After two years of closure due to COVID-19 safety precautions, Pacific Oaks Children’s School was able to reopen its doors as a lab school for the 2022-2023 school year. Judy Krause, Ph.D., associate dean, School of Human Development and Education, was happy to oversee the reopening of such an important aspect of the school’s history and identity.
“One thing that makes Pacific Oaks so unique is that the college was created from the children’s school to train others in the usage of the teaching methods at the children’s school. So there’s always been that connection,” Dr. Krause says. “And now, we are truly a lab school once again.”
The lab school allows students at Pacific Oaks College to complete studies and projects at the children’s school. College students can conduct observations of the teachers, children, and pedagogy, as well as implement activities and practice educational skills. According to Dr. Krause, students from different majors benefit from the program. “Other than just the early childhood education programs, we’ve also had students from human development, social work, psychology, and marriage and family therapy,” Dr. Krause says. “No matter what your major is, there’s always an opportunity for you to learn at the lab school.”
The lab school’s reinstatement is part of an overall reopening of communal spaces at Pacific Oaks Children’s School. This includes the community garden, the art studio—under the leadership of resident artist and Pacific Oaks alumna Karen Neubert—and yoga lessons from a master teacher who is also a certified yoga instructor. Additionally, parents have been able to visit the school again, another practice that was common before the pandemic. “The energy is different when parents can come into the yard to pick up or drop off their kids,” Dr. Krause says. “Everything feels so normal again.”
For Dr. Krause, it’s the little things that signal positive change and hope for the future. “Children have been taking turns riding their bikes up and down Shady Lane on our campus for 78 years,” she says. “But then for the three years of the pandemic, that went away. So it’s just nice to see them out riding their bikes again.”
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