Phinney Neighborhood Preschool Coop

The Phinney Neighborhood Preschool Co-op was born in the spring of 1981 when several parents, working with a $10,000 grant from the new Phinney Neighborhood Association, decided to form a cooperative preschool in Seattle's old John B. Allen Elementary School. They cleaned out a room in the basement of one of the school’s two buildings, furnished it, built a playground, and hired teachers. The PNPC opened its doors that September. For her part in establishing the preschool, Nancy Allen, its first Chair, received an award in 1987 from Parent Cooperative Preschool International.

The preschool has grown and evolved in many ways since those first years. The biggest change in recent years is the creation of the preschool’s Dragon Room. Once the John B. Allen Elementary School gymnasium, the space was turned into a preschool room by a group of parents during the spring and summer of 1996. Thanks to a $9,600 grant from the City of Seattle, the strong support of the Phinney Neighborhood Association, and more than three dozen volunteers from the preschool, a loft was built in the room in the winter of 1999. In the spring of 2005 the upper playground was renovated with new equipment, including a climbing wall.

The preschool no doubt will continue to grow and evolve in the years ahead. Every year is a little different as new families bring their talents to the program. But the preschool’s foundation remains unchanged: families and teachers working together to create an environment where young children can feel safe and supported as they explore, create, and learn about their world.