Winzler Children’s Center is a fully inclusive program that is recognized nationally for providing an excellent, play-based preschool education. Winzler is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and is the longest operating nonprofit public preschool in Humboldt County. Winzler is dedicated to providing an affordable, quality preschool education for our community’s children. Eureka City Schools offers our community two convenient preschool locations:
- Main Campus: Winzler Children's Center, 719 Creighton Street, Eureka
- Satellite Preschool Location: Lafayette Preschool on the Lafayette School campus, 3100 Park Street, Eureka
Academics
Winzler is committed to providing developmentally appropriate, high quality learning experiences to meet each child's individual educational goals: social, emotional, physical and academic. We value the unique background, personality, interests and learning style of each child, so our staff works collaboratively to provide planned, child-centered instruction. Further, our teachers utilize the Desired Results Developmental Profile to observe and assess each child's interests and progress towards the California Preschool Learning Foundations, which the State of California has adopted to guide preschool instruction and provide comprehensive, rich standards for preschool learning. We utilize the California Preschool Curriculum Framework, along with the results from individual student observations and assessments to plan lessons to guide each child to meet their unique learning goals.
Preschool Curriculum
Winzler Children's Center utilizes the California State Preschool Learning Foundations to guide our daily instruction. Children are provided daily opportunities to develop skills in the following areas:
- Social Emotional Development
- Language and Literacy
- English-Language Development
- Mathematics
- Visual and Performing Arts
- Physical Development
- Health
- History-Social Science
- Science
Activities
Teachers take great care to provide high quality, developmentally appropriate learning environments in which students thrive. We offer a play-based curriculum and provide extended time for both indoor and outdoor play. Students have multiple daily opportunities to choose from a wide variety of activities that interest them and to work in groups and independently. Activities in a typical day may include: science exploration activities; whole group academic circle time including story read aloud and rhyme time; math games and counting; singing and dancing; creative art and craft exploration; social skills puppet time; painting, drawing and writing; climbing, biking and running. During the course of a day, we provide breakfast, lunch, and snack for our students at no additional cost.
Our Staff
Our programs are staffed by caring, dedicated professionals committed to developing a lifelong love of learning and strong foundation for our youngest learners. All of our teachers are highly qualified, holding Child Development Permits/Teaching Credentials from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and the majority of our classroom teachers hold Bachelor of Arts degrees in Early Childhood Education or Child Development. Our highly trained support staff also help in the classroom to maintain a low student to teacher ratio of 8 to 1. Staff stays current on best practice in teaching early learners by participating in ongoing professional development.
Family & Community Engagement
Families are welcome members of the Winzler Children's Center community. We encourage family engagement through programs such as parent conferences, Family Literacy Night, special school community building events such as Read Across America, Kindness Week, our Spring Performance and Family Sing-along. Our parent advisory committee along with an annual parent survey ensure parents have input in the program. Our partnerships with North Coast Music Together, Harvest of the Month, Head Start, Early Literacy Tutors and The Humboldt County Library provide further opportunities for children and families.
Opportunities for All
We offer full cost, low-cost and no cost preschool at two locations in Eureka. We also offer extended day preschool programs. In addition to the general education State Preschool Program, we offer special programs for students who require Special Education services. We have an on-campus Speech and Language Pathology program. The State subsidizes California State Preschool Programs and many families qualify for no-cost, half day state preschool; we encourage you to inquire about your family's eligibility in the office and/or visit our website for up to date fee schedule information.
Community Partnerships
We appreciate the community support of many local organizations including: SCRAP Humboldt, First 5, Helping Hands Humboldt, HCOE TREE Coaching Grant, Humboldt QRIS, Learning Genie, ECS District Office, Humboldt Sponsors, and Winzler Retired Teachers.
Schedule a Visit
Winzler Children's Center is the longest operating nonprofit public preschool in Humboldt County. Since 1944, Winzler has been dedicated to program quality. We invite you to come and visit our programs to see the lovely educational environment and rich learning opportunities we offer our community's children.