Brief History
February 7th 1962, the Session of Columbia Presbyterian Church voted to approve the recommendation of the Christian Education Committee to begin a weekday Kindergarten program for the families of Columbia. The news was well received and on April 19th of 1962, the Columbian Progress newspaper ran an article titled, “Local Presbyterian Church to Sponsor Kindergarten”. Mrs. J.H. Murphy was chosen to serve as the director for the new school which was set to open in September of the same year. The Kindergarten was organized as a ministry of the church with the express purpose of “helping each child reach his highest development spiritually, mentally, socially, and physically; to cooperate with the public schools so that he may be better prepared for public secular education.”
Since that time numerous families and generations have attended and enrolled their children in the school as it continued to grow and develop. On March 7th, 2018 the Session of Columbia Presbyterian Church moved to have the school renamed as Columbia Presbyterian Preschool. This action was taken to align the name with its current structure and service. The purpose was further clarified to emphasize the intention of teaching the children the power of the Gospel, a love for Jesus, knowledge of the Bible, and care for others in their world.
Our Mission & Philosophy
Mission Statement
The Columbia Presbyterian Preschool (CPP) is a non-profit ministry of Columbia Presbyterian Church, caring for children, showing concern for families of its own congregation, and the surrounding community. The CPP seeks to encourage the development of young children and give them watchful, loving care in a warm and nurturing environment that demonstrates God’s message of love expressed through Jesus Christ.
Philosophy
CPP strives to:
-Create a warm, loving environment in which each child will feel a sense of self-worth and have the opportunity to develop his or her own gifts.
-To make the transition from home to school a natural one, while developing skills to meet the new challenges their transition entails. This will be done through the use of age-appropriate activities and materials.
-To commit ourselves to excellence by striving to reflect the highest values and care. Staff members will be expected to exemplify the Christian life in their dealings with children and their parents.
-To approach the learning process with the belief that play is fundamental to the social, emotional, and educational development of each child.
-To be responsible stewards of all that God and, CPP have entrusted with us, especially in the areas of space utilization, fiscal management, materials use, and human resources.