History of Ward Preschool:

In February of 1978, the Session of Ward Church endorsed this vision and approved the implementation of a preschool ministry whose purpose would be “to provide a distinctively Christian atmosphere for the physical, emotional, social and spiritual development of preschool children.” Placing key emphasis on Christian character development, the school complements the church’s overall Children’s Ministry to preschool children. It also seeks to provide unique support to families of preschool children. It was originally named Ward Daytime Preschool and changed to Ward Preschool in the spring of 2005.

The fundamentals underlying this ministry include:

• A statement of faith relevant to a Christian educational institution and consistent with that of Ward Church’s beliefs and values.
• An understanding of school as an extension of the Christian home. The school would help parents to train their children both educationally and spiritually.
• A value on the school being an extension of Ward Church, through granting member families (children and grandchildren) a first preference on enrollment. After two days, the registration is open to the community.

The Ward Preschool ministry envisions itself to be a supplemental resource, not a replacement of current Ward Church ministries. It will provide further opportunities for planting foundational teachings about God and His Word and encouraging character development.

How Ward Preschool Has Grown:

What started in 1978 as part time preschool programming for 3- and 4-year-olds has developed into a much larger ministry for Toddlers through Young Fives. A big reason this was possible, is because of the space available to us. In 1998, Ward Church moved from its Livonia location to our current Northville building which provides 200,000 square feet for worship, programs, and services to the region. This allows us access to seven classrooms for our variety of preschool classes along with a playground, a full sized gym and additional space for events, in school fieldtrips and outdoor areas that allow us to explore and learn.

Over the more than 40 school years that Ward Preschool has operated, we have always been one step ahead of what families needs have been. When we see an educational need – we carefully consider how we can meet that need in our preschool. In addition to our part time programming, we have added a multitude of additional programming, including extended days, adult child classes and enrichment camps. All this is offered, while still putting our best foot forward and aiming to provide unique support to families of preschool children. Our growth has been attributed to the wonderful partnership with Ward Church and our word-of-mouth advertising that current and alumni families have done for us. The best thing that we are currently seeing is alumni preschoolers bringing their own children back to Ward Preschool to give them their own preschool education right where they received it. For us that is the biggest blessing that we could ever witness. Because it is true that once you are part of the Ward Preschool family, you are always welcome here.

Being part of Ward Preschool means that you are also part of our Ward Church community. Ward Church has wonderful opportunities to offer families from infants through young adults. For more information visit www.ward.church to learn more.