| A Brief History of Lee Owen Stone Cooperative Preschool |
Lee Owen Stone Preschool (LOS) began as St. Philip’s Cooperative Preschool in 1965 as a project of the Episcopal Church of Oregon. Situated in St. Philip’s Church in Portland’s Albina area, the school was intended to provide cultural and educational enrichment in a loving atmosphere for neighborhood children who were entering public school with serious deficiencies. With the advent of Project Head Start in 1967, St. Philip’s was left with excellent facilities, toys and equipment, a talented teacher, and no children. A small group of parents in the area refused to let all this be wasted, and they decided to form a cooperative preschool. From the beginning, the school set an unusual and ambitious goal – the inclusion of disadvantaged Albina-area children in a parent-run, tuition-supported preschool. Many of these children were from families whose income was slightly over the federally established poverty level. In effect, these children were being denied a preschool experience because they were neither poor enough for Head Start nor affluent enough to afford the modest tuition charged by other cooperative preschools. During its first few years as a cooperative, the school faced financial collapse several times. Although the school fell under the organizational umbrella of the Episcopal Church, it was, and is, an independent agency. This autonomy is highly valued by the membership in order that the group retains control over the policies and practices of the school. Through the efforts of Father L.O. Stone, vicar of St. Philip’s Church, many cash gifts were obtained from Episcopal churches in Oregon. These funds were used to provide tuition scholarships for children unable to qualify for Head Start. At the core of the preschool’s philosophy is a respect and love for the individual child, his own unique personality, and the many factors that have made him the special human being that he is. While great value is placed on each child’s educational development, the Lee Owen Stone Preschool provides much more for its members. Every child is encouraged to develop a high level of respect for himself, his classmates, and the world around him. Self-confidence and a regard for the rights of others are stressed equally. It is each parent’s hope that his child grows into an understanding, sensitive adult. The membership believes that young children need to experience close relationships with a variety of people: children need to have friends richer than they and poorer, black friends and white, friends from close by and from across town; only through these close human contacts can we hope to fend off the effects of fragmentation of the human community. The responsibility of building person-to-person bridges is not left to the children – family picnics, monthly membership meetings, social evenings, play dates and other activities have brought together parents who would not otherwise encounter each other. The individual families that make up the membership of the preschool vary in income, education, race, religion, and ethnic background, but they share a faith in man’s ability to see and to go beyond the walls of mistrust and prejudice. Although Lee Owen Stone Preschool has moved on from St. Philip's Church, the philosophies and beliefs of its founders have stayed the same. We believe that our children can learn respect for others, compassion, and self-confidence in a safe, caring, play-based environment. All the policies and practices of LOS are aimed at providing the highest possible level of educational facilities within a framework of social diversity. The school is a member of the Parent Child Preschools of Oregon as well as other early-childhood educational groups. Funds are set aside annually for the continuing education of its teacher and parents. Throughout the school year meetings are held to review policy, discuss current operating problems and to present educational programs of interest to the parents of preschool children. A board of directors working closely with the school's teacher provides additional oversight. Lee Owen Stone Preschool is certainly not a grand-scale program aimed at putting an end to the ills of the world. It is simply an active attempt by a relatively small number of families to ensure that in the course of their children’s preschool education a solid foundation of self-confidence, acceptance, understanding and brotherhood may be laid. We are building people-to-people bridges and it is our profound hope that the practices, policies and philosophy of the school shall endure. |
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