Bennett Family Center

The Bennett Family Center opened its doors in February 2001. The newly constructed building was made possible by a generous gift from Edna Bennett Pierce (’53). Her interest in and commitment to quality programming for young children has been actualized in the design of the building, which has a playful interior emphasizing light and openness. Outside, the playground offers ample space for gross motor play and opportunities for extending curriculum into an outdoor classroom.

While providing a mixed age group setting, The Bennett Family Center offers a family-like atmosphere through continuity of care for children and families. Sister classrooms offer an intimate setting, where each infant and toddler classroom (children ages 0-3) is connected to a preschool classroom (children ages 3-5). This increases familiarity with the children, families, and teachers between the classrooms to support smooth transitions.

The Bennett Family Center holds a private academic license to house a kindergarten classroom that is centrally located in the building. This Integrated Arts Kindergarten program was started in 2003 and educates 20 children each year. In the summer, the kindergarten space is converted to a summer camp for children who have completed kindergarten through the summer after their second-grade year with priority for summer enrollment given to current Bennett kindergarten families.