Our Teacher
Teacher Tara has been a part of the Village Preschool community since 2018. Her three boys attended Village and her love for the program and the community brought her to serve as Lead Teacher. Tara has a background in education and educational & nonprofit development. She trained with seasoned teacher, Jamie Clary, who served as lead teacher for over a decade. Tara is constantly learning from the children and their families, and has a special place in her heart for these early years of wonder.
When she’s not teaching, Tara loves spending time with her family, and outdoors hiking, swimming and camping.
It Takes a Village
Our intent at Village Preschool is to help each child become their most authentic self. Rules are enforced without rewarding, punishing or praising, and we believe active family involvement, a strong parent education program, and continual school-home communication to be essential to growth.
Apply Now for the 2023-24 school year
Our Story
Village Preschool has a rich history as a cooperative play school that has been around since 1955. Our school was created by parents in Southwest Portland who came together to form a community where their children could grow and play together and parents could maintain meaningful involvement in their children’s early learning. Over the years, the school moved to Lake Oswego (then known as Village Play School of Lake Oswego), before returning to Southwest Portland for the last 30 years.
67 Years
of being a co-op
Generations of parents have trusted their children to the welcoming classrooms at Village, and we’re proud of the impact we’ve had in our community. From the beginning, Village has been a cooperative learning institution, bringing parents and teachers together to learn from and support each other.
1500+
children taught
Classrooms typically have a 5:1 adult/child ratio, which gives each child the opportunity for individual attention and emotional development, and each parent the opportunity to be engaged and see their child grow and engage with the classroom environment, new friends and challenges.
Classroom Environment
Village offers two classrooms for play and exploration: our Block room and Art room. Both rooms are arranged into areas that provide students with repeated access to the five essential experiences of early childhood development. Each area within the classrooms is filled with carefully chosen materials that have been arranged to encourage exploration, support development and promote independence.
Village Preschool admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
unit blocks
Perhaps the most important tool for preschoolers is a complete set of unit blocks. At first they line them up in a row, then they begin stacking, forming partial enclosures and then full enclosures with patterns and design. In the process they deal with spatial issues and balance.
sensory
A bean, rice and seed table invites children to pour, measure, sort and organize. Flubber or playdough is every day to knead, roll, flatten, and create, and nature walks as well as objects on the science and nature table provide children the opportunity to feel and smell the world around them.
gross motor
Gross motor skills are acquired indoors by dancing, tumbling, rhythmic movement and active group games. Children also engage in play and movement outside every school day, rain or shine, on our spacious outdoor playground, where they spend time balancing, hanging and swinging, digging, carrying loads of sand and water in buckets and wheelbarrows, jumping, running, skipping and ball handling.
art
Art is essential to self-expression—a creative process that stimulates the feeling of joy and satisfaction and comes wholly from the child. At Village, art is not copying a model or using materials in a way dictated by adults, but a unique mixing of concepts with regularly rotated materials.
Dramatic play
Children try out new identities, make-believe, explore relationships and discover feelings and solutions during dramatic play. Dress-up clothes, musical instruments and large blocks allow the children to create new worlds, and daily group time includes singing, dancing, puppetry, storytelling and conversation.
location
Just off the I-5 Freeway and Capitol Highway interchange, the classroom occupies space near the West Portland United Methodist Church and sits near multiple nature trails and field trip destinations (for Seniors). Nearby are Multnomah Village, Hillsdale and Garden Home.
heather h.
“Village helped us get three kids ready for kindergarten. The school has really become part of the family—and the principles we’ve learned from our teachers have legitimately helped us become better parents.”
Rachel m.
“We are going into our third year at Village and words cannot express how much we love our little school! Our daughter loves school of course and has grown immensely in the past 2 years, but because Village is a co-op we as her parents have had the privilege to witness that growth firsthand. We can’t thank this community enough for supporting her and loving her for who she is.”
Class Program
Village offers a combined class program for ages 3 to 6 years old. Children are considered to be Juniors (ages 3-4 years) or Seniors (ages 4+ years).
Get Involved
Village Preschool of Portland is a community, and has been since 1955. It has flourished over the years due to the dedication and love poured into it by countless generations of parents, many of whom attended Village themselves as children. As a community, Village welcomes you to be a part of the fun.
parent education
Village offers Parent Education evenings in an intimate Q&A style with Teacher Jamie. Our families are able to gather, share their questions and struggles and receive insight and feedback about parenting.
Make a Donation
Village is a cooperative preschool and is managed by parents of the children enrolled. This allows for efficient operation and reduced tuition rates. Generous donations also form a key part of the financial health of the school, and are always welcome.