SAINT MARYS NURSERY SCHOOL

We have been sending our son for the last 2 years (starting at 18mo), and we love the staff and the community!! Our son has so much fun that he doesn’t want to be picked up. I also love how the children explore Penn campus and walk to places like the library. Lastly, I love the focus on play-based learning and regular incorporation of art.

We love St. Mary’s! My son is four and spends his day in tons of experiential play, learning with friends, and learning social emotional skills from his kind teachers.

We started our son in preschool here and it has been a great experience. The staff is kind, knowledgeable, and creative. We really appreciate the close-knit community, too! Happy to see our child grow in a warm, welcoming environment.

My family has had a great experience with St Mary's Nursery School. First, with my son, who started there in 2021, during the pandemic. It was incredibly challenging to take the leap into school during that period, but I was comforted by Mamatha, the heart of St. Mary's, who has such a warm presence and helped us through that difficult transition. She has been with the school for 30 years and takes pride in being a pillar of the SMNS community and a guide for both new and returning families. Since then, both of my nephews and my second-born have gone and loved both the school and the summer camp. One of the school's major selling points is its diversity and commitment to intercultural exchanges. They have teachers and students from across the world and always try to highlight that diversity in the classroom and at school-wide events (a great potluck this fall featured some excellent dishes!). It has also been great to engage with the Reggio-Emilia style, which I was unfamiliar with as a new parent. Learning from hands-on projects and, in the older classes, a real commitment to opening up the classroom to include the neighborhood and natural spaces has allowed my kids and nephews to flourish. Final thought - the school is extremely accessible! I would highly recommend this school to West Philly residents (Cedar Park, Powelton, Garden Court, Spruce Hill, etc) as it is highly accessible by walking/biking. For those coming from other neighborhoods, it is just a short distance away from the L and the trolleys (40th Street Station).