Commitment to Diversity
Playhouse was founded in 1951, with a deep commitment to diversity of race, class, ethnicity, gender, religion, family, language, physical ability, and learning styles. We hope to arrive at a kind of global peace in a world of discord through creating a diverse community where the child’s self-concept is strong. Participating in this type of community sows the seeds for compassion, acceptance, and understanding of others. The roots of peace and the acknowledgment of others begin with the first experiences of a young child. These experiences influence a child’s future beliefs about social justice.
Diversity is embraced through our curriculum as students, teachers, and parents explore identity, cultural traditions, similarities, and differences through literature, music, nutrition, art, play, movement and conversation.
Playhouse is a cooperative, non-sectarian, non-profit school, located in downtown West Orange, New Jersey which strives to invite diverse families into our learning community.
Each year great care is taken through the admissions and hiring processes to ensure that the students and teachers of the school are diverse. Jeanne Ginsberg and the founding parents implemented a sliding tuition scale in which parents pay tuition based on their total family income for the year.
Throughout the year, we invite parents to the classroom to introduce their own cultures through stories, music, dance, food or other symbols of their family’s roots.
