Expanding Our Programs

Dear Park West Families,

Park West has joyfully operated offering exclusively half-day programming since 1971. We believed then and still know now that our half-day programs can and do prepare children for Kindergarten and beyond. Some families come to Park West specifically because we offer such high quality half-day programming. What we have also seen and experienced over the last many years is that some families, both enrolled and prospective, are looking for and desiring options that offer their children more time at school. After careful consideration, we are very excited to announce some changes in our program offerings that have been thoughtfully explored and developed by all of us here at school and by the Board of Directors.  

These programming changes will allow us to continue offering our core half-day programming and also meet the changing needs of Park West families that may want or need their child to be at school for more hours.

The Expansion

For the upcoming 2024-2025 school year we are offering our 4-Day and JK families the option to extend their child’s time at Park West by offering a full-day option with children attending school either 8:30 - 11:30 am, 8:30 am - 12:30 pm, or 8:30 am - 3:30 pm.

To make this possible, our JK programming will now be held in the morning, with a flexible arrival window of 8:30 - 9:00 am, on Tuesdays - Fridays. We are making this change so that we can offer families options for their children to be at school for a longer day. Morning JK will end at 11:30 am and families will have the option to enroll their child in Lunch Bunch, with pickup at 12:30 pm, or a full-day JK option, with afternoon pickup at 3:30 pm.

Our 4-Day morning class will continue to end at 11:30 am and families may elect to register their child in Lunch Bunch, with pickup at 12:30 pm, or a full-day 4-Day program, with afternoon pickup at 3:30 pm. Our parent assisting responsibilities for 4-Day families will continue to be during the morning hours, ending at 11:30 am.

Full-Day Option
Our full-day option will include a rest/nap time for students, as well as opportunities for students to work in small groups with teachers to extend their curricular experiences, spend more time outdoors, in the gym, and on outings within the community.  

Full-day programming will continue to honor the importance of separation and transfer of trust from parents to teachers, provide rich opportunities for optional parent involvement beyond the assisting duties in the morning, and allow teachers to deepen their engagement with parents related to development topics and their child’s daily habits and routines.

Imagine a school nap time managed by teachers who are experts in relationships and development and understand the importance of these intimate daily routines. We are excited to embark on this new journey as we pilot programming that could be the future of Park West.

Lunch Bunch
Next school year we will offer a Lunch Bunch program to students in 4-Day and JK classes who elect to only enroll in the morning program. Lunch Bunch will be a time where students and teachers can share an allergy-friendly, organic meal and share in good conversation while building community. Sign up for Lunch Bunch will occur in August, with additional enrollment periods in November, January and March to allow families flexibility through the school year.

Families currently enrolled in 4-Day and JK for the 2024-2025 school year will have until April 12 to decide whether their child will attend half-day or full-day next year.

We appreciate your family being a part of the Park West community and look forward to answering your questions and sharing more details about these new offerings with you in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,
Park West Board & Staff