In 2021, we will using our Staff Spotlights to learn more about individual staff, their inspirations, and their incredible resilience in adapting to Outdoor Learning in a pandemic.

Spotlight on Laura Sacco

Laura is our Head of School. She took on the role in the summer of 2019, and was getting well on her feet when the pandemic struck the following spring. The pandemic has been a test for teachers, leaders, parents and non-profit managers. Laura fills all these roles, and has helped Playschool and fellow teachers, parents and leaders come through these experiences stronger and wiser than before. We are very grateful for her leadership, resilience, dedication and long hours.

The minute I walked into Playschool, I felt like I had arrived home. I stood in the front entranceway, heard the sounds of children echoing through the building and knew that if the walls could talk, they would tell the tale of thousands of children who had passed through these doors. Everything feels real! The hardwood floors, the walls, the railings. You can tell that this program is based on love.

As a preschool teacher and a preschool special education teacher, I have visited hundreds of programs and recognized the high-quality teaching staff, environment, and curricular activities in which the children were engaged. As a daughter of a YMCA director in a turn of the century building, I knew the importance of legacy and as a mother, I knew that my family would embrace the importance of community, and we were drawn to the cooperative spirit of Playschool.

My hope as the Head of School is that we each family will feel the way that I did, that this is home.