Our Mission
Our mission is to partner with families of children from diverse backgrounds to respect and honor childhood, celebrate independence, and support children as they learn and grow through play.
Growing Together Since 1960
Chapel Hill Cooperative Preschool was founded in 1960 as a parent cooperative and the area’s first fully integrated preschool. From the beginning, CHCP brought families together across backgrounds around a shared belief in creating a kind, caring environment where children could learn and grow.
Over the decades, CHCP expanded to year-round care, welcomed younger children, and in 2020 brought its infant, toddler, two’s, and preschool programs together on one campus at Mt. Carmel Church Road. Today, children can grow within the CHCP community from infancy through age five.
More than six decades later, the principles at the heart of the school remain remarkably consistent: respect for childhood, learning through play, strong relationships, inclusion, family partnership, and a belief that a community becomes stronger when people contribute to it together.
Childhood Is Worth Celebrating
At CHCP, we believe childhood is a unique and meaningful stage of life, filled with curiosity, imagination, friendship, exploration, growing independence, and joy.
Children learn by experiencing the world around them. Our teachers create environments where they can play, create, communicate, move, experiment, spend time outdoors, build relationships, and discover what interests them.
Every child develops in their own way and at their own pace. Our teachers combine a deep understanding of child development with a commitment to knowing each child as an individual, creating a community where children feel seen, respected, supported, and ready to grow.
What Makes CHCP Distinctive
- Learning through play: Children have meaningful opportunities to explore, experiment, imagine, communicate, solve problems, and make sense of the world.
- Relationships at the heart of learning: Strong connections with teachers and classmates help children feel secure, understood, and supported.
- A true cooperative community: Families, educators, administration, and the Board contribute in different ways to a school centered around children.
- Belonging since 1960: CHCP was founded as the area’s first fully integrated preschool, and inclusion remains an important part of the school’s identity.
- Exceptional early childhood education: CHCP is a 5-star-rated, NAEYC-accredited preschool serving children from infancy through age five.
Bill Friday, former UNC System President, celebrates Chapel Hill Cooperative Preschool, featuring Big World
