FAQ
Got questions?
Here, we have collected the most typical questions we get from prospective families. If you have any other questions, you are always welcome to get in touch with our registrar.
Registration and tuition
You are more than welcome to visit the school. In fact, we highly encourage you to come by while classes are in session.
Every year, we also have Open Houses, where you can come by and see the school and chat with teachers and families. Open Houses are announced on our website and on Facebook.
Please contact our registrar to schedule a session.
That depends on the class.
For Parent Observation your child must be 2 years old to start attending school.
For Mixed-Age classes your child must be at least 2.5 to start attending school.
For Pre-K your child must be 4 years by December 1st to enroll in the current school year. This class is intended and reserved for children entering kindergarten the following school year.You find information about tuition and fees here, where you can also read more about applying for scholarships.
PNS is a co-op and it is essential that every family participates both in teaching in the classroom as well as all other aspects of running a school.
Each week, parents with children in our Mixed-Age and Pre-K classes have a teaching day in the classroom. These are planned and supervised by our teachers/directors.
We also have additional job responsibilities, which we you can read more about under Membership.
No. Children do not have to be potty-trained prior to enrollment.
Yes, as long as we have space, you are welcome to join mid-semester. We prorate tuition by month (ex: if you join in March, you will pay tuition for March through May).
Our classrooms are well ventilated with doors and windows open. We are washing our hands often and sanitizing surfaces.
Masks: Masks are optional for children and adults.
Safety at snack time: Snack is served on individual plates rather than "family style", and the tables and seating are spaced out during snack time.
Vaccination and testing:We follow the Santa Clara Public Health guidelines for situations such as close contacts, testing and isolation requirements, international travel, etc.
School days at PNS
School is in session from 9:15 am to 12:15pm. On the days, where parents are teaching in the classrooms, they need to arrive at 9am.
Read more about a typical day in for Parent Observation, in Mixed-Age and in Pre-K.
If you cannot work on your teaching day, you must arrange a substitute by trading teaching days with another parent. We do this by reaching out to the other parents in our group through our internal communication app.
It is important for you to find a replacement because your absence decreases the teacher/child ratio in your class and because each parent is vital to the effectiveness of the program. Occasional tidy up and organizing days will be assigned.
Yes, children are provided a healthy and tasty snack at 10:45.
All snacks are served and eaten “family style” to create a social environment which encourages children to taste everything and to encourage independent eating skills. Children are invited to “pass the fruit, please,” help themselves to seconds, and to pour their own milk.
We will make every effort to work with you and your child to accommodate special dietary needs. If allergies or food restrictions are severe, we may ask you to provide supplemental food items.
COVID-19 UPDATE: As a safety precaution, snack is served on individual plates, and children are free to choose what, and how much they would like to eat, and encouraged to ask for seconds.
On a typical day, every class has two trained teachers plus at least four parent teachers.
We do require that either a parent or grandparent be the one to do the weekly teaching day. You put the "parents" in Parents Nursery School!
Nannies and au pairs are welcome to drop off and pick up children on the other days they attend school.
Yes. For the 2024-2025 school year, we are offering the option for children in the Mixed Age and Pre-K classes to add Wednesdays to their schedule to attend 5 days-a-week. Additional Wednesday tuition is TBD.