Aleph Preschool of Marin, a new school at the Chabad Jewish Center of Novato, opened in September for toddlers 18 months to 3 years, with plans to open a classroom for ages 3 to 5 next year.
The preschool is welcoming young children to “a Jewish early learning experience to set them up for a lifetime of Jewish engagement,” said Adina Landa, who has co-directed the Chabad with her husband, Rabbi Menachem Landa, since 2012.
Aleph meets a need in the community, Landa said, as the only Jewish preschool in Novato.
Jewish life and tradition are woven into the school day, with lessons on holidays, the Hebrew alphabet and challah making for Shabbat each Friday. But the education goes beyond those lessons, Landa said.
“It’s the love of Judaism, and the passion and the joy that gets passed down from teacher to student. When the teachers are real role models for the kids, that’s what gets transmitted,” she said. The school has “the best staff ever. If there’s anyone you want to entrust your kids to, it’s to these teachers.”
The full-day program (ages 2 to 3) is 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with extended care to 4:30 p.m. The facility is licensed for up to 24 children, and Landa anticipates reaching capacity and expanding in years to come. The school received a $100,000 startup grant from Early J, a Bay Area-based nonprofit focused on early childhood education.
“I’m so thrilled that Novato now has a Jewish preschool,” she said. “It feels like an honor to build it and offer it.”