named programs · 4 · from sources
What they call their work
Family Shares
Opportunities for parents or grandparents to share stories, skills, or cultural traditions in the classroom, fostering family engagement and diverse learning experiences
Field Trips
Regular excursions to local institutions and neighborhood sites including fire stations, bakeries, botanical gardens, and zoos to connect learning with the community
Play-Based Curriculum
Interdisciplinary, sensory-rich program rooted in the Bank Street Model, focusing on cognitive, physical, social-emotional, and daily living skills through hands-on play and exploration
Specials Program
Weekly visits from specialist teachers in yoga, capoeira, dance, music, tumbling, and chick-hatching, enhancing the core curriculum over eight-week sessions
activities · 4 groups
What they do
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Family-School Engagement Programs 2 activities
- Family cooperative governance and participation modelOperates a parent-run cooperative nursery school where each family participates in governance and operations through monthly business meetings, assigned administrative roles (e.g., Treasurer, Program Coordinator), biannual cleaning and maintenance, snack provision, and chaperoning field trips. This model has been sustained for over 65 years.
- Parent-teacher communication and reportingProduces weekly summaries of classroom activities for families and conducts parent-teacher conferences twice per year to support family engagement and child progress monitoring.
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Play-Based Early Childhood Education 2 activities
- Play-based early childhood education programProvides early childhood education for 16 children ages 3 and 4 through a mixed-age, play-based classroom model that fosters cognitive, social-emotional, fine motor, and gross motor development. Activities include block building, dramatic play, story dictation, circle time, and hands-on exploration of seasonal changes and science concepts.
- Specialist instruction and experiential learning activitiesHosts weekly specialist-led sessions over eight-week cycles in yoga, dance, music, tumbling, and chick-hatching, and organizes field trips to local institutions such as fire stations, bakeries, botanical gardens, puppet theaters, parks, and zoos to support experiential learning.
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School and School-Community Events 1 activity
- Family engagement and community eventsHosts "Family Shares" that invite parents and grandparents to participate in classroom activities such as storytelling, cooking, art, music, and cultural celebrations, and organizes seasonal events like the annual pumpkin patch, which includes playground access and face painting.
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Uncategorized 1 activity
- Annual Christmas tree fundraiserOperates an annual Christmas tree sale open on weekends from the Friday after Thanksgiving until the Sunday before Christmas, selling fresh trees, wreaths, garland, and mistletoe, and staffed entirely by parents of enrolled students.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$332K
Contributions & grants$00%
Program service revenue$284K85%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$48K
expenses
Total expenses$335K
Program expenses100%
Admin / overhead0%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$189K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$227K
Cash$226K
Investments$0
Liabilities$39K
Net assets$188K
Liquid reserves8.1 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -6.1%
relationships · 10
Who they work with
- Advisory Board Partner — Provides long-term guidance on financial and structural sustainability and helps preserve institutional knowledge.
- Brooklyn Conservatory of Music Partner — Provides weekly music instruction as part of the specialty programming at Old First Nursery School.
- LAVA acrobatic troupe Partner — Provides tumbling instruction during eight-week specialty sessions at the school.
- NYC DOE Government — Follows the NYC Department of Education academic calendar.
- Old First Church Government — Shares facilities and affiliation with Old First Church in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
- Old First Dutch Reformed Church Partner — Longtime landlord providing rented space for the school in Park Slope.
- Old First Reformed Church Partner — Provides driveway space for the annual Christmas tree fundraiser.
- Quiver Farms Partner — Partners with the school to offer chick-hatching educational programs.
- Zeffy Partner — Payment processing partner that enables fee-free donations.
- Zeffy Partner — Payment processor used for the Spring Benefit event to avoid processing fees for the organization.
strategies · 4
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Child-Centered and Collaborative Classroom Practicesmethodology: child-centered_classroomBy co-creating rules and using positive behavior support, children develop agency and social skills because treating behaviors as teaching moments fosters community, independence, and emotional growth.
- Developmental-Interaction Approach (Bank Street Model)methodology: developmental-interaction_approachBy integrating the Bank Street Developmental-Interaction Approach, the school educates the whole child through hands-on, experiential learning because interdisciplinary, child-centered methods support emotional, social, and cognitive growth in a collaborative environment.
- Parent Cooperative Model for Community and Affordabilitymethodology: parent-cooperative_modelBy involving parents in governance and operations, the school builds a strong, inclusive community and sustains affordability because shared responsibility reduces administrative costs and deepens family engagement in education.
- Play-Based Learning for Holistic Developmentmethodology: play-based_learningBy using play as the primary mode of learning, children develop cognitive, social-emotional, physical, and life skills because active engagement through sensory-rich, creative activities fosters natural exploration and developmental growth.