Hunters Woods Cooperative Preschool
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  • Contact Us
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About Us

Our Beliefs

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Playing is Learning

Children learn best through play. Imaginative play engages children and allows them time to try out new ideas and to develop a sense of their place in the world while at the same time building language and vocabulary skills, social skills, physical abilities and problem-solving proficiency.

We encourage active involvement, meaningful experimentation and reinforcement through repeated opportunities. We strive to balance structure and free-choice, as well as active and quiet times, while encouraging play and exploration.
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Nature Inspires

Children are naturally curious about their surroundings, and they are intrigued by water, soil, plants and animals they discover in the natural world. Through exposure to natural elements and experiences in and with nature, children learn to care more deeply about nature and conservation, while at the same time building independence, self-confidence, strength, endurance, determination, social skills, problem-solving skills, resilience, and friendship.

​Experiences in and with nature take children's play to a higher level, leading to social, emotional, physical, and community benefits.
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Cooperation is Key

​The most rewarding and successful preschool program is one that involves family participation.  A cooperative preschool gives families the opportunity to be intimately involved with their child’s education, which studies show contributes to future academic success.  A cooperative creates a strong sense of community, provides family education, and can give you a wonderful connection with your child.

Families become stronger when they play and make meaningful connections to nature together.

Hunters Woods is Not Like Other Preschools...

At Hunters Woods Cooperative Preschool, families assist in the classroom on a rotating basis. Family members contribute their time, enthusiasm, skills, and talents to create a rich and diverse preschool environment. Through classroom participation, families are able to make friends within the community and to observe for themselves the progress their child is making,
Regularly scheduled conferences, class coffees, and membership meetings allow parents to discuss topics of interest to them, and to have an active voice in the policies and operation of the school. In addition, parent polls and surveys are conducted annually to solicit feedback and suggestions to improve the school.
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"I think the best selling point of Hunters Woods Cooperative Preschool is that there is nothing else like it. This is a community of parents helping each other."

Our Philosophy of Learning

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​We value the active involvement of parents in our program, both through committee and classroom participation. Helping-parent days enable the children to see their parents as important and concerned members of the school environment, while providing parents with opportunities to observe the child with teachers and other children.
Parents may gain valuable insights and techniques from the expertise of the staff, and at the same time, share their own talents and interests to maintain the excellent quality here at HWPS. School becomes a shared family experience, which hopefully will continue throughout each child’s education.

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In a caring and positive atmosphere, we create a warm and happy place for pre-schoolers to learn. As we bridge the gap from home to school, we guide children to a continued good self-image while building social skills in a school setting. ​
Sensory, motor, perceptual, and language skills are introduced through materials and activities, which are both child-centered and teacher-directed. Work emphasizes the process rather than the product, fostering a sense of accomplishment and pride. 
​Recognizing that children develop at their own pace, we treat each child as an individual, working from the level each child has attained and moving forward one step at a time. We teach a love of learning by allowing children to explore their own interests and helping them to feel success without pressure. 

Family Participation

Family involvement is at the core of HWPS operations. We believe in the old saying "Many hands make light work." While teachers do the planning and preparation for each school day, parents take turns coming to school with their children to help in the classroom.

Teachers also encourage family members to share their talents and interests in class. Talent comes in all shapes and sizes, and you don't have to be an expert to impress a 4-year-old, so get that old violin out of the back of your closet. You own a pet snake? You speak Spanish? You love to cook? You definitely have a talent to share!
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Each family participates on a committee responsible for some aspect of the school. Members of the social committee might each bring cookies to an event. Members of the fundraising committee might ask a business to donate an auction item. If everyone does one small job, then no one is overworked.

Our Team

In addition to our expert staff members, HWPS is supported by our Board of Directors and our dedicated preschool families.

Staff

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Dianne Rose

Head Teacher, Rabbits Teacher
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Sheri Kelleher

Teacher, Koalas and Stay & Play
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Leah Stanton

Director

Board of Directors

Danyelle Disbrow

President

Michelle Gentry

Treasurer

Courtney Lisull

Fundraising

Aasiyeh Zarafshar

Vice President/Admissions

Annabelle Baehr

Programs/Social

Courtney Sims

Morgan Spielvogel

Class Parents

Khadijeh Zarafshar  

Secretary

Luna Serrano

Maintenance/Purchasing

Sarah Humud

Newsletter Editor

Awards are Exciting News!!!

In 2019, our very own teacher Dianne Rose was the recipient of two awards from Parent Cooperative Preschools International:
​The National Award for Demonstrated Leadership for demonstrated activity that has had a favorable impact on parent cooperatives across the U.S. 
The Robin Garthright Bunster Award for Excellence in Teaching​​ ​​awarded only once annually to recognize excellence in teaching and embodiment of the spirit of Robin Garthright Bunster, a former teacher, colleague, and member of the PCPI Board.
You can read more about the awards and Dianne's achievements in the PCPI Newsletter, Cooperatively Speaking.
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Our Story...

HWPS Turned 50!!!

The year 2020 marked our 50th year in Reston, all of which have been spent in the Glade Room. In 50 years, we have...
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+  Graduated 1,200+ students
+  Celebrated 2,480 birthdays (wearing crowns and blowing out candles on the fake cake)
+  Benefitted from the creativity of 13 teachers
+  Raised 36 gerbils, one goldfish, six hermit crabs, and many, many tadpoles. And some butterflies. And ladybugs. 
+  Eaten 4,365,000 Ritz crackers
+  Experienced 227 snow days
+  Travelled on 535 field trips
+  Stayed in one cozy classroom at the Glade Room
+  Been a part of the lives of thousands of families
+  Loved every minute of our time and every connection we've made in the Reston (and Herndon and Vienna and Ashburn and Centreville) community.

A History Lesson...

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"This school's amazing teachers and families have been like a second family for my kids and the best experience to start Kindergarten off on the right foot! You will make lasting friendships even if you’re not looking for any!"
​In the early days of Reston, a group of neighborhood moms led by Janet Hyman came together and created our cooperative preschool.  The school opened in 1970 with Harriet Wasserman teaching the single three-morning a week class.  We thank both Janet and Harriet for their contribution to our school!

Hunters Woods Preschool has been operating in the second floor of the Glade Room since the building was built by the Reston Association in 1970.  Our longstanding relationship with RA helps us to keep our program consistent and our tuition low. 

In order to have a successful preschool, you have to have fantastic teachers whose love and guidance provides a warm and positive experience for the formative years of your children's education.  Lois Male, Madeline Flynn, Marsha Romano, Paula Street, Carol Roach, and Karen Kenneally dedicated many, many years to teaching the children of Reston.  More recently Sheri Kelleher, Allison Rankin, and Dianne Rose have become the face of the preschool.  We are thankful to all of our teachers for their dedication to our school and their influence on our children.


​We are especially thankful for our former Head Teacher, Lois Male.  Although Mrs. Male is no longer teaching in the classroom each day, for many years she was the backbone of HWPS.
There is not a year of the preschool's existence that does not have Mrs. Male's mark on it.  Her guidance, experience and patience not only helped form the school in 1970, but has helped it thrive every year since.  Mrs. Male led the school by teaching the teachers, parents, and students, and we are so lucky to know her!  Mrs. Male officially retired in May 2016 (yes, that's 46 years!), but she still lives near by and pops in from time to time to check on us.
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"One of the best assets of having a child in this school is the incredible community you get to be a part of. As a stay-at-home mom, it was hard for me to get out and form meaningful relationships with other parents. But through HWPS and its cooperative preschool model, I have met the most  amazing, kind, and caring people who offer nothing but continuous support.”
— Annette B.
For more information or to schedule a tour, call 703.951.3985 ​or ‬571.350.9499 or email [email protected].
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Member

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Nondiscrimination Policy:  Hunters Woods Preschool admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship program, and other school-administered programs. ​