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Two-year-olds are getting an early start in the Menlo Park City School District at Laurel School’s Lower campus pilot program for 2-year-olds, a new addition to the district’s Early Learning Center. The program specializes in early childhood education and care for 2-year-olds, focusing on teaching independence and social emotional development through play.
At the start of the 2024-25 school year, the program on the Atherton campus welcomed a class of nine children and is currently staggering enrollment to fill a classroom of 12 students with two educators. The ELC also has programs, one at Lower Laurel and one at Oak Knoll Elementary School, for preschool-aged students as well.
“We were founded with the vision of nurturing children’s curiosity and sense of wonder and belonging and engagement with the world around them,” said Chana Stewart, director of the ELC. “We really focus on ensuring equitable access to high quality early learning so our children can enter kindergarten prepared to succeed and thrive.”
The program emerged as a response to the community’s needs — offering current parents of the district a single drop-off and pickup for their children. The district saw that when parents would pick up or drop off their children, their younger siblings would want to play in the classrooms and engage with the learning environment.
Parent, Dr. Hamsika Chandrasekar, said the biggest factor in enrolling their 2-year-old daughter was the single drop off with their eldest daughter who just started kindergarten.
The classroom opens at 7:45 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. Parents have a flexible schedule to drop-off and pick up their children anytime during open hours.
Preparing for independence
Early Learning Center Director Chana Stewart plays with Zoe at Menlo Park City School District’s pilot program for 2-year-olds on Sept. 18, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Tara, center, a studewnt in the Menlo Park City School District’s pilot program for 2-year-olds, looks through a book during play time at the district’s Early Learning Center on Sept. 18, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Young students in the Menlo Park City School District’s pilot program for 2-year-olds wave to older students playing outside at the district’s Early Learning Center on Sept. 18, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Zoe, a student in the Menlo Park City School District’s pilot program for 2-year-olds at the district’s Early Learning Center, plays with finger paint during play time on Sept. 18, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney.
Teachers nurture and care for the new students as they take their first steps into building independence in the classroom.
“A lot of the challenges were things that we anticipated in terms of supporting childrens’ emotional needs as they’re separating from their family members and caregivers and comforting them in those moments where they’re really missing them,” said Stewart.
To help new students with the transition into school, teachers held meetings with families to learn about each child’s routine, needs, strengths and opportunities for growth. Families were also invited to an open house for children to come in before school started to explore and play in the classroom with their families.
“The classroom was really open for families and children to play in together and I think that really supported children to feel excited about coming into the space,” said Stewart. “They also got to see their parents feel confident bringing them into the classroom environment.”
Teachers have also hung up photos of each student’s family on the walls of the classroom. Children sometimes carry their family’s photos with them for comfort and even share them with other students.
Stewart said the 2-year-olds are building independence by practicing self help skills such as washing their hands, going to the restroom, feeding themselves, communicating their needs and building social awareness. Students are not required to be potty trained to enroll in the program.
Building skills and classroom routines
Tara, a student in the Menlo Park City School District’s pilot program for 2-year-olds at the district’s Early Learning Center, plays with lego blocks during play time on Sept. 18, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Teacher Mei, left, and Teacher Claudia, right, sing and dance with students in Menlo Park City School District’s pilot program for 2-year-olds at the district’s Early Learning Center on Sept. 18, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Anya, a student in the Menlo Park City School District’s pilot program for 2-year-olds at the district’s Early Learning Center, flips through a book during play time on Sept. 18, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney. 
Music teacher Krys Seli, right, sings and dances with young students in the Menlo Park City School District’s pilot program for 2-year-olds at the district’s Early Learning Center on Sept. 18, 2024. Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney.
Creating a program for 2-year-olds requires special attention to each student’s unique personalities and needs, all of which are considered when building on an “emergent curriculum and classroom environment,” said Stewart.
The program supports the development of social emotional skills which helps them with cognitive development, language and literacy. Spanish immersion is also incorporated into the program.
Within the first month of school, parents like Sofia Wilson were already seeing growth in social emotional learning in her 2-year-old son. She said her son comes home talking about his friends, teachers and what he did during the day.
Wilson, who is also a doctoral student at Stanford Graduate School of Education, found out about the program through her research on early childhood education with dual immersion programs.
“I was a former educator back in the day and I was blown away by the richness of the instruction and how warm the community’s response to the classroom felt. It was a no brainer for putting both our kids in the ELC,” she said.
Wilson said she is originally from Argentina and wanted her son to maintain his Spanish skills in school. Through the Spanish immersion program, she said her son’s “desire to speak Spanish has skyrocketed at home.”
Chandrasekar said her daughter comes home singing songs that she’s learned from school and was impressed by how she knew all the words.
During the day, students participate in music and movement class, storytime, art, outdoor play and experimentation with materials like sand and water. The indoor classroom is equipped with learning tools, toys, books and even a play structure.
Communication with families
Teachers send families a weekly newsletter with documentation of what their children are learning and doing in the classroom. Each student also receives a “learning story” which is a story written by a teacher about the child’s day, said Stewart. The story recounts the child’s development, what happened in the day and future possibilities and opportunities for learning.
“I’ve just been blown away by how warm and invested the teachers are in every single kid,” said Wilson.
Through the newsletter, families can follow the flow of their child’s day throughout the program.
Program enrollment
The 2-year-old program supports children once they turn 2 years old. If a child is turning 2 in the middle of the school year, families can enroll their children prior to their birthday to hold a spot in the program. Children must be 2 years old by their first day of enrollment.
ELC staff are surveying current and prospective families to determine the long-term viability of the pilot program. Staff will be looking at the quality of their program, family satisfaction and whether the new classroom is supporting the goal of providing equitable early learning.
Tuition for the 2-year-olds program ranges from $32,450 to $42,350. The ELC offers a part day schedule from 7:45 a.m.-noon, school day schedule from 7:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m. and a full day from 7:45 a.m-5 p.m.
Enrollment requires a non-refundable depository of $1,500 to reserve a space in the program. Priority is given to current and former ELC students and siblings.
For the 2025-26 school year, the ELC staff have opened an interest form in the 2 year olds program. Families that are interested in the 2-year-old program can complete the interest form on tinyurl.com/ELCTwosProgram.
For more information on the ELC and the two-year-old program, visit earlylearning.mpcsd.org.
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