Early Education in Santa Monica: Beth Shir Shalom Early Childhood Center
February 24, 2022 4:02 PM
by Ivy Chang
The first years of life are the best time to ensure a strong future for all Santa Monica children. Early education advances equity and is essential for thriving families and communities. Whether children begin care as infants, toddlers, or preschoolers, Santa Monica is home to a wide range of early learning programs, with varying curriculums, hours, and costs.
Enriching and safe care should be available to all children, regardless of their family’s income, needs, race or ethnicity, or the languages they speak. Connections for Children, our local Child Care Resource and Referral agency, can help you find a program that meets your needs and determine if you qualify for funding to help pay for it (connectionsforchildren.org or (310) 452-3325).
Our communities are stronger when every child is healthy, safe, and engaged in early learning. Read on to learn about the passionate and diverse professionals doing this important work in Santa Monica. This is Part 1 of a series.
Program Name: Beth Shir Shalom Early Childhood Center
Director: Robin Masnicoff
Ages of children served: 18 months old to kindergarten
Hours: 8:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m., year-round
Brief History: Beth Shir Shalom Early Childhood Center (ECC) is a part of Beth Shir Shalom, a reform synagogue that has been a fixture in Santa Monica since 1942. The Center is a “Sesame Street” school, meaning most children who attend are from the area and walk to school.
What would you like Santa Monicans to know about the importance of early childhood? The value of early childhood education is clear. Children who attend a developmentally appropriate program that helps foster autonomy and social-emotional maturity have great success in kindergarten. If a child doesn’t feel successful in early childhood and we don’t meet them where they are at, we’re doing them a disservice. We want them to stand up for themselves and have the skills to navigate kindergarten. We scaffold their learning. We’re teaching children that they’re not the only one in the room, that there are others to be contended with; also, how to be patient, wait, and care for others. We want them to look forward to being here at our program, and we want them to know that if they’re sad, someone is here to help, and when they are happy there is someone to share their joy. We want to expand their world because, especially in light of the pandemic, children are not necessarily interacting with other children outside of school. Their first interactions with peers (and without their parents) are here.
What do you mean when you say Beth Shir Shalom ECC is a community that “sings together, cries together, and changes the world together”? We strive to teach our children the importance of “mitzvot and tzedakah,” the idea of doing something good for somebody else. Our program encourages children to consider the needs of those around them. For instance, a Beth Shir Shalom temple member creates backpacks with nutritional snacks and food for students at local public schools who are fighting food scarcity to take home for the weekend. Our program helps supplement by inviting our children to donate healthy snacks. Even young children understand the meaning of a granola bar and learn how to care for others. Every Friday, the older children bring in coins to put in a tzedakah box and choose a place they want to give the money to—sometimes it’s a children’s hospital or a place for the homeless. We want to scaffold their understanding of giving.
You mentioned, “At Beth Shir Shalom, everyone who walks through the door is met with open arms, regardless of circumstance, race, religion, orientation, or gender.” How is that reflected in your student body? We have a very diverse student body. Not all our families are Jewish or a part of the synagogue. Even our families who are not [part of the synagogue] still participate in a lot of our overall events, especially when we are doing our tzedakah projects. Our values are universal. We want our children to leave our program being strong, capable, and able to stand for themselves and others.
For more information, please contact Beth Shir Shalom ECC directly at bethshirshalom.org or (310)829-2517.
For a list of licensed early childhood programs in Santa Monica, go to: santamonicacradletocareer.org/childcare.
If you have a licensed early learning program in Santa Monica and would like to share your story, please email humanservices@santamonica.gov.
Authored By
Ivy Chang
Senior Administrative Analyst