Audubon Nature Preschool - Chevy Chase

[Anonymous]

Has anyone heard if it's opening this fall? How did they handle the shutdown in the spring in terms of virtual learning/refunds? Any other thoughts on this place? TIA

[Anonymous]

Looking at its website it seems to not be opening in-person until Nov 30th at the earliest.

My DC attended last year. DC loved it and the teachers were great. Fair warning though that it is play based/child-directed so if you are looking for an "academic K prep-rigor" kinda place I'd look elsewhere.

The school transitioned really quickly to a virtual format and we liked what they offered via Zoom/suggested crafts/story time/ideas from their blog/exc.

They offered a partial refund for one month only if you stated you were having a hardship.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info!

[Anonymous]

From the directors email -
Looks like they are closed the first trimester but will start drop off programs in September for age 5-10:


During this challenging time, all of us at ANS are working hard to explore safe and meaningful programming options for this fall, so we can continue to provide nature-based educational opportunities for our children and families. ANP has made the difficult decision to remain closed for the first trimester of the school year. After careful and thorough consideration, we do not think there is a safe way to offer drop-off Preschool programs for children aged 4 and younger at this point in the COVID-19 crisis; however, ANS is excited to offer some fabulous new all outdoor programs for your children and families to consider joining this fall.

ANS is planning daily drop-off programs for children aged 5+ and parent/caregiver-child programs for families with children 8 and younger. The drop-off programs will be split into two small groups of children aged 5-7 and 8-10. All children must be 5 years of age by September 1 to enroll in the ANS drop-off programs. Families with children aged 8 and younger will be invited to join weekly all outdoor parent/caregiver-child programs. Please be on the look out for an email with program and registration details from ANS Camp Director, Nora Kelly, in early August with an anticipated program start date in mid-September.

Our hope is that ANP will safely and fully re-open for our winter trimester in early December. As always, we remain committed to high quality nature-based schooling with the safety of our students, families, staff and community coming first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking at its website it seems to not be opening in-person until Nov 30th at the earliest.

My DC attended last year. DC loved it and the teachers were great. Fair warning though that it is play based/child-directed so if you are looking for an "academic K prep-rigor" kinda place I'd look elsewhere.

The school transitioned really quickly to a virtual format and we liked what they offered via Zoom/suggested crafts/story time/ideas from their blog/exc.

They offered a partial refund for one month only if you stated you were having a hardship.

Another Audubon parent here. I posted the director's message, and would send my kid if he was older. My kids and I did not enjoy their virtual programming at all. It took them weeks to get started. The fact that they are not offering virtual in the fall, speaks to the quality of that program. But I would not hesitate to send them back in person in the fall. It's a wonderful play-based program, but obviously outdoor school does not translate very well online