7171 N Pennsylvania St, Indianapolis, IN 46240

A Cooperative Preschool Established in 1960

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info.mhcns@gmail.com

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About Us

About Meridian Hills Cooperative Nursery School & Kindergarten

Picture tricycles careening down the hill with their drivers learning freedom as well as physical control. Listen to the conversation as children pour water from one container to another, over and over, checking out the changes in the water flow as they introduce obstacles to redirect the water. Observe the caring, focused attention as a teacher guides the children through these experiences. Feel the love for their child and all of the children as parents take their turn to participate and assist in the classroom. Note the quiet, accepting manner that the teacher models for the children and the parents as each school day at Meridian Hills Cooperative Nursery School & Kindergarten unfolds. These are the qualities that represent our school and which exemplify our more than 50 year history.

MHCNS&K is a place where children, parents and teachers grow together. This has always been and continues to be the primary goal of cooperative schools. Our school has a rich history of providing the best possible program for young children and their parents. We have earned this reputation because of our dedicated and consistent leadership, devoted and talented teachers, and parents who have committed their time, expertise and love to continuing the excellence for which Meridian Hills Co-op stands.

Our Mission

Established 1960, MHCNS&K is a non-profit organization where teachers and parents work together to create appropriate programs so that our children grow and thrive emotionally, intellectually and physically.

Our Philosophy

Meridian Hills Cooperative Nursery School & Kindergarten is dedicated to creating an environment where children can grow according to their individual timetables, where each child is encouraged to learn through thoughtful interaction with materials and with each other, and where children build and construct knowledge as a result of this interaction. We encourage children to explore, question and test hypotheses. We are a child-centered, success-oriented program. We are a parent cooperative dedicated to helping children, parents and teachers grow together.

The Philosophy of Cooperative Schools

  • The children at co-ops are “free to be”: free to own their feelings and to express these feelings. Our job is to help them understand what these feelings are.
  • We strive to help children and their parents form positive self-concepts and good feelings of self-worth.
  • We value the individual uniqueness of each child and adult involved.
  • We strive to be reactors to children, not judges of children.
  • We look for causes of action, and try not to focus on the action itself in cases of conflict.
  • We do not label behavior.
  • We do set realistic goals for ourselves and our children.
  • We work to help children learn how to solve problems, not solve problems for them.
  • We work to foster feelings of empathy, and help children become responsible for the results of their actions.
  • We grow together in this loving, accepting setting.