Broadmoor Preschool in San Leandro

Letter to the Editor - An Alumni Parent’s Perspective

Dear Future/Current/Former/Potential Broadmoor Families,

I am a former Broadmoor Preschool student (class of ‘99) with a 3 year old son in the AM class. I chose to enroll Luke first in Tot Time and then the AM class because many of my favorite core childhood memories are from my time at Broadmoor. I have made lifelong friendships, learned fundamentally important social skills, and had an overwhelmingly positive start to my school experience. The best part about Broadmoor is that although the school has changed teachers and made updates to the facilities, none of the best aspects have changed.

When Luke started Tot Time, he barely spoke, was super shy, and his first time walking through the gates he wanted to run away. Miss Kacia warmly greeted him, children played side by side with him, and with every day we attended I could see his confidence, abilities, and overall joy for life grow tremendously. This Fall, he was so excited to start preschool with so many of the wonderful children that attended Tot Time that there was no apprehension on his first day. Children ran through the gates as school started to dig for dinosaurs in the sandbox, have a relaxing sensory experience in the fairy garden, or pretend to be pirates in the loft. While children played as they arrived at school, parents chatted amongst one another. It was amazing to see a thriving comminunity being made for both parents and children from day one.

As a former teacher, I love that Broadmoor is play-based, developmentally appropriate, and that parents are involved in their child’s education. I think it’s great that there is a structure, routine, and curriculum, but within all of those children also have independence and autonomy over their educational experience. For example, our first theme of the year was “Back-to-School Broadmoor DNA”. Students had the choice to spend time having fun painting with marbles in art, oobleck in the fairy garden, or creating their own plates for cooking.

I also love the parent ed nights because the directors choose relevant material about a childhood stage and educated parents about the best way to help their child navigate life with science-backed research behind their teaching. The first parent ed night we had my former Broadmoor teacher, Dale Gregory, as a special guest. She spoke about the importance of risky play and how important it is for children to learn to take risks with their body (climbing trees, skateboarding, etc.) in order for them to develop their growing brains and bodies.

I didn’t think that my life path would bring me full circle back to Broadmoor, but I am so grateful that it has. I love that I developed here, and I can now watch my son and his friends blossom into the confident individuals that they are.

Best,

Emily (Roscoe) Randall