Rancho is not just a preschool. It is a community, a commitment and the "village" you hear about but rarely find. Choosing a preschool in LA was overwhelming. I had specific criteria before I could feel comfortable leaving my son for the first time. I was drawn to Rancho for their gentle transition program, emphasis on emotional attachment, play-based learning, emotionally intelligent handling of conflict, support for healthy eating and a unique co-op environment that creates a meaningful experience for children and parents alike. The teachers, Carey and Sarah, are INCREDIBLE!!They are loving, experienced, creative and deeply passionate about children. My toddler absolutely adores them .I always feel confident knowing he is in their capable hands. Carey spent over an hour answering all my questions before we enrolled, and Sarah provided helpful books to ease the transition. What truly sets Rancho apart is its community. The co-op naturally attracts like-minded families with shared values and weekly parent participation fosters genuine relationships. Everyone treats the kids as if they were their own, creating a nurturing and trusting environment. Seeing my child feel confident and secure among both teachers and parents constantly reassures me that we made the right choice. It has been the greatest decision we have made and I am so thankful we found Rancho. read more

We love rancho co-op preschool. it is such a wonderful community with thoughtful and caring teachers and parents. The kids have a lot of outdoor time and so many options to be creative and play and learn. I'm very grateful to have found this preschool for my daughter. read more

We have the best experience with this school. My kids have been coming for over two years now and we love it. Love the play based aspect, parental involvement and the community that it creates for both kids and parents. read more

Our 3 year-old has been attending school at Rancho since September of last year and she LOVES it. Miss Carey, the Director, is kind, patient, warm and her play-based approach is why my kiddo rushes out the door every morning to head to her favorite place on the planet. And Miss Sarah is a WONDERFUL teacher who treats each of the kids as if they're her own. The kids split up their day between indoor and outdoor play. There's plenty to keep them busy! Plus, special visitors pop by on occasion, like Music Teacher Abby, marionette puppeteers, and even firefighters with their very own fire truck for the kids to explore! We also love the community aspect of a co-op. We're pretty close with the other Rancho parents, which happens organically when you're more deeply involved in the school. We're so happy to have discovered this community, and can't recommend it enough! read more

For the past 2 years, our 2 sons have attended the Rancho Co-op Preschool. We started with the preschool for our youngest son (then age 2) and then for T-K for our older son. I cannot say enough about good things about Carey and Sarah, the class teachers, as they are the epitome of being caring, dedicated and selfless professionals in all they do. What is truly special about Rancho is not only the teachers, but the community of parents that volunteer and support Rancho's students in all things. This school is an excellent place for your child to learn socialization and early academic skills based on kindness, gratitude and being good citizens. More importantly it is a place where you will also be surrounded by a group of parents and families who are kind, loving and supportive that partner together to make this school great. Kindness, Empathy, Compassion and Community is what you will experience when you are a part of the Rancho Co-op Preschool. read more

Our child attended Rancho for 2.5 years and absolutely loved it. Miss Carey and teacher Sarah's dedication to the children is unmatched. It was so amazing to watch the growth happen amongst the children and parents alike. Our family has met lifelong friends at this school and for that we will be forever grateful. read more

My child attended Rancho for two years and while most of that time was positive, toward the end we experienced an incident that was, and continues to be, traumatic for our family. Another co-op parent held my child against his will while verbally accosting him on the playground after school with several witnesses around. After a disastrous meeting between the two families "mediated" by the director (lead teacher), wherein the parent who had already assaulted my child then physically threatened my husband at the school, there was no action taken. Other families expressed concern, but the director claimed it was a private matter. She was more horrified that families were discussing it than by the incident itself. When pressed, she said some people reported that the initial incident wasn't that bad and there was nothing to be done. I'm surprised at the lengths the director and board (which I was a member of but recused myself) went to try and sweep the incident under the rug so that things could go back to being normal and happy again. I felt so gaslit, unsupported, and isolated. The director never apologized for her mishandling of the situation. I cannot in good conscience recommend this school because I experienced firsthand how ill-equipped the leadership is to handle any distress. I did feel it was a nurturing and supportive community until this incident happened, and I realized how fragile it actually all was. If you want to roll the dice and hope nothing happens then you might be fine here, but otherwise l'd recommend finding a different preschool that takes adult aggression toward children and concerns from its parent community more seriously. read more

Our child enrolled for two and a half school years at Rancho Nursery School and it was a great experience! Being a co-operative school it allows the parents to get to know each other as well as the children their child is playing with and socializing with five days a week, which in my opinion is helpful as a parent. What is also helpful is getting time with the director (Carey) who has a wealth of knowledge AND experience in teaching and caring for young children. I learned many helpful tactics, skills and experienced another point of view to help me become a better parent to my child. My family's time spent as part of Rancho Nursery School was very much worth it! read more

Rancho park co-op is an incredibly rare opportunity to send your child to an excellent preschool, run by a tight-knit community. The co-op asks for one parent to volunteer once a week, which is a great chance to spend more time with your child, while allowing them to play and learn. I'm so incredibly grateful to this community for helping me and my family feel welcome, but also for helping my child develop and grow over the last year and a half. read more

We have been very happy with our decision to send our son to preschool here. He started when we he was 2 years 9 months. He's listening better, learning to follow directions, learning to interact and share with the other kids, and learning how to express himself through art and play. This is a co-op preschool so the parents are very involved. A parent of each child donates time 1 day a week for 4 hours, so everyday there are 4 parents working. At first I thought it would be a tough commitment, but now I love being there to seeing my son grow at school, and I love that I get to be involved. And the parents treat every child as if it's their own, which is more caring than any other preschool can offer I think. Even more importantly Rancho has an AMAZING director who is so knowledgeable and patient with these kids! She truly cares about every one of them and is especially careful with their safety during this pandemic. Can't say enough good things about our director Carey! When my son goes off to school I know he's in great hands! read more

Rancho Co-op Preschool - Preschools Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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I have been a part of this community that I also consider to be like my family for 7 years now. It is an incredibly supportive group of parents, under the guidance of an exceptional director, with like minded parenting goals and the belief that it takes a village to raise our children. Together we run the school and help our little ones build empathy and learn how to support one another through play. I am so grateful to have found Rancho when we moved here from New York and started our family. read more

Our 3 yo daughter is attending for the first time this year and absolutely loves it. Participating in the school has helped us build a network of friends and parents with similar values and learn tips for how to handle situations with our kiddo. As first time parents that has been pretty invaluable. The price also helps, as it's significantly more affordable than other schools we looked at in the area. They focus a lot on social and emotional development, which I think is perfect for preschool, especially since lots of kids that age have little experience with social interactions after years of covid. Highly recommend. They do tours too, so you could always come check it out if you're interested. read more

My daughter is currently enrolled in her second year at Rancho and I couldn't possibly be happier with the choice we made as parents. I wanted to send my daughter to a school that I could be involved in and that was strictly play-based learning. Rancho met all of our needs- more than we could have ever imagined. As a first time mom I was terrified of sending my child anywhere without us, but with the Rancho community all of my fears and hesitations quickly faded away. The Director is amazing....she is truly amazing, nothing gets by her. She is wonderful with these children and they love her. My daughter always tells me that Mrs. Cynthia is her favorite! The sense of community and support you get here is pretty unbelievable; this school/ community has helped us through some pretty challenging times and helped us navigate my daughter through these changes so that she wouldn't be affected. Everyone who attends here is open-minded and supportive, they allow the children to grow in a natural way; allowing the children to be children and be themselves. Even on hard days everyone understands and helps. This is exactly the type of experience I wanted my daughter to have, to learn about empathy and kindness so that she can carry that with her for the rest of her life. I highly recommend Rancho to anyone looking for a Preschool. To live in LA and be consumed with the craziness happening around you, this school is a rare gem that I never would have thought existed. I never thought in a million years that I could be surrounded by this much kindness, love and support and of all places at my daughters school! What more could you possibly want for your children? read more

We love Rancho! My twins are in their second year there and we're so grateful to be part of such an open-minded, supportive community. I love that I get to participate in their preschool experience by working one morning a week in the classroom and that we are building a foundation that values service to the community we are a part of. My girls were a bit reserved when they first started, but they've really blossomed over the last year thanks to this nurturing environment. They've learned so much and so have I! I can't count the times I've said "I'm so grateful for Rancho" over the last year. Highly recommend! read more

As a family who does not have family near by, this school was just what we were looking for. It became a community to grow in. Both our children went to this school and still talk about how much they loved it. We loved that it is play based and the child gets to direct their own play. And once they went to kinder, they were ready. The director is wonderful. She understands children like no other and their needs. If only all teachers were as good as her! The families that are drawn to this school are outstanding and look after your child like he/she is one of their own. Thank you, Rancho, for the many great years! read more

I was looking into preschools last year (2018) for my daughter and left three messages with the co-op across three weeks. I never heard back from them so I decided that if they are unable to return a phone call it may not be the right place for us. Just today (sept 2019) I took my two kids to the park behind the co-op and saw that the co-op community was working to put the classrooms together for the new year. I've wanted to send my kids to a co-op just for this reason, the community working together for their kids. Now that I am looking for schools for my 20 month old son I saw this as an opportunity to find someone to talk to briefly or just get a direct contact so that I can get more information. A parent helped me find someone I can talk to and as I was waiting I heard another parent say that it was a "wildly inappropriate time" to be checking in with any of them. I understand that they were busy preparing for the new school year. However, it would have taken 30 seconds to let me know how I could get in contact with someone or when it would be a better time to come back to chat with someone. If this is what their community is like, I have no interest in being a part of it and I certainly don't want to send my children to a CO-OP where they feel bothered by people who are interested. It would have been a great opportunity for them to show how lovely a co-op could be. Instead, I was reassured that this in fact is not the right place for us. read more

We found Rancho Co-op Preschool by accident and my 3 YO liked it so much that we kept going back to play in the playground and eventually joined. Their new teacher/director is great. If you chat with her for two minutes you will see she is the right person to teach your kids. The other parents are very involved and make a great community. I also liked that it's mostly outdoors. read more

I called three times over a couple months and begged them to return my call. They never called back. It's very time consuming and stressful for parents to look for preschools. They can at least send a 30 second text to say there is no space. If the director can't return a phone call, I would be concerned that communication would be an ongoing issue. read more

Discovering Rancho Co-Op Nursery School was such a blessing for us. I had been really overwhelmed looking for a preschool for my son with so many with long wait lists and sky-high tuition. I learned about Rancho through a friend and we were so lucky to get a spot for our son. He started there when he was three and he is now in his second year. I was pregnant with my second when we first joined the community and found so much support from the Rancho families through my pregnancy and postpartum. The Rancho families really shared in my excitement for my pregnancy. They threw me a baby shower (a Rancho tradition) and they brought us yummy meals after the birth of our second son. I was overwhelmed and incredibly grateful for how we were embraced. It was the type of community experience I had always hoped for when envisioning young parenthood. This is the village I was looking for. Rancho is a play based preschool located in Cheviot Hills Park. The kids spend the first part of the day outside at the playground with monster trucks and trikes and sand buckets and shovels and paints. The rest of the day is spent in the classroom. We have a fresh and healthy snack then circle time then more play followed by lunch which is then followed by quiet room. Every Tuesday we have a wonderful music teacher come during circle time and the kids love her! Our son has grown tremendously since starting at Rancho. He wasn't potty trained when he first started there (at 3 years old) and it only took a week once he started there. There wasn't any pressure. I know a lot of parents who worry about their kids being potty trained, but it really wasn't an issue for us once we started. Though I did stress about that in advance. Everyone was so great about it and reassured us that he would get there and he did. Rancho is a co-op which means that each family must have one working parent. You work one shift per week. I love this. It's what makes the community so tight. We learn from each other. We get to know each other and we really get to know the kids. The biggest thing I can stress about Rancho is that it's a down to earth community of committed and compassionate parents who believe we are all in this together. If you are intrigued by the cooperative experience, I highly recommend you check it out. Come and visit us. Take a tour and decide for yourself. read more

Both my kids attended Rancho co-op, and I really can't say enough about how great the experience was. My youngest just graduated, and his older sister attended before him. We had tried out a more expensive preschool for her, and it wasn't remotely worth it. During the tour of Rancho, my wife and I both could tell this was the right place. Real people - reasonable, thoughtful parents - helping the kids learn to be good people. Through lots of play (what kids NEED at this age!), plus a great combo of gross and fine motor skill activities, the kids are thriving. They paint, they build, they learn from outside guests about bubbles, music, careers, the fire station, but most of all they play together. When conflict arises, the parents help guide the kids to a good resolution by helping the kids develop empathy, kindness, and problem solving skills. Because there's a shared philosophy about parenting and how to best guide our children, I trust any other Rancho parent with my kids, and they frequently trust us with theirs. LA can be a rough place for people who grew up elsewhere - Rancho is missing much of the pretentiousness and selfishness I see in so many parents out here. If you're worried about your kids meeting "connected people" or if you think preschool should be about academic learning, this place isn't for you. But if you want your kids to learn good character through play in a nurturing environment, this is it. The community is strong - the parents are connected to one another, but it goes further. We've had several teen alumni of Rancho babysit our kids, and they showed the same great character we've come to expect from the preschool students and their parents. It takes a village to raise a kid well, and Rancho is that village. My kids loved it, my wife and I loved it. read more

We are on our second year at Rancho and love it! If you are looking to join an amazing close knit community and be very involved in your child's preschool years this is the place for you. Rancho is a play based co-op pre school that aims at developing children's social and emotional skills. Children are able to choose activities based on their interests, and through play they are able to learn and grow so much. From the Director to the parents to the kids, this school has become like family and I am forever grateful to have found it. read more

I went to rancho co-op preschool (22 years ago- I'm 26 now) and honestly, I would not send my kids anywhere else. At rancho co-op, they set you up for success and this school's philosophy imparts such a different and positive set of communication and interpersonal/socialization skills that are integral to being a genuine and good person. I know it may sound ridiculous, but I have such happy memories of being 4 years old attending this school. My family (parents and brother) have maintained close relationships with many of the other families we went to preschool with and see them on a regular basis. We have become a big family and I couldn't recommend this school more. Your kids will learn reading and math in elementary school, but no other school will teach them the same interpersonal and communication skills that they will learn here (it's more important than people realize). I went on to be in honors classes throughout school and graduate with a Psychology degree from UCLA. I can't recommend this school enough! read more

Both of my kids have attended this school. We started our oldest child out in a fancy, Waldorf-inspired, picturesque, language-immersion school that, as you can imagine, was difficult to afford. I'm an educator myself, and I just could not stop nit-picking the place in my mind. I was never satisfied. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I just wasn't happy with my family there. I found Rancho, and realized what I had been missing. Community. Rancho Co-op Nursery School is a school run by families, families who parent like me. As such, after a month there I felt more at home, more included. I *knew* the other kids, and their parents because I spent my days with them. After a month at Rancho I trusted those other folks more than I had trusted my previous school's teachers after more than a year. In Los Angeles, it can be hard to find community. But, not at Rancho. These people are like family. We raise our kids together with similar parenting philosophies. If I had a life threatening emergency and had to leave my kids with someone, I would literally leave them with ANY of the families at Rancho. It's a pretty special community. The facilities aren't fancy, but my kids love it there. It's play based. They encourage creativity, and independence. They foster the skills for children to learn how to work well together and get what they need - be it asking a friend to respect their body, or more politely asking an adult for help. If you're unfamiliar with how co-ops work, at Rancho we have a Director who is there every day, and each family is responsible for covering one "work shift" a week per enrolled child, plus other responsibilities, in addition to tuition. read more

Our son started school earlier this year at Rancho Co-Op, and not only has it changed his life but its changed ours for the absolute best!! Being first time parents we were curious what an LA school experience would be like for him and I can describe what Rancho has become for us in one word, family. What a fabulous treasure in our city! In the past few months, he's grown and developed confidence, independence, and social skills. On Sundays he'll ask when is it time to go to school because of his anticipation of playing, painting, building, reading and interacting with all his new friends and the other dedicated parents who are working that days shift. As a co-op, the director and the parent community all work very hard to create the most nurturing, loving environment we could want for our little ones. The experience goes beyond our son and has taught and given us ideas for raising our son that I feel you could only receive from the interaction we have as a small community. I'm so thankful for the atmosphere the director has cultured and for the other parents and children that have welcomed us into this experience. When we see the smile on our son face and hear the the thoughts and ideas that come out of his mouth we now know that the happiest place on earth is 40 miles north of Disneyland and its called Ranch Co-Op Nursery School. Did I mention that my son LOVES THIS PLACE?!?!?! read more

My daughter is in her third year at Rancho and we've loved it since we walked through the door. It's a wonderland for the children, a place where they're free to explore, build, create art, dress-up in costumes, play with a water table INSIDE, I could go on and on. Everyone is so supportive of each other, and are here for everyone's children and families in the most amazing way. Coming to Rancho is one of the best decisions I've made as a parent. My four year old is currently reporting for this yelp audience, "I like to paint, I like to ride bikes, I love playing with blocks, heeheehe, I love the quiet room, sandbox, friends, ok." read more

One of my worse experiences in looking for a pre school. I got a tour, was told I would be one of the first on the waiting list. Paid my $50 app fee and didn't heard back. I called several months later and was told still no space. I went again a couple of months later and the director could not speak to me because she had a "headache" Sure. So my child was put on a waiting list and a year later, I never received a call. Hmmm. Interesting that another friend of mine had the same experience there and we're both women of color. read more

The philosophy of co-op preschools and especially Rancho Co-op has a time honored tradition of concentrating on the social, developmental and emotional components as important foundations to academics. As an alumni I've seen this proven over and over. read more

I feel like the luckiest parent in the world. Finding this co-op has been a game changer. Can't say enough great things about the director and the community. My son has become the best possible version of himself and I couldn't be happier. read more

The director is not very engaged with the students. She does the bare minimum. It is more of a playgroup than a preschool. The 'learn through play' is a great philosophy, but sometimes it becomes an excuse to just not do much at this place. There are many non-academic, imaginative and creative ways to give kids some directed activity while still retaining the play-based curriculum. The director has her favorites amongst the moms and seems more interested in gabbing with them during the workday than supervising the kids. A Co-op by definition implies that all the parents have a say, but really the power structure is that if you don't agree with the director and her hand-selected board, then your opinion doesn't count. And on that note, the fact that a school with 15-20 kids enrolled at any given time has seven parents on the board is quite comical. The director specifically wants people on the board who will agree with whatever she says. If you have a problem or concern you wish to bring up, and you feel that 'Wow we re at a co-op so we should have our voices be heard', then guess again. They have been under-enrolled for some time now, which makes for parents working more than one weekday workshift. And their lack of professionalism when it comes to hearing each community member out makes me think that their low enrollment is a direct result of this. Our preschool experiences since Rancho have all been superior. read more

I have been a part of the Rancho community for over a year and couldn't be happier. We are a loving, supportive, welcoming community with a diverse group of families. The children learn through play and the daily adventures on the playground and inside the classroom. Both of my daughters absolutely love Rancho and I feel so fortunate to be part of such an amazing school. This is a school for families who wish to be involved in their child's preschool experience and build lasting relationships with the other children and parents. Once you become a Rancho family, you will absolutely fall in love with this compassionate and fun village! read more

The community here is really spectacular. Both of my children attended, and as my older child entered elementary school I could really see how her time at Rancho helped shape her into an empathetic, compassionate person who knows how to problem solve and navigate conflict well. It may not be an appropriate setting for all children, as it is mostly unstructured and all ages are together, but for my family it was amazing. read more