Burlington Presbyterian Church is home to the Nurturing Nest Preschool, a non-religious educational outreach of the church.
In 1969, the Presbyterian Church in Burlington, Massachusetts founded The Presbyterian Kindergarten as a non-sectarian, non-profit, program to prepare kindergarten-age children for elementary school. With the inclusion of a kindergarten program in the public schools, the program was restructured as a nursery school and was renamed The Presbyterian Nursery School. In April 2008, we renamed the school ‘The Nurturing Nest’. We were concerned that the previous name suggested a religious affiliation with the church. We hoped that changing the school’s name we would eliminate any confusion to those unfamiliar with our program. All other aspects of the program will remain unchanged. The nursery school program is licensed under the regulations of the Early Education and Care Division of the Department of Education (hereinafter referred to as EEC) and a copy of the regulations, 102 CMR 7.00: Standards for the Licensure or Approval of Group Day Care and School Age Child Care Programs, is available at the school upon request. The nursery school program is administered by the Nursery School Board, which reports to the Session of the church, in cooperation with the Head Teacher, who directs the daily program of the school.
The purpose of this program is to provide a half-day nursery school that creates a secure environment which enables nursery school aged children to learn the social and intellectual skills appropriate to their ages and abilities. The program is designed to meet the growth and developmental needs of the students in preparation for public school.
Enrollment in the program shall be granted to children without discrimination in regard to sex, race, religion, cultural heritage, national origin, political beliefs, disabilities, parents’ marital status or sexual orientation provided the school can meet the needs of the child.
Children must be at least three years old by August 31st of the academic year in which they are enrolled.
According to EEC’s guidelines, the school is licensed for a maximum of 24 pupils per class. However, the class for 3 year-olds will be limited to 18 children, and the afternoon class to 18 children. Class sessions are scheduled as follows:
Morning 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m Monday-Wednesday-Friday pre-kindergarten only
Morning 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Tuesday-Thursday 3 and 4 year olds
Afternoon 12:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday pre-kindergarten
