Miraloma Cooperative Nursery School

Miraloma is such a blessing to our family! Our daughter has flourished here and so have we, as parents. Because the school has such a rich history, it has developed an amazingly fluid co-​op program centered on strong character development and education through play-​based activities. The kids have a blast and are learning so much about how the world works and how to create respectful, meaningful relationships with their peers and teachers. As with any co-​op, there is a fair amount of «heavy lifting» required, but it is so worth it! We have really enjoyed getting to know the other families and serving along side them at this little red school house. We couldn’t be happier with our choice to attend this community.

In a city where so much change is happening so quickly, the Miraloma tradition of educating our children to be good humans stands the test of time. The play-​based, developmentally appropriate curriculum at Miraloma not only worked well for me (alumni), but my daughter has thrived there. She starts Kindergarten in the Fall and I feel quite confident in her ability to make this transition, because her wonderful teachers and the Miraloma community have taught her fundamental life skills: how to communicate her feelings and how to function in a group. In my mind, this trumps memorizing flash cards or site words. The mixed age classroom allows each child to learn from their older peers in their first year, and take on more of a leadership role in their second. Preschool should be fun and Miraloma is the happiest place on earth.

My daughter is starting her second year at Miraloma, and it’s been an amazing experience so far. In the last year, she’s grown and developed so much independence and confidence. She looks forward to going to school, anticipating the day’s activities, and seeing her friends. The school itself has many indoor and outdoor play areas, including her favorite — a dress up room full of costumes!
As a co-​op, the parent community and staff teachers all work hard to create the most nurturing, loving environment I could have wanted for my little one, as well as the opportunity to be involved in her first experience with school. I’ve learned so much from the teachers and being involved has also taught me skills to be a better parent and better understand her development.

The little red school, Miraloma Co-​op is our home away from home, and is truly a hidden gem of a pre-​school in the City. My daughter is in her 2^nd year and as we are getting ready to graduate, it really makes me sad to leave, but also so very grateful for our time and energy spent here, making memories and so many wonderful new friends. Each family is assigned a family job that is essential to making the co-​op run. It is a true Co-​op, there are only paid teaching staff– literally everything else is done by the amazing parent-​community, including fundraising and maintenance. Every bit of the work involved is rewarding and necessary for the school to run smoothly. I have served on the Board of Directors for the past year, and I have grown and learned so much more than I ever expected to when we first came to Miraloma. My daughter has made many, what I have no doubt will be life-​long friends. I could go on and on– if you’re looking for not only a place for your child to grow, play and learn, but a true sense of community– an extension of your family– look no further.

What a fabulous treasure in our city! A sweet little preschool with safe play areas indoor (kitchen area, make believe area, pillow room & book nook) & outdoor (stage, swings, a little house, a structure & a garden).
Both my children attended. My children learned imagine play, how to play with both boys & girls, how to engage in public speaking, and fostered a love of art, among many others. By the time they graduated they were comfortable with and proficient with skills they were to learn in kindergarten (following multi-​step directions, hand eye coordination, ABCs, handwriting).
As it is a Co-​op, it is a large time commitment. Everyone has a «family job» (and a bit more), in order for the preschool to run smoothly. But what you receive in return, far out weights what you give. I have made lifelong friends here. In the end, the love of the children and the hard work *everyone* puts in, fosters a very tight and supportive community. And one of the added pleasures that I have witnessed years after leaving… watching my child run into an old Miraloma friend on a playground, a basketball court, or a sidewalk… and talking and playing together as if they were playing at the little red school house; they have made lifelong friends as well.

A wonderful little pre-​school with a rich history and a really great community of families to match.
If you are considering attending a co-​operative pre-​school for your child, do yourself a favor and take a tour of this little red gem. The «campus» is adorable, and you can tell that a lot of care has been put into the place over it’s 50 years in Sunnyside.
If you have not yet considered a co-​op school, it’s with looking into as well. As first time parents, we loved being able to join a community of families who took an active role in our child’s first years at school. And having had a «slow-​to-​warm» child, it was reassuring to know that we could participate in acclimating him to this new environments.
As we prepare for graduation, we are looking back at our school experience at Miraloma and really appreciating what a benefit it has been to our son’s growth. Seeing him make grow, learn and make friends there has been wonderful.

If you are looking for a play-​based home away from home for your preschooler-​to-​be, Miraloma will be a perfect fit you and your family. Both programs are focused on social-​emotional development and led by exceptional Directors and teachers who have been at the school for several years.
Our daughter was in the PM program from 2012 – 2014. My husband served on the board for a year and a half (this was our «family job») and I taught once a week in Fall 2013 to Spring 2014.
Parents work together to run the school for their children. With making the school the best that it can be for the children as motivation, an unbelievable amount of work gets done from week to week, month to month and year to year. The annual auction is amazing and also completely parent run. Especially if you’ve never been involved in fundraising, it is quite something to see the process of starting at nothing and raising up to and beyond $ 50,000!
Parents also provide healthy snacks each day and I think the kids at Miraloma have the best preschool snack time in the city!
I taught once a week for nine months along with one other parent teacher. Based on a monthly theme, e.g. Autumn with a sub-​theme of healthy eating, I prepared a project for the children to work on from arrival until about 2:30pm. The project can be anything from arts and crafts to cooking, pretend play (Miraloma Café, Post Office, Hospital) to an outdoor activity such as gardening, bug hunts, obstacle course, or you can set up a board game or puzzles. It’s great to see what projects the parents come up with based on their own interests, professions and hobbies. Each parent teacher works with two to four children at a time depending on the project/​space/​materials and typically each child in attendance will do each project. During project time, the children also engage in free play at indoor sensory stations set up by the teacher, pretend play in the dress up room, outdoors in the sand yard, climbing structures and garden.
After projects and free play (child-​led play) is clean-​up, circle time led by the director, snack led by the teachers, a bit more free play and then the day ends with show and tell.
Miraloma shines brightly as the teachers and directors guide each child socially and emotionally as he or she navigates and engages in individual, group play and large group time.
Teaching was very rewarding for me. I not only got to see how my daughter’s days were when I was at the school, but I got to spend time getting to know her schoolmates and other parent teachers (regulars and subs). I definitely know it was more emotional for me on our last day than it was for my daughter because I knew I would miss the kids and their parents. I also learned a lot about child development from working with the teachers and directors. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to work with the AM teacher while she subbed for several months while the PM teacher was on maternity leave, so I can vouch for the excellent quality of both programs.
Other fun events throughout the year are a Welcome Picnic, Fall Fest (Halloween costumes encouraged), Winter potlucks/​book exchange, Parent Socials, Auction Buy-​in parties and Graduation (!).
As a side note, I’ve made some wonderful friendships myself which was a huge bonus since our family started at the school during a time of a lot of transition in our lives.
I have such respect for the AM and PM staff at Miraloma. They love the children and the children all love them back. I am very grateful that we were able to be a part of the little school on Foerster! It is a place where kids get to be kids in a wonderfully supportive, loving, fun and safe environment.

Miraloma has changed my life. Not just my children’s lives — it changed mine.
I learned more about being a parent from the school, its Directors, the community — and from the children — than I ever could have learned at a set-​and-​forget drop-​off school. And did I mention that my kids LOVE THE PLACE? They’re not alone :)…
The work is not small — its a community-​driven co-​op and everyone does their part. And I do mean everyone. The community is one of the best collections of SF people and its one I’m proud to be a part of. The people there are awesome and they make the work feel like fun. Which, it actually is :).
The work is not small but really? never mind the work — its the people that make it happen. The environment is so charged with happiness that its infectious. Clean-​up and fix-​up parties are actually great fun as a result. And we get sh*(&t done. Lots of sh)(*&t.
The meetings are organized and smooth and the mutual respect we all hold for each other is top-​notch. Everyone is smart and friendly, charming and successful and there is a strong core of art-​loving but practically-​minded people that run this tight ship. Its how education should be done throughout the world. Period.
My kids were all smiles from day 1 to this month — our last in 5 years. My son became a social champion at Miraloma — making easy friends now everywhere he goes. He was shy and awkward and is now chaplain of the playground — everyone wants to play with him and he invites everyone. A «golden rule» lesson learned at Miraloma and carried with him still today.
My daughter has learned to share and to spread her social circle to more than just her BFF. Also shy coming into Miraloma, she has blossomed into a creature of pure joy and charm — certain to make her way through our world with grace and poise. Something she developed under the guidance of Directors such as Lizanne and Sabrina (we were PM program parents).
However, the biggest value in Miraloma for our family is imparted onto me and my wife. Through its outreach program, Miraloma works very hard to bring in experts in child health to coach and mentor parents through the chaos of the first 5 years. I have learned and grown in such profound and emotionally powerful ways that I can’t possibly contain it here in this Unilocal review.
Miraloma has helped both my children grow into wonderful young adults — but it has truly helped me grow up just as much. The work at Miraloma is unmearsurably insignificant when compared to the growth I’ve experienced as a parent and community member.
It is without a doubt one of the best 5 decisions of my life.

My oldest daughter has gone to Miraloma (3 afternoons per week) for 2 years and my younger daughter is about to start in the fall. Our family loves MIraloma. Miraloma is a co-​op which means each family has a family job and is expected to teach (at least as a substitute, if not a regular, weeky shift day). It can be real work sometimes, but Miraloma is an incredible community. The families that join co-​ops tend to be outgoing and generous. (You need to have these qualities if you are donating your time and energy to a non-​profit group.)
Attending Miraloma is fantastic preparation for kindergarten. The social interactions and group activities are essential for learning. The children are offered 2 projects at each class but are also allowed to easily roam from the well-​designed outdoors area to the multi-​functional indoor space. A snack is also provided each day by a family.
The children are given a wide range of activities to choose from each day and are encouraged to participate in the teacher-​led projects. (There are also fields trips to a farm and a ranch each year.) There are always a director, an assistant director and 2 parent-​teachers on duty.
Sign up for a tour if you’re interested. Miraloma is a great experience for your chlld, as well as your entire family. We love it.

I just got back from this year’s fund-​raising auction, and it was just as incredible as last year. Classy, fun, a great deal — the food and wine were just as impressive, as was the quantity and quality of items in the silent and live auctions. The economy apparently hit folks, as none of the bids got out of hand this year, but some people (cough, cough) still managed to go over-​budget. I think this year I covered my colleague’s kid’s crayons AND coloring books… and it was totally worth it given the value of everything I took home with me!