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ABOUT DOWNING STREET PLAYGROUP

The Downing Street Playgroup is a cooperative preschool founded nearly forty years ago by a group of parents concerned with their children's education. The combined two- to four-year-old class is directed by a certified teacher working with an assistant teacher and a rotating parent teacher. Parent participation is an integral part of the success of the Downing Street Playgroup. Our aim is to create a supportive environment where learning is enjoyed, valued and becomes a life-long goal.

Find out more about our programs and school philosophy.

HISTORY

The Playgroup Cooperative was conceived during the summer of 1969 by Mary Spilotros and Margaret Hable, two mothers with preschool-aged children living in the general neighborhood of the Downing Street Playground. After numerous conversations with other parents they realized that there was an interest and need for a cooperative effort to provide a playgroup atmosphere for their children.

Spilotros and Hable were made aware of the existence of a second floor room in the playground building that was being used as a workroom and storage area for the City Puppeteer. Several local officials and other interested individuals acted on the Playgroup’s behalf to contact the City Administration. After extensive discussions with various City officials, the puppeteer relocated to a comparable facility and terms were finalized in which the City allowed the Playgroup to use and occupy the premises of the second floor room, our present location.

By allowing neighborhood residents the free use of City property to operate a quasi-private playgroup, The Playgroup Cooperative posed a unique challenge to municipal officials. It was decided that enrollment would be open to neighborhood children and that the expenses for a director, personnel or equipment would not be the responsibility of the City but solely that of the group.

The City could not ethically allow the playgroup to use the building for restricted or private functions. Hence, the City’s insistence upon the widest possible publicity in the neighborhood and its further insistence that as vacancies occurred, every effort be expended to enroll as many children as the park room could accommodate--fifteen.

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