WPENS – Westside Parent Education Nursery School – Preschool, Santa Cruz | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

As a rule, I never write reviews, but WPENS is my exception because it has given our family so much and I want others to know how wonderful it is. We have spent more than five years at WPENS and I cannot imagine a better preschool for our two (very different) children. My husband and I have made lifelong friends at WPENS because volunteering in the classroom truly creates community–you really get to know the people you are working with, and of course all parents of preschoolers can use more support and camaraderie. Our two different teachers have been the dream early childhood educators–playful, compassionate, gentle, encouraging, and insightful. WPENS teachers care so deeply about your children that they feel like family members. I visited and interviewed at four different preschools when we were in the process of choosing WPENS, and it was clear to me from the teachers’ interactions with the children that this was the right place for us. Every morning, my preschoolers were so excited to come to school and hug their teacher, practice writing their letters, sing songs and learn the sign language alphabet, play with play-dough and sand, build towers out of blocks and Magnatiles, play dress-up, ride around the track, read books, share snack, and do a variety of ever-changing creative art projects–and that is all just what happens in one morning at WPENS! We are so grateful to our teachers and this beautiful preschool community for the educational and social foundation you have given our children, and by extension, us as a family.

This is our family’s second year at WPENS. We have two kids in the preschool, which is situated on the Bayview campus, and we like it a lot.

I was drawn to this co-op preschool model because our son had previously had a really negative experience at another preschool where it was very hard to get to the bottom of what was going on in the classroom. With WPENS, I have gotten to know my children’s teacher, their classmates, and even fellow parents. So when they come home and tell me about things that happened, I have a much better sense of who was involved and how my kids’ perspective might be affecting the situation. Also, since there are a number of involved parents in the classroom every day, in addition to Teacher Cory, any problems get noticed and addressed right away (which was not the case at our previous school).

WPENS is a wonderful community of families and I encourage every family of preschoolers to check it out, especially if you are trying to ease a shy child out into the world.