Discovery West Preschool - Santa Cruz, California

Chrissy Meyer

Discovery West is such a great environment -- our kids have been genuinely happy here. I give them so much credit for helping our kids develop into socially confident, empathetic, inquisitive little people. They come talking about all the fun they had painting, climbing, and building. The teachers really care, and it shows.

Saket Vora

Discovery West is a treasure. We sent our first daughter there when they were one of the first places to re-open during the pandemic, and now our twins attend there as well. The growth and development of our kids under the care of Alice, Caitlin, Avery, Monica, and the whole staff there is astonishing. The environment is fun, play based, inquisitive, and warm. We've developed such a great connection with the teachers & staff too -- one shared in mutual respect, trust, and pragmatism.

Jenny Putt

Our time at Discovery West was such a gift to our kiddo and to our family. The teachers there are incredibly invested, creative, energetic and compassionate. I always knew my kid was in the best of hands and in an environment that would foster her desire to explore, play and grow. She was also more than prepared to enter into TK at Bay View where she has continued to thrive. We just had kid number 2 and are looking forward to being a part of the Discovery West community again!

Eland Eggers

When looking for a pre-school Discovery West stood out among all the other available options due to the beautiful comfortable spaces inside and outside in the yard. Since enrolling our son we have been very satisfied with the daily feedback on his social relationships, activities, and challenges. We couldn't be more excited to enroll our youngest in the near future.

David Poznanter-Poznic

Finding Discovery West was one of the best things that ever happened to our family.

My wife and I checked out preschools all over SC looking for the right place for our daughter. We wanted a school with a play-based philosophy, but also where she would have access to lots of art, books, and solid social skill development. We found a few preschools that seemed pretty awesome, but every time there was something missing.

When we visited Discovery, we knew instantly it was the right choice for us. The space is lovely, with lots of trees and plants and flowers and dirt, a huge sandbox, a play structure, and lots of the best kinds of toys - building blocks and a play kitchen, tons of art materials, dinosaurs in the sandbox, and just a few dolls and stuffed animals for imaginary home play.

The kids at our daughter's age (3-4) spend most of their time outside, and even when it rained, our daughter who loves the rain, would put on her rainsuit and go outside with her favorite little rain-playmate to jump around instead of being forced to stay inside.

The teachers... I don't even know where to begin! They are just amazing. So kind and loving, but to be honest we were a little nervous about how often we'd seen in SC people who were loving and kind with kids, but not really good about setting healthy boundaries or using clear communications. We quickly discovered we had nothing to worry about....

The teachers are warm with the kids, and when occasionally our daughter would have a hard time with dropoff and not want to leave our arms, she would go straight into the arms of a teacher, who would cuddle her and smile and talk to her gently, inviting her to come play with friends or help with a special project or read a book.

But it's more than just the warmth - the teachers also have, practice, and teach really healthy and effective communication skills to the children. On our first visit we saw a little boy knock over a huge tower of blocks another child had constructed. The teacher immediately came over and assisted in a really honest, gentle, healthy discussion, helping the kids to learn to express their feelings and to speak to each other honestly and respectfully, without any sense of blame or punishment.

Throughout the year, we've just grown to love Discovery more and more. From the art projects to the oh-so-special birthday celebrations to the songs to the reading to the games to the kids planting in the garden and then getting out painting supplies to paint the flowers they grew themselves... it's all just perfect!

After growing up as a covid-toddler, this year was just crucial for our daughter's development - socially, emotionally, artistically, etc. And we could truly not have chosen a better place for her to grow and learn and play than Discovery. We will always be deeply grateful for this magical year in her life.

Eliza Sumner Ballantyne

We have spent a combined five years at Discovery West, and both of our children had a wonderful experience. The staff is kind and attentive and the building and play areas are beautiful and inviting. We highly recommend DW!

Tristan Krautkramer

We sent both of our kids here. Awesome teachers who come up with great activities for the kids. DW is to thank for our kids' incredible social skills.

Jennie Greenlee

We appreciate the beautiful environment and supportive, caring teachers. Love all the nature inspired projects. Overall we’re very happy we chose this wonderful program for preschool.