When I first visited Alice’s school on a photography assignment, I was newly married and children were a far-off thought. That day, I was so struck with the magic that she worked with the children, I remember going home afterward and telling my husband, “When we have kids, I want them to go to Alice’s.”
When our first daughter was born, there was no question of where she would go, and two years later there we were at her first day of school at My Special School. Most kids cry the first time you drop them off at school, Alice told us, not to worry — but when we dropped our daughter off, she didn’t even look back, as she was welcomed immediately into a game with the other kids! (We have always been so impressed by the inclusiveness and lack of cliquishness that Alice cultivates in her kids.) No tears. Instead, she cried when we picked her up — she wanted to stay with her new friends and Miss Alice!
Thanks to her year at My Special School, at “almost-3” our daughter has learned her letters and numbers, how to dress herself, how to use the potty, developed excellent manners, learned how to share and how to handle conflict, and has formed strong friendships and a wonderful sense of self. She has also turned into a kind and giving big sister who loves to dote on “her baby”! We can’t imagine a better place for her to be, and recommend Alice many times over.
Kristen & Michael Long
January, 2013