Contrary to popular belief, there's more going on at Busch campus than just math and human genome experiments.
It's also home to the Pine Grove Cooperative Nursery School.
The nonprofit nursery school, created by Rutgers faculty in 1957, originally operated out of the Pine Grove Manor Apartments in Somerset. But when the program needed more space, its leadership decided to move to St. Michael's Chapel on Mine Street in New Brunswick.
The chapel's Father Henry Atkinson oversaw the move and was instrumental in running the program for years to come. The program, however, has no religious affiliation.
The school moved to Davidson Road on Busch campus about 20 years ago. While open to the general public, the program's membership consists largely of the Rutgers community, such as faculty members and graduate students.
The program, like the University, is diverse. It boasts families from as far away as Japan and South America and as near by as Somerset and Highland Park.
The school is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Mary Porcelli, director of the nursery school, is also an adjunct faculty member at Bloomfield College and serves as co-president of the New Jersey Association for the Education of Young Children.
She sees the program as an opportunity for parents to be involved in their children's early education, in a society where they otherwise might not be able to.
"Due to changes in the economy, we have a lot of parents who don't have the luxury of being able to stay home with their children," Porcelli said.
Nursery school-age children are going though a crucial stage of development, during which parental involvement is a big indicator of academic success, Porcelli said
That is, the degree to which parents are engaged in the education of a young child can determine how well that child will perform in school later on.
The school also offers education to parents on the basics of raising children, which can be helpful for young parents who feel overwhelmed.
Porcelli extols the school's quality, explaining that it gives children "a really good start in life."
The school would not be of such high quality if not for family involvement, which Porcelli says is the "heart of the program."
To accommodate the needs of the families who comprise the cooperative, the program has recently decided to extend its hours. It used to hold activities only in the late morning but now hosts them all day.
From 7:30 to 9 a.m., there is a program called Breakfast Bunch; from 9 to 11:30 is the regular class; from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. is Lunch Bunch and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. is Lunch Bunch Plus.
A program called Splendid Day runs from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and parents can pick up their children from the school as late as 5:30 p.m., depending on what their schedules allow.
