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About Us

What is Portland Kinderschule?

Portland Kinderschule is a German immersion cooperative preschool where parents and teachers work together to provide a fun, caring and creative environment for children ages 3 to 5.

Children are encouraged to learn at their own pace through multisensory exploration and social interaction. By listening to stories, playing games, drawing, and singing, children develop fine and gross motor skills, learn about relationships and feelings, and gain critical-thinking and language abilities that will serve them throughout their lives.

At the same time, the preschool's German language setting supports German-speaking children who are learning the language from their parents outside their native country, and also allows non-German speakers a chance to learn a second language at an age when it comes most easily.

The mixed-age classroom experience provides opportunities for the older children to serve as role models for the younger ones.

What is a cooperative preschool?

A cooperative preschool is a place where parents and children learn together. As their children learn more about the world, parents learn more about their children, because they are actively involved in their education. The classroom operates under the direction of a trained teacher, who determines the curriculum and serves as a resource on child development, but all other aspects of the school—from hiring the teachers to planning field trips, participating in fundraising, and ensuring the smooth operation of the school—are organized and administered by the parents.

Parents hold offices or jobs and assist the teacher every day as "parent helpers" in the classroom. Every family has a Kinderschule job, and every job is essential to the success of the school. Parents find that the more they give, the more they and their children receive.

Parent-Child Preschools of Oregon (PCPO)

Portland Kinderschule is a member of PCPO, a statewide organization composed of preschool parent representatives and officers and preschool teachers who meet monthly during the school year. The purpose of PCPO is to improve the standards of preschools while providing valuable information and services, including group insurance, teacher and officer training, and parent education opportunities.

Portland Kinderschule does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin.