PPNS was founded in 1961 by Wendy Pfeffer and Beverly Thurman, two teachers with young children who identified the need for a community-based preschool in our area. Working with Pastor Walter Coats, Wendy and Bev planned a school that would be an outreach to all local families and originally opened with classes for threes and fours. Over the years, additional classes have been added, including the first two-year-old program in our area, which opened in 1985 after the addition of a two new classrooms specifically tailored to the needs of very young children.
This year we celebrate our 60th anniversary! Although COVID has changed the way we commemorate this milestone, our playground will feature a new piece of equipment voted on by our Pre-K students last fall.
Throughout the school’s history, our philosophy and mission have stayed the same: a child’s work is play, and open-ended intentional play guided by caring and highly qualified teachers gives children the freedom and environment to think expansively and creatively, and gain the skills necessary for elementary school, both in traditional academic subjects and in social and self-help skills.