Davis Parent Nursery School

Fence Painting at 8th Street Site The sign at the 8th street location

Locations

1447 Danbury Street

426 West 8th St.

Hours

Variable

Phones

Danbury Street (530)757-5375

West 8th St. (530)757-5377

Website

davisparentnurseryschool.com

Facebook Page

The Davis Parent Nursery School (DPNS) is a non-profit parent participation pre-school associated with the DJUSD Adult School. Parent participation and education is required to varying extents in all programs. Though it is a non-trivial time commitment it is widely regarded by the participants as well worth it.

DPNS offers several programs including:

• Mixed age playgroup (15 months - 27 months)
  

• Older playgroup (24 months - 33 months)
  

• 2 day AM preschool (2 years 3 months - 3 years 3 months)
  

• 3 day AM preschool (2 years 9 months - 4 years 8 months)
  

• Pre-K (4 years - 5 years 3 months)
  

• 5 day AM preschool (3 years 3 months - 4 years 8 months)

What did you think of Davis Parent Nursery School?

Note: You must be logged in to add comments

2005-10-01 01:52:25   My daughter was enrolled at DPNS for the 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 school years. We were in the 5 Day AM program with Teacher Sandy Rendig. May daughter absolutely adored Sandy. Now that my daughter is at Cesar Chavez Elementary attending Kindergarten she still asks me if she can go back to DPNS. If you ever visit their 8th Street facility you can understand why kids want to go there. It has over an acre of areas where kids can play. (The site was established over 50 years ago when the real estate was much cheaper. And the entire site was built by parent volunteers.) Some people have been put off by the extensive volunteer time that you need to put in to be a DPNS parent. But I must say that I enjoyed the time with my child. DPNS can be hard if you have 3 or more kids (because you have to volunteer for each child). But I have known quite a few Moms & Dads that have done it. —SherryOneal

2005-10-01 02:08:12   I can speak as an alumni of DPNS - class of 1962. I still have fond memories of this nursery school. The original fort is still there on the property, but the mud area is now a sandbox. I remember that there were parents there but I don't recall them participating in our play that much. Maybe it is different now with parents hovering more over their children. It was a place for me to make friends and play with other children, learn to get along, take turns, paint, ride tricycles up and down the hill, play in the mud and eat graham crackers. —SharlaDaly

2006-11-03 08:12:32   Everybody raves about this place. I have anly seen the W8th place from the outside and the play yard looks awsome. They have a fleet of trikes in all shapes and sizes. The only downside so far is that the wait list to get in is looooong (ofcourse that is a good sign ina sense). I wish I'd be a tot again. —ArneAnka

• As of September 27th, there were a few spots open in the South Davis school. They're probably filled by now, and might not be for the age group you need, but the waiting list is probably shorter. —JessicaLuedtke
  

2007-03-01 09:48:45   What you don't realize about this preschool is how much you get out of it for you, the parent. Not only is it a fantastic place for kids (every teacher is amazing) but as a parent you obtain many skills that you don't even realize you're obtaining until you are in other situations where you find yourself using them. It's hard to even explain. —WesHardaker

2010-02-01 13:28:17   My oldest child attended DPNS for three years, and my son is currently enrolled in his second. I can not say enough wonderful things about this program. It is a magical place for kids to learn, play, and grow. By working in my child's classroom and attending parent classes I have learned many valuable parenting skills. I feel so lucky that we found this program and would highly recommend it to others. —emianddrewsmom

2010-04-29 10:47:46   The long waiting lists are a thing of the past. There are still several openings for this fall (2010-11 school year). This will be my third year with DPNS with my two children and have experienced 3 of the 5 sessions and they are all terrific. You won't find a better preschool program out there and you get to be part of your child's learning experience...how great is that?! If you are considering a preschool for the fall (actually there are a few spots currently open in 3day pm right now) you need to check out this school. Parent participation is required but only once a week or every other week depending on your session....it is so worth it to witness your child's development in a school setting. I drive all the way from Woodland to bring my kids to school here....it is that great! —rileyandkyrasmom

2011-04-17 22:12:07   I would 110% recommend DPNS. I did A LOT of driving to check out dozens of preschools in Davis and surroundsing cities. I wanted to find the best preschool for my daughter. She's attended the 8th street site the last year and LOVES it. The yard is the biggest I've seen for a preschool. The kids can really run-run-run. What mother doesn't love a tuckered out kid after preschool? She brings home lots of artwork, they eat healthy snacks, have a cute garden, and birthday celebrations are special. The teachers are kind and focus on the children learning good social skills. On the weekend, my daughter asks when she can go to school again. I also love being able to volunteer and spend time with my child in the school setting. —MonicaGarciaOBrien

2011-04-17 23:03:03   I have to say my second favorite thing about DPNS is that they accept your child at 15 months of age. I have not found another Parent Nursery School for miles that accepts children this young. I also of course refused to "drop" my daughter off somewhere so this school worked great for us. The Playgroup for the youngest kids one parent (or your private caregiver) stays with them for the whole class. The teacher for this youngest level is WONDERFUL!!!!!! She is my favorite thing about DPNS, her name is Sandy (Danbury site) and the first second I saw her I knew she was perfect. She is like a preschool teacher from the movies... the kind that don't really exist but you wish they did. She even retired and came back. I FEEL SO LUCKY!!!! My daughter loves her and loves the school. She has learned to count to ten by age two and is learning her alphabet. I taught her this on my own. The school teaches other things like how to interact with other kids, how to come to circle time, sing songs, some counting, how to share, grabbing books and having us read to them, imaginary play (which IS REALLY IMPORTANT DO THE RESEARCH!!!), play dough, coloring and drawing, blocks and so much more. There is a garden there they can look at (at Danbury site). They love the toy boat outside and play imaginary play there as well. She is excited to go there every Monday. Teacher Sandy also taught me a lot. Sandy is extremely intuitive, loving, caring and wise. She teaches you how to be a better parent and you don't even realize she is doing it as she is so subtle and considerate. She never scolds anyone or makes you feel small. She knows how to teach. She also knows which kids need the most help (shy ones, slower developers, etc) and she gives them special attention but in a gentle way. I can't say enough about Sandy and I feel very strongly that she is DPNS. I hope DPNS focuses on hiring more "Sandy" type teachers...if they can find them HAHAHAHA!! I wonder if after Sandy was made they broke the mold. Sigh. I just hope DPNS can find people to teach there that aspire to Sandy's greatness. I look forward to finding out what our two teachers will be like with the next level (2 day program) that we are enrolled for in the fall of 2011. I wish we could take Sandy with us all the way through to Pre-K. —danalynngalvin

2011-04-18 10:21:36   As I looked around our PTA meeting the other night, I was struck by how many DPNS parents were there. My youngest graduated from DPNS Pre-K program at 8th street 2 years ago after a family total of 10 years in DPNS! DPNS is amazing for the kids, but you'll find that it is also amazing for the parents, long after your kids move on. The most involved parents in Elementary School are the DPNS alums. The parents who look out for my kids (3 kids at 3 different schools) are my fellow DPNS alums. The parents I can count on to tell me if they've heard something funny or sweet or worrisome about one of my kids are DPNS parents I met all those years ago. It's an amazing community that will nuture you and your child(ren) long after you leave. —ConnieSteele