A Cooperative Nursery School
ICNS consists of families drawn together by a common interest: taking an active role in their children's education. The school is organized, governed, and run by parents and employs highly qualified, certified teachers who direct the educational program. Each family assists in the classroom approximately two times per month and fulfills an additional school responsibility (i.e. field trip planner, social chairperson, etc.). This fosters friendships between parents and families and provides an opportunity to observe your child in new situations during assisting days. Working together, we strive to build an environment in which children can learn through play and begin to make the transition from home to full-time school.
Our Goals
Teach skills, such as listening, following directions, completing a task, sharing and recognizing acceptable behaviors
Allow children to meet and play with new friends
Build new relationships between children and adults outside the children's families
Nurture self-confidence and independence in children
Our Teacher - Ms. Diana
The Board is very pleased to have Diana Pratt as the teacher for both the Three’s and Pre-K programs. Here is a summary of her background.
Hi, I am Diana Pratt, better known as “Ms. Diana” and am the Three’s and Pre-K teacher here at ICNS. I have been teaching children for 14 years and love it. I received my degree in Nursery/Elementary Education and Psychology with a concentration in Early Education from SUNY Potsdam and my Master’s Degree in K-12 Reading from SUNY Brockport. I have taught Kindergarten, 2nd grade, and 5th grade before being a stay at home mom. After my children went through preschool I taught a Young 3’s program and found that my favorite age to teach is preschool. Spending every day in preschool playing, learning, and yes, making messes has helped me stay young at heart!
I have lived right here in Irondequoit for over 25 years with my husband and 2 children. Being a mom has taught me the importance of patience, laughter and play. As a family we love to read, take hikes, play outside and enjoy our dog, Jett. I am honored to be able to spend my days teaching at ICNS!
We are excited for the upcoming school year and have a ton of fun planned for all!
Our Board of Directors
ICNS is made up of a parent-run Board of Directors and additional parental involvement in other school responsibilities (e.g. Field trip planner, Scheduler, etc.). All parents enrolled in the school are required to have a job, along with assisting in the classroom approximately twice a month (dependent upon enrollment).
Our History
Established in 1946, we are the oldest nursery school in Irondequoit and are pleased to have had many multigenerational family members attend our school. In June of 1946, a group of mothers met to plan and organize the Irondequoit Cooperative Nursery School. They were looking for a program that would provide their children a good early education and also develop important relationships with other children through play. It is in that philosophy that ICNS was established.
From 1950 to 2021, our program was located in the Education wing that the Seneca United Methodist Church built in part for ICNS. In early 2021, after 81 years of service to the Irondequoit community, this church was closed, terminating Seneca's long relationship with ICNS and other community groups. We are very grateful for the help provided by the hundreds of past Seneca members.
In June of 2021, ICNS moved to the Irondequoit United Church of Christ (IUCC) at 644 Titus Avenue, just one mile from the old location. IUCC is centrally located across from I-Square and the House of Guitars. It is a forward thinking congregation that believes in inclusiveness and hospitality and that faith is about more than Sunday worship. They have a strong history of community activity and service and see ICNS as a good match to their support of youth programs more broadly. ICNS is able to operate without any change to our current educational program.
As ICNS celebrates its 75th anniversary, the board is very excited to have this opportunity to work with IUCC and to continue ICNS as a vital and valuable part of the Irondequoit community.
ICNS is a non-discriminatory 501(c)(3) educational non-profit chartered by the Board of Regents of the Education Department of the State of New York. The school is a cooperative volunteer organization that is run by the parents of the children who attend. Although the school operates within a Church (as part of its community mission), the Church does not place restrictions on who can enroll nor require that specific views be taught.