'There was a need': New preschool opens in Palm Beach

Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News
·4 min read

A years-long effort to open a preschool on the island was fulfilled in January with the debut of Alef Preschool Palm Beach.

The school, at 165 Bradley Place, offers a multi-faceted, play-based curriculum for children ages 18 months to 5 years that includes instruction in language arts, mathematics and logic, science and exploration, art and color theory, music, drama, culinary arts, Jewish values and concepts, and more, according to its website.

"Our goal at Alef Preschool is to do what is in the best interest of the child so that the child can develop in all arenas," said Shterny Schochet, the school's director and a long-time early childhood educator. "Part of what helps the child grow is when the parents are brought in to the learning process. Transparency and communication is a very strong value of ours. We recognize that for the child to blossom, there needs to be a strong home and school connection."

Alef Preschool, which has space for up to 50 students, follows the Reggio Emilia teaching methodology that encourages children to express themselves and their interests in various ways while developing their personalities through a self-guided curriculum.

This flexible, hands-on approach allows children to guide their own learning experiences, based on their interests, thoughts, and observations, Schochet told the Daily News.

"The philosophy is really about the children creating the curriculum and expressing themselves, what they call the hundred languages," she said. "Children have, we all have, hundreds of languages. If you're a writer, writing is how you express yourself. Someone else might be a dancer, and that's their expression. There's the arts. There are hundreds. It's just giving children space to express themselves in all those languages."

Alef Preschool Director Shterny Schochet sits Feb. 29 in one of the classrooms at the school, which opened in January. She is a longtime early childhood educator who has taught in New York City, Westport, Connecticut, and Hoboken, New York.
Alef Preschool Director Shterny Schochet sits Feb. 29 in one of the classrooms at the school, which opened in January. She is a longtime early childhood educator who has taught in New York City, Westport, Connecticut, and Hoboken, New York.

Early childhood education has been a longtime passion for Schochet, who has taught in New York City, Westport, Connecticut, and Hoboken, New York.

When Alef Preschool founder Hindel Levitin offered her the opportunity to run her own school, she jumped at it.

"They called me when they had this idea," Schochet said. "They told me there were so many young families moving here. I always had this dream of creating a space where I would want my children to be in. It was just a matter of where. And so when Hindel called me, we came down, we looked, we checked out the community, and I felt like there was a need for what we wanted to create based on places where I've worked and what I've studied."

Alef Preschool at 165 Bradley Place follows the Reggio Emilia teaching methodology that encourages children to express themselves and their interests in various ways while developing their personalities through a self-guided curriculum.
Alef Preschool at 165 Bradley Place follows the Reggio Emilia teaching methodology that encourages children to express themselves and their interests in various ways while developing their personalities through a self-guided curriculum.

Hiring Schochet to oversee the school was the final piece of the puzzle for Levitin, who had long talked of opening a preschool on the island but didn't get serious about it until the COVID-19 pandemic.

A mother of nine, Levin is the program director for Chabad House Palm Beach and oversees numerous programs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers there.

"Back in 2006, when my husband and I first moved to Palm Beach, we started a program called Jewish Music for Kids and Moms," she said. "We rented a small room at the Chesterfield Hotel on the corner of Cocoanut Row and Australian. One of the moms who attended every week with her two little kids said to me that I should start a preschool, since there wasn't one around here. I told her that would be a dream.

The new Alef Preschool in Palm Beach offers Mommy & Me classes in addition to toddler, nursery and pre-K programs.
The new Alef Preschool in Palm Beach offers Mommy & Me classes in addition to toddler, nursery and pre-K programs.

"And then COVID hit, and there was this gigantic influx of young families and this massive migration to South Florida. Anyone who's here knows exactly what I'm talking about. Since then, we really expanded our children's programming, and the focus on young families grew and grew. And then came phone calls asking if we had an early childhood program, or a preschool. Demand grew and grew, and we decided we had to do this. We had to open a preschool."

With 3,000 square feet of indoor space and an additional 4,000 square feet of backyard outdoor space, Alef Preschool provides plenty of space for children to listen, learn and explore, Levitin said.

Classrooms contain a variety of learning centers, and students participate in a combination of teacher-directed and self-directed activities.

"Our play-based program encourages active learning, and supporting young learners as they investigate, problem-solve, and build academic and social skills," Schochet said.

Alef Preschool offers Mommy & Me classes as well as toddler, nursery and pre-K programs with full- or half-day options for most students.

Enrollment is ongoing, and tours are available for parents.

For information, contact 561-489-6020 or info@alefpalmbeach.com, or visit www.alefpalmbeach.com.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: 'There was a need': New preschool debuts in Palm Beach