A MODEL OF ACTIVE LEARNING
The HighScope Demonstration Preschool serves families in the local community and provides a model of a high-quality preschool experience for visiting educators. The program is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
The HighScope Preschool Curriculum has been used to serve young children and their families since 1962. Its success in helping children develop to their full potential has been validated through years of research. The HighScope curriculum model is acclaimed and used all over the world. HighScope's Demonstration Preschool in Ypsilanti, Michigan, is a major source of footage for HighScope media productions and other publications useful to educators worldwide.
The HighScope Demonstration Preschool serves approximately 16 children, aged 3 to 5 years at the time of enrollment. Our mission is to demonstrate the HighScope educational approach and its application with children and families of diverse backgrounds. The HighScope Demonstration Preschool, therefore, strives to represent a multitude of families from the surrounding community, varying according to age and gender as well as ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic background.
Visitors are welcome!
We welcome visitors in the HighScope Demonstration Preschool. Visitors are able to view firsthand this unique active learning approach and witness an engaging and exciting educational experience for children and their families. Visitors from around the country and around the world come to Michigan to see the HighScope Curriculum in action. Visitors include teachers, administrators, researchers, policymakers, parents, representatives of charitable organizations, and anyone else interested in the education of young children.
Visitors are asked to make appointments in advance.Observation of the program is via closed-circuit video monitors located in an adjacent room. To schedule a visit, please call 734.485.2000, ext. 232, or e-mail lhorne@highscope.org.
Some points to keep in mind when visiting:
Visitors should arrive at our observation room at 8:15 a.m. This will allow for a classroom tour and overview of the HighScope educational approach before the children arrive at 8:30 a.m. The visitor program concludes at about 11:45 a.m.
Our remote video system allows for observing the classroom from a nearby observation room. Most visitors will be observing the classroom through this system.
Your visit will include an overview of HighScope's work; observation of the classroom routine; a tour of the classroom; and your choice of either observation of team planning, a visit to the HighScope Bookstore, or a tour of the historic Hutchinson House.
Cameras and videotaping equipment may be brought for taking pictures of the classroom but not of children or of the team planning process.
We will provide coffee and tea. You may also wish to bring a snack for your group.
The HighScope Demonstration Preschool is a year-round program, operating five days a week (M–F) during the regular school year. School hours are 8:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Capacity is limited, so register early.
There is no charge for Demonstration Preschool visits.
Use the links at right to learn more about the philosophy and daily routine of the program or to find information for parents.
