April 06, 2026
Since 1949, the school has served a leading role in education for children with both typical and diverse needs.
The school was founded by Louise Whitbeck Fraser, for her daughter, who had contracted spinal meningitis and become nearly deaf. Rather than institutionalize her, as doctors of the time advised, Louise used the rhythm of music to develop her daughter’s communication skills. This proved to be integral to her daughter’s social/emotional development. That early foundation was key to her lifelong success. Her daughter learned to read and, as an adult, became a teacher, alongside her mother.
Today, Fraser School continues the legacy of building children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development to create a strong foundation for lifelong educational success.
Each child is guided in developmentally appropriate, play-based learning, by a pod of teachers and coordinators who really know them. With more than 100 years of combined teaching experience, our educators are passionate advocates for every child. They know when a child needs a little extra help, or when a teacher could benefit from more support. Together, teachers and coordinators ensure each child develops social, emotional, and behavioral skills at their own pace, so they can succeed in life and school.
Our program is accredited through the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA) and is Four Star Parent Aware rated. Our teachers use The Creative Curriculum® — the gold standard for infant, toddler, and preschool curriculum. For toddlers who don’t need childcare but want the benefit of socialization and play-based growth, we offer an early childhood beginning program.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), “Healthy social and emotional development is rooted in nurturing and responsive relationships with family members and other caregivers, including those who provide care in early learning settings. Early care and education professionals in childcare and preschool classrooms are important partners in supporting social and emotional development and ensuring that the youngest learners are ready for school and on the path to success.” These skills help children understand, name, and express emotions and develop close relationships with children and adults, but not all childcare and pre-K programs focus on building these skills.
Fraser Childcare and Pre-K begins to develop early social, emotional, and cognitive skills in the infant childcare room, by having children sit together for meals and playtime. Infants also have their own developmentally appropriate gym space to explore sensiomotor play with textures, shapes, and sounds. Music introduces them to rhythm, movement, and song, while exploration of their environment, under adult supervision, helps infants learn through observation and curiosity.
Our toddlers build social, emotional, and cognitive skill by learning communication, building a strong sense of self-identity, and gaining independence. These skills are strengthened through developmentally appropriate structured and free-play activities.
All toddlers have individual playtime to explore their environment: our indoor gym and outdoor playground help children develop gross motor skills. Music education builds rhythm, movement, and language skills. Shared snack and mealtimes build social skills. Group experiences for preschool- and prekindergarten-aged classrooms use art, songs, and turn-taking games that support skills for navigating relationships. Independence
is strengthened by practicing self-feeding, self-soothing, and early toileting skills.
A unique addition to our toddler’s social/emotional development is the use of life-sized puppets, Molly and Wally, to help children explore their emotions. Molly and Wally provide each child with a consistent model of support that adds structure and consistency to their emotional learning.
"The personification of the puppets comes alive for our children. Molly and Wally are viewed as peers and connect with them on a deeper level, seeing themselves in them," says Elizabeth Eng, Fraser School Coordinator.
With Molly and Wally, children use a feelings wheel to talk about times when they have felt a feeling highlighted by the wheel and are encouraged to give examples of what they can do when they feel this emotion. This creates a safe environment for a child and their peers to reflect on their emotions and be comfortable helping each other.
"Molly and Wally times are guided by the children during each visit. Group times are fluid, as the children are growing, but children can also feel challenged to look at the world through other peers' experiences. It takes its own path, just as children create their own," says Eng.
As children get ready to move on to kindergarten, Fraser preschool and pre-K programs help them work on independence with skills like toileting, self-dressing, taking care of their belongings, and transitioning as a group.
Children also get ready to learn by working on the fundamentals of math, literacy, and one-to-one correspondence skills through play-based activities, such as rote counting, singing the alphabet song, and building with blocks. Socialization skills are developed by negotiating with others, sharing toys, taking turns, and solving problems. Early academic foundations are strengthened with nutrition, science, and social studies, music, movement, and exploration. Each preschool classroom also has a writing center and woodworking activity area.
The NCSL states, “Early childhood is a critical window of development for learning social and emotional skills. The quality of experiences and relationships during this time can have life-long implications. For children who face barriers to healthy development, the stakes are even higher. Nurturing the social and emotional development of all young children, so they are ready to succeed in school and beyond, depends on strong partnerships between parents and their out-of-home caregivers.”
Fraser Childcare & Pre-K program offers every child a strong foundation for future success. Our social/emotional and cognitive development plays a major role in reaching an individual’s goals. By fostering a caring and welcoming environment for a child to name emotions, reflect on them, and feel comfortable sharing those emotions with others, we give them the chance they deserve to achieve great things. Additionally, our integrated classrooms provide a foundation for acceptance of differences and inclusion.
Fraser School is currently accepting applications. Find out more by visiting https://www.fraser.org/preschool