Shiloh Development Academy, 703 Central Ave, Chester, PA 19013, US

HistorySMNS started as a parent cooperative run by the St. Mary's Church Hamilton Village, in the early 1960's. As the nursery grew, the church hired Barbara Klein as the school's first executive director. Barbara brought to the program a strong philosophy of education that continues within the teaching practices we see modeled today. She instilled a firm belief in mixed age playing and learning, where older children have the opportunity to help and advocate for the younger children; and the small ones are able to witness and play within a wide range of possibilities in terms of language development, motor skills, imagination and creative play. In 1982 the nursery school became a licensed entity and in the summer of 2002 Barbara retired. Andrea Mosko stepped in as Executive Director over the next 14 years. She has since passed the reigns on to Children's Community School (2009) co-founder Traci Childress.SpecialtiesWe provide day care for children from 18 months to 5 years in the core program and 5-11 in the After School/Summer Camp Program. Our core belief is that family and community involvement in our program fosters a caring, trusting, healthy environment for our children. Our unique parent help program, work days, and our diverse board of directors all exemplify this cooperative approach. Each member takes an active role in making SMNS a great place for our children to learn and grow.