In 1966, a group of families living in what was then called UCLA Family Student Housing on Sepulveda Boulevard recognized a need for a nursery school to serve UCLA students, staff and faculty. So they launched a nonprofit co-op nursery school and opened it with 55 children in September in a converted warehouse that was located within the housing complex.
Fifty years and 5,000 families later, University Parents Nursery School, now located in University Village under sponsorship of the UCLA Office of Residential Life, is celebrating its 50th anniversary under director Rachel Graves, who’s been at the school for 28 years. Caring for 82 children, the co-op preschool shares the same building as UCLA’s Early Childhood Education program.
While most of the school’s teachers have been working there, on average, for 16 to 18 years, the school, as a co-op, thrives on volunteer help from parents, who can be faculty, graduate students or staff. “They shape the culture and learning environment of UPNS students in a meaningful way,” said Christine Min, a UCLA alumna, mom of two UPNS students and president of its Board of Directors.
The co-op recently entered into an agreement with the UCLA College to establish priority enrollment at UPNS for families of UCLA faculty and students in order to enhance UCLA's recruitment and retention efforts. This priority enrollment process begins on July 1. Currently 75 percent of the school’s students are affiliated with UCLA.
You can learn more about the school here.
