Friday, November 6, 2026
For 75 years, the Roslyn Co-Op, a licensed preschool in Roslyn, has emphasized learning through play, fostering childhood development and building relationships between families, teachers and students.
Founded in 1951 by parents living in the Roslyn Country Club area, the preschool is celebrating its 75th anniversary while continuing to embrace the cooperative, child-centered philosophy that has defined its approach to early childhood education.
The school, located in Roslyn, serves approximately 80 children, predominantly from the North Shore School District, Roslyn, Manhasset, and Port Washington, with additional families coming from surrounding communities. Its programs include classes for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as enrichment activities, extended-day programs and summer offerings.
Unlike traditional preschools, the co-op relies heavily on parental involvement. Families participate in a parent-run executive board that works alongside the director and teaching staff on fundraising, school operations, marketing and maintaining the facilities. Parents are also invited into classrooms for monthly participation days, giving them opportunities to experience their children’s school activities firsthand.
The school’s educational philosophy centers on hands-on, play-based learning rather than traditional academic instruction. Children explore through activities involving art, building blocks, dramatic play, water and sand tables, gardening and other experiences designed to encourage creativity and curiosity.
“We’re a preschool; we don’t have a smart board,” Dave Cheng of Glen Head, a co-president of the parent board, said. “Our students don’t use worksheets, but they’re still learning those core basic skills, and they’re just developing genuine curiosity, creativity, and a passion for learning.”
Angela Shih of Greenvale, the board’s other co-president and an elementary special educator at the Green Vale School, said the school’s emphasis on children’s emotional development was among the qualities that attracted her family.
“Nobody is going to learn if you don’t feel safe,” Shih emphasized, “if you don’t feel loved, if you don’t feel welcomed.”
Donna Calamis of Glen Head, a teacher in the school’s 3-year-old program who has worked there for 18 years, first discovered the co-op approximately 30 years ago while searching for a preschool for her oldest child. After seeing its approach to teaching, she eventually returned to school to earn a degree in early childhood education and joined the co-op’s teaching staff.
“I was inspired by how the teachers spoke to the children,” Calamis said. “I learned how to speak to my own children by listening to how the teachers spoke to the children in these classes.”
Calamis said the school’s welcoming environment and emphasis on learning through play help children develop the social and emotional skills needed to transition into kindergarten.
“It’s more than just a preschool. It’s a community,” she said. “It’s a family. It really is.”
The school’s history reflects that longstanding commitment. According to former director Toni Liebman, who led the co-op from 1968 to 1986, the school initially operated out of the Methodist Church on Warner Avenue. It later merged with Trinity Day School during the 1970s, expanding its programs. Liebman also recalled developing a partnership with the nearby Sun Harbor nursing home, pairing preschoolers with residents for weekly visits.
As part of its anniversary celebrations, the co-op will host its annual fall festival and pancake breakfast Nov. 7, an event that has brought families together for decades. The school is also planning a 75th anniversary gala March 19 at Sea Cliff Manor.
Prospective families can visit the school during an open house Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to noon. Registration opens in November, and families can also schedule individual tours.
