Haight Ashbury Cooperative Nursery School, San Francisco | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

Our family’s six years at this gem of a preschool have defined our lives in the best way. Our three children remember the Haight Ashbury Nursery School as a most idyllic haven for their early days. We knew we wanted a play-based approach for these years of their lives. The school appealed to us immediately with its warmth and creative community. One couldn’t hope for a more loving, wise, and devoted director – Cocoa is cherished by all who have the pleasure of knowing her. She still greets her alums with a bear hug when they return to visit her, many of them now grown up. As parents, it was invaluable to us to be learning alongside other moms and dads who were all figuring it out and caring for one another’s children. You don’t simply drop your kid off and pick them up without getting to know your fellow families. You enjoy a tight community and tremendous support. The community we gained from the school still provides our deepest friendships and many other connections. We’ve even taken part in a mom and dad sing-along band that formed among our school families. I really don’t know what our lives in San Francisco would look like had we not spent such meaningful years at HACNS. We are forever in debt to this magical place, and we recommend it most highly for your family.

Haight Ashbury Cooperative Nursery is a Cole Valley neighborhood treasure. This play-based school has been amazing for our daughter. It’s situated at the Grattan Playground which allows for a lot of outdoor play, which is so important at preschool ages. Teacher Cocoa is so very dedicated to the kids, their development, and ensuring an inclusive, collaborative environment. The kids are exposed to lots of age-appropriate activities that develop different skills sets in the most natural way, as well as lots of outdoor time. As a co-op, parents are expected to be active participants in the building of this amazing community. On that front, the communication channels are open and parents are very friendly and collaborative as well. My daughter has thrived at this school, hasn’t yet had a day when she doesn’t want to attend, and is always asking for more time at the school. Kid-approved as well!

This cooperative preschool was perfect for us when we lived in San Francisco. You definitely have to roll your sleeves up and pitch in, but for parents who have the time and desire to be involved in their little ones’ early childhood experience, I can’t imagine a better way to do it. So much love, thoughtfulness and experience coming from the director, Cocoa, and supported by an energetic bunch of volunteer parents. You get what you put in, which can be a truly amazing thing. When we were there, there was definitely a bit of room for improvement around communication, but overall, our experience was a very good one. We got to learn and understand so much more about being in community, learned countless songs, activities, and strategies for handling tricky situations, AND we got to know and work with people who we now consider very good friends.