About Us
Our School Today
Piedmont Play School (PPS) is a warm, play-based preschool nestled in beautiful Hampton Field at 401 Hampton Road. Our bright classrooms and spacious play yard create a safe, nurturing space where children learn, explore, and grow through play. Outdoors, children dig and build in the large sandbox, tend to garden boxes, and ride tricycles or embark on imaginative adventures together. Indoors, the classroom offers ample room for play, projects, and group activities, as well as a full kitchen that gives children the chance to cook, create, and learn through hands-on experiences.
Families are at the heart of PPS. Parents volunteer in the classroom, help maintain the outdoor space, and support a close-knit, welcoming community that makes PPS feel like a second home.
Our Legacy
Founded in 1948 by a group of Piedmont parents, including Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Dittman, PPS began as a small cooperative program under the direction of Mrs. Vera Slattery at the Piedmont Community Church. One later, it moved into a two-room building next to Wildwood Elementary School, owned and maintained by the Rec Department. From its earliest days, parents played a vital role in shaping and sustaining the school, waxing floors, building furniture, and rolling up their sleeves to keep the program thriving.
That same spirit came to life in 2000, when PPS families led an extraordinary effort to design and build the Hampton Field schoolhouse that children enjoy today. Architect Mark Becker and his wife Tami spearheaded the project, with Mark designing the facility and Tami coordinating site planning and fundraisers. Marcia Nybakken, PPS Director from 1989 to 2001, and her husband Jim were integral in guiding the program during this transition. The Fullerton family and the Padua family also contributed time, leadership, and resources to bring the vision to life.
PPS families and alumni raised nearly two-thirds of the construction costs, while the City of Piedmont partnered by contributing the remaining funds and working alongside parents to complete the project. The tile mosaic and donor plaque on the schoolhouse wall are reminders that this is not just a building. It is a parent-built legacy of love, learning, and community.
