Children's Community Center

The Children’s Community Center is a parent cooperative preschool located in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1927 by educator Katharine Whiteside Taylor, it is recognized as one of the first cooperative preschools. CCC is the oldest continually operating cooperative preschools in North America.

History

The Children’s Community Center was established in 1927 when Katharine Whiteside Taylor, and a group of local parents sought to create a school where families could participate directly in their children’s early learning. The model reflected contemporary ideas of progressive education and cooperative governance, in which parents and teachers shared responsibility for curriculum, administration, and child development support.
Taylor documented the school’s founding philosophy in her 1929 publication The Children’s Community, which became an influential guide for other emerging parent cooperative nursery schools.