Partnership for Purposeful Play
Dear Pilgrim Community Members,
Since our founding in 1966, Pilgrim Community Nursery School has been a cornerstone of high-quality early childhood education in the Oak Park area. Generations of families have joined our Pilgrim Community experiencing our Play With Purpose philosophy to education. It has always been our mission to foster every child's growth in an inclusive and joyful play-based learning environment that reflects the diversity of Oak Park and our surrounding communities; welcoming children and families of all races, religions, ethnic backgrounds, family structures, sexual orientations, gender identities and economic situations. Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths, and it is our goal to be a preschool program that is accessible and affordable to all families. I am delighted to share some of our recent accomplishments which help us achieve this goal:
In 2022, along with Pilgrim Church, we completed a capital improvement project that included a new commercial kitchen, ADA bathroom and new flooring throughout PCNS.
In the 2023 school year, we expanded from a historically traditional nursery school format of 4 half-days per week to include 5 half-day per week classes for children aged 2 to 5 years old.
In 2023, we also became a Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) provider which enables us to offer additional statewide financial assistance for low income families, making our preschool more affordable for many families.
Lastly, seeing how much early childhood care and education has changed in the last 57 years, it is clear the term “nursery school” no longer reflects the childcare program we are today. Beginning in 2024, we will be renamed Pilgrim Community Preschool, providing the same high-quality early childhood education for children aged 2 to 5 years of age, just under a new name!
We are proud of these advances to our beloved program, and know they will strengthen the future of our school community. With an eye to the future, we recognize that to fully realize our goal of being a high-quality preschool option for all families, it is vital to include full-day preschool options to support the childcare needs of our community. Expanding to full-day has been a goal of ours for some time, and we are nearly there!
To achieve this goal, we need your help! The recent capital improvement project completed a portion of the renovations our space needed to expand to full day, and we have one more hurdle to pass: a new sprinkler system must be installed. While we are also pursuing grants and outside funding sources for this costly project, we are reaching out to our Pilgrim Community to ask for your support to help us achieve our goal. As we near the season of giving, and Giving Tuesday on November 28th, please consider a donation to Pilgrim Community Preschool. Your tax-exempt donation will help us achieve our goal and mission for accessible and affordable high-quality preschool for all children and families in the future.
Thank you for your continued partnership,
Emily Norman
Director