SLCC Expansion

At the Silver Lake Center for Creativity Preschool (SLCC), we are celebrating the start of a new school year and coming together as a community, once again. This year, we have more reason to celebrate: We will be expanding our mission and moving to a brand-new learning environment in 2025. Our new school will be located at 1108 N Commonwealth Ave. in the heart of Silver Lake, just two blocks away from our current location. This new space will amplify and bring the SLCC magic into the future and open doors to more families in need of our care. We have officially begun the construction and licensing process and will be in communication with all waitlisted and enrolled families with each advancement we make.

Since November of 2023, our parent-infant-toddler program has been open at The RIE Studio in Echo Park. We are pleased to be able to continue The RIE Studio programming at our new location this year. Families interested in immediate enrollments for children ages 2 months to 2 years old can learn more about our R.I.E. program facilitated by Jill Getto Lee, M.A. via Our Programs tab listed above.

Since 2017, SLCC has been at the forefront of research-driven, anti-bias early childhood education and innovative, educational parent roundtables. SLCC is known throughout Los Angeles as a place of thought leadership. We are a community of educators and parents committed to honoring children and childhood. We know that our values and understanding of young children inform and transform the way we teach and parent. At SLCC, children are seen as individuals, creative and competent thinkers, empathic collaborators, and citizens of the world.

Further, we know that children’s and families’ lives are enriched by multiple perspectives, by a celebration of differences within a rich ethos of belonging. Community, communication, collaboration, creativity, and research are the core values of our school and are what have made us thrive within the world of early childhood education here in Southern California. We are grateful and eagerly excited to move to our new location to carry these values and goals forward into the future.

Our values and goals have heavily informed our expansion mission and process. In early 2023, we designed a Parent Working Group with our enrolled families to discuss and understand the various palpable needs parents were seeking from our new location. We understood that parents valued our small-town feel along with our research-driven curricula, security, teacher-student ratios, mixed-age learning, appreciation of the outdoors, air quality, and location. While we are ecstatic for the move to 1108 N Commonwealth Ave., the search was far from easy – we were determined to find a place that could feel like home and allow us to amplify all of these important needs communicated by our parents along with the desires of our team of educators. After nearly a three-year process, we are confident 1108 N Commonwealth Ave. is the perfect location to expand and amplify our mission at SLCC for years to come.

The transition to our new home will remove barriers to inclusivity, access, and advocacy and help us deliver on our mission to its fullest. As the result of this full-day and full-year program, which includes robust tuition assistance provided by our district, we are now able to increase the diversity of our community and advocate with and for more families with young children for years to come. By opening the doors to our new, beautiful, home-like environment, attracting top-talent teachers and welcoming more families who are truly aligned with our mission and pedagogy, we envision a bright and long-lasting future for SLCC.

1108 N. Commonwealth Ave.'s inspiring amenities will amplify our goals and mission in myriad ways:

A beautiful new building with over 2,900 square feet of outdoor space will allow for a robust and inspiring outdoor experience for your children.
RIE Studio classes will be available in-house for parents, infants, and toddlers. Families will have access to this profoundly rich and pedagogically aligned program offered independently by a long-standing RIE-Certified Associate on a weekly basis. Children enrolled in the RIE class will receive priority consideration for SLCC Preschool enrollment.
Modern, airy classrooms filled with natural light, home-like charm, state-of-the-art appliances, newly renovated interiors, low teacher/student ratios, are designed for frequent indoor-outdoor flow. Our two mixed-age classrooms will have access to the outdoor meal area, garden, and playground.
A separate Parent Lounge will provide a daily community space for parents to engage with each other, find educational resources in our Parent Library, enjoy coffee or tea after drop-off, nurse their infants, or touch base with our Head of School. This space is designed for parent-to-school collaboration and connections – invitations for dialogue for our entire community.
Designated school Drop-Off and Pick-Up zone which we will have in front of school.
Staying close by to our current location on N. Commonwealth will ensure we meet the commuting needs of our families and client demographic. Our new location is about a 15-minute drive from Highland Park and surrounding neighborhoods and a 3-minute walk from our current location!
Our state-of-the-art security system, zero-visibility fences, and gate codes will ensure our campus community is as secure as it possibly can be. In partnership with our designated city council member, Hugo Soto-Martinez, we will ensure that our community streets remain safe and pristine for our families and neighbors.
We will have the luxury of growing our own vegetables and snack items thanks to the generous donation of one of our families who will design a rich, year-long garden program to house on our playground. Our gardening program will be woven into the children's weekly experiences.
With the additional space, we will be able to host our quarterly Parent Roundtables in person, allowing for a richer relational dialogue and community experience for our families.
Our large outdoor area will allow us to enhance and grow strong connections to the natural world and environment of Los Angeles. Our playground will be primarily shaded with an ample sensory sand zone, outdoor art atelier, gross-motor lawn, cozy corners, a vegetable garden, mature pomegranate and citrus trees, and picnic areas for both classrooms to eat snacks and lunch together.

What comes next...

Prior to moving to our new location, we will be engaging in rich and meaningful dialogue with the currently enrolled children of SLCC to enlist their ideas, hopes, and dreams for their new classrooms. True to Reggio-inspired projects, they will become active participants in the design aspects of the new campus.
Once we have begun construction in 2025, we will host a Parent Orientation for all enrolled, incoming families in addition to an in-person, hard-hat tour of the new campus.
All children enrolled will be invited to participate in our At-Home Lemonade Stand Fundraiser to raise money for our gardening program.
Prior to opening, we will host a Garden Day for all incoming families to gather at the new campus and plant our new garden.
Before opening, we will host an Opening Day Jubilee and Red-Ribbon Ceremony.
Families who have already been accepted for the new campus will be contacted in early 2025 with next steps.
Families currently on our waitlist who have already applied will be contacted for enrollment considerations in early 2025.
All interested families who have yet to apply will have an opportunity to be considered as well. Please attend our forthcoming tour to receive application instructions.

Despite the hardships and the struggles we have faced to arrive at this opportunity, this expansion promises a long life for our school and is a dream come true for us. To watch SLCC become deeply rooted in Los Angeles and grow to maximize our potential, like the palms that surround our new home, makes the magic real and lasting.

None of this would be possible without the commitment, encouragement, faith, and trust of our parent community. We look forward to shepherding this mission beside you into the future.

For more information, questions, or suggestions, please email our Head of School.

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