jobs, organizing a fundraiser, or being a room parent are just a few examples. For more info and examples, click here.

The school day runs from 8:30 a.m. until 5:40 p.m. with flexible drop-off and pickup.

The school year starts in early September and ends in late July.

The Collective does not provide separate after-school care.

These are the names for our three classrooms. The Little Stars is a classroom of 2 and 3 year-olds. A child is a Little Star for one year only.

Each Little Star then moves on to either the Bears or Rainbows classroom, where they will stay for the remainder of their time at the Collective. The Bears and Rainbows are mostly 3 and 4 year-olds. But near the end of the school year, a few of the children in each classroom turn 5. We love our mixed age classes, which you can learn more about here.

Yes and no. Our pre-application “tours” consist of an on-site open house in late fall where families can visit the school, speak in-depth with current parents, teachers and administrators, and learn more about our program.

All families who submit an application will be invited to schedule a 1:1 “play visit” - onsite or via Zoom - with their child. The play visit will last approximately 20-25 minutes, and we highly recommend that (as applicable) both parents/guardians attend. For in-person visits, we provide an in-depth personal tour around the school, share more about our program, and answer any questions you might have. Your child will also be invited to join a group play activity or a play station.

If your visit is on Zoom, we also ask that your child be present for a short time during the visit, perhaps playing with toys or engaging in a favorite activity - anything that makes the experience relaxed and comfortable.

For all of these different approaches, including our own, there can be a wide divergence between theory and practice; it’s all in how it is interpreted and implemented. We have great respect for, and see parallels in, all of these. Our foundation is very intentionally built on John Dewey’s theories on experiential learning and community and the Bank Street College developmental-interaction approach. We emphasize the community and group as well our teachers being as present as possible, and are happy to share more about our perspective on these different nuances.

As a private nonprofit, we currently do not offer 3-K or UPK. However, we do greatly value economic diversity, offer financial aid, and encourage families to apply.

With a uniquely low student-teacher ratio, the Collective aims to provide the highest quality, age-appropriate care and education rooted in play. Each of our 3/4s classes has 4 teachers for a class of 15 (vs. 1 teacher and 1 paraprofessional for a class of 15-18). Every child at the Collective receives highly individualized attention and support for their unique developmental path.

With a play-based approach, we also believe (and research shows) that children at this age learn best from the “bottom-up.” That means weaving in literacy and numeracy as it naturally emerges in their play and daily experiences (vs. being “taught to”) so that kids are maximally empowered, engaged, and having fun.

Finally, because we are able to have longer hours and a more flexible schedule, we can accommodate longer outdoor time or excursions during the day, and more and longer open days per school year (more than 6 weeks!). This allows for greater consistency for parents and children alike and lessens the effort and time it could take to coordinate and pay for back-up/afterschool/summer care. With all this said, we deeply support increasing access to publicly-funded, high-quality, early childcare and education and advocating for reforms to make it the best it can be. For more info and cost comparisons, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

At the Collective we place a high value on teacher-parent communication, which takes place in several ways. Almost every day, parents receive pictures and updates of what’s happening in class via Brightwheel, our communications app. Teachers will also send student-specific messages via the app and/or conference with parents at pick-up or drop-off.

In-person communication is also very important, and we encourage parents to ask questions and bring up any concerns they have. Because we want to make sure that our teachers have the time to address any questions or concerns, while respecting their time and their commitment to all the children in their classrooms, we ask that parents make arrangements to speak with teachers through the main office.

Two parent-teacher conferences are held during the school year, usually on Zoom. The conferences are informed yet informal. The Collective does not create written reports. Instead, you will be part of an intimate conversation with two of your child’s teachers where you will hear details about your child and his or her development and where you are free to ask questions and talk about any issues or concerns you have.

Of course, parents can speak to teachers anytime if they have questions or concerns regarding any aspect of their child’s development. At the Collective, we do not hesitate when parents or teachers ask for meetings as we value open communication between home and school.

Snacks – yes. Lunch – no. Children bring their own lunches, but we provide two healthy snacks (i.e. fruit, dry snack) daily. Meal items can be refrigerated and/or heated up in our microwave ovens - please just let a teacher know (i.e. a post-it note will work!). We will help the children to feed themselves as much as necessary and encourage every family to send in a refillable water bottle (to be kept in the classroom) for their child at the start of each week. However, we also provide water and paper cups, as well as disposable utensils, as necessary.

IMPORTANT: The Collective has a NO NUT POLICY. We care for children who are highly allergic to peanuts and will provide a list of lunch alternatives for your child. We also request that parents inform us of any additional food allergies that your child might have.

Some children love their naps. Others just don’t seem to need one. Each class has rest/sleep time daily from about 1:00/1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. We provide a comfy cot for each child, and the parents bring in bedding (a fitted sheet and a blanket) at the beginning of each week. All children (even the non-nappers) are asked to rest quietly on their cots for the first 45 minutes of naptime. Those who fall asleep awaken at their own pace, but are gently prodded to wake up at 3 p.m. if they are still dozing.

Yes! Parents are welcome to leave compact, collapsible strollers folded and hung up in the entrance hallway during the school day. There are also overhead bars to hang scooters and bicycles. All items must return home at day’s end.

A lot! Experiencing nature and the outdoors–whether it is Prospect Park or sights and sounds of the neighborhood–is an important part of the Collective experience. So our teachers’ goal is to spend part of each day outside. When the weather doesn’t let us do that, we use the indoor gym for playtime. The destination is not always the emphasis of the outing. The journey itself can offer an abundance of interesting and exciting experiences for young children.

Being outside encourages language development and enhances motor and sensory development as the children look, feel, smell, touch, and taste. The outdoors also provides children with a chance to form perceptions of the world, become acquainted with different types of people and activities, and understand how the world operates and their relationship to it.

For the Little Stars, outside activities begin with neighborhood walks and play time in our “Side Yard”-- a large outdoor play space that is adjacent to, and part of, the Collective. As the year progresses, the Little Stars venture to the public playground between 5th and 6th Avenues and Lincoln and Berkeley and occasional trips to Prospect Park.

Conflict at any age is unavoidable. At the Collective, we understand that conflict among children is a natural part of growing up and socialization. Our teachers work thoughtfully with children to help them resolve peer conflicts and learn social and problem-solving skills while ensuring a safe and calm classroom environment.

The Collective does not use time-outs. If more intervention is required, teachers will remove a child from a difficult situation saying, “You are having a hard time doing X, let’s find something else for you to do.” The teacher will then stay with the child, keeping the conversation about the incident ongoing. During this process, the teacher will let the child know that they will be able to rejoin the group or previous activity when they are able to play safely and cooperatively. The teacher will always tell the child that they will stay with them and keep them safe.

Saying goodbye –even for a few hours– can be difficult for both children and their grownups! Helping children to separate from (say good-bye to) their parent(s) is a key component of our program. This is often a family’s first experience with separation, and we are very sensitive to individual needs and feelings. In order to ease the process, parents and teachers work together to create a bridge between home and the Collective. We have discovered that when parents feel comfortable in the Collective’s environment, so will the children. The building of a relationship between parents and teachers is the foundation for the child’s positive experiences.

At the beginning of the school year, the Little Stars and the new-to-the-Collective Bear and Rainbow children ease into the program through a phase-in period. In these first weeks of school, the child gets to know their teachers and the daily school routine gradually by spending a little more time each day in the school program. By the second or third week (depending on their schedule), they will have spent an entire school day at the Collective. Phasing in young children allows them to make the transition into school at a slower and more appropriate pace.

During phase-in, parents are asked to spend the first day (or part of it) with their child, and the parent and teachers together decide when the child is sufficiently comfortable for the parent to leave. Parents need to say “good-bye” to their children and tell them when they will return. Parents may not sneak out in order to prevent their child from crying. Teachers will always work with each family to assist with separation.

We want to get to know you and your child! For all new children, the staff make short home or stoop visits either the week before school begins or during the first week of school to help connect home and school. These visits allow each child to meet and familiarize themself with a teacher or two in the child’s own setting. The visits in turn provide the teacher(s) with a “snapshot” of the child where they are most comfortable. (We will also arrange side yard visits at the Collective, if preferable.)

Before the school year begins, new families will receive an email from their child’s teachers asking them to make “All About Me” books so that their child will have a special book about themselves to look through while they are at school. The “All About Me” books are very comforting and help ease children into their new school environment. They also promote social interaction between children and their peers.

An added bonus is that the books often become fun and moving mementos of an important and transitional time in your child’s life.

Drop-off and pick-up at the Collective is often a time for micro community-building. Parents have the opportunity to see one another and exchange a few words with teachers, staff and other children in the classroom. Many times, impromptu play dates or group outings are arranged during these interactions.

As for logistics, parents are asked to have their children in class by 9:30 a.m. to ensure their smooth transition into the school day. Pick-up time is between 3:00 p.m. and 5:40 p.m. The Collective closes promptly at 5:45 p.m. so that the school can be cleaned properly and teachers and staff can return home to care for their own families.

Yes - as long as there is availability in the classroom! Families who do not have their child on a 5-day-a-week school schedule sometimes find that they need child care coverage on a day their child doesn't normally attend school. The Collective works very hard to accommodate these requests. When we have to say “no,” it is because the classrooms are at capacity for that day and having an additional child would place the Collective out of compliance with city regulations concerning child/teacher ratios. Parents are encouraged to make a request for an additional day as far in advance as possible.