Eric Stein and I met in the spring of 1969 while students at college. He and I remained close friends all our lives. Among many common interests during those heady times was the importance of early childhood education. Offered jobs in 1972 as teachers for the newly started Preschool Playgroups Program at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, we delighted in working with young students in the mornings as we finished our graduate work. In 1974 parents supported our dream of opening our own school by enrolling their children with us and by helping us navigate all the requirements of this fledgling enterprise. The many and varied contributions of these founding parents were invaluable to the success of the school.

First located at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on 29th Avenue, where we rented several rooms in their parish hall, the school was named St. Peter’s Place Nursery School. As teacher-directors at St. Peter’s Place, we lived and breathed the school for 10 years together. Our small class size with a focus on tailoring our curriculum to the needs of individual children was ideal for supporting a highly creative environment. We welcomed some children with diverse special needs who could benefit from our program which was unusual for any school at that time. Those were exciting, magical years! During this period as enrollment of students increased, we hired talented teachers to come on board and join us in a team-teaching approach.

In 1984 Eric became a psychotherapist in private practice in SF for over 30 years, all the while serving as board president for the school. He continued to be a valued mentor and support for teachers, and an important resource to parents in many situations. For the next 9 years I was the sole director, as well as a teacher at the school. In 1993 I moved to Massachusetts and became a social worker for elder services. Despite the distance, I remain actively involved with Peter’s Place and continue to attend board of directors’ meetings remotely.

You might ask, how did St. Peter’s Place become Peter’s Place? Due to structural consequences of the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, the school was required to move (and St. Peter’s Church was eventually razed). Temple Beth Shalom on 15th Avenue generously offered us two classrooms and an office where the school continued for 9 years, providing us with an opportunity to regroup on an interim basis. Upon relocating, we changed our name to Peter’s Place Nursery School. We are forever grateful to Temple Beth Shalom for providing the support we needed during this challenging time.

Through the dedicated efforts of committed parents and friends of the school, a successful capital campaign produced the funds for Peter’s Place to build a state-of-the-art early childhood facility on Balboa St., where we moved in 2000.

In 2014 dear Eric was diagnosed with ALS. He died in 2015. Much beloved, he lives on in the lives of hundreds of children and their families. Eric and I always looked back upon our years at the school as a very special gift. The note which Eric crafted for us on the Peter’s Place website will give you more information about us and the philosophy of the school we started.

On this 50th Anniversary of Peter’s Place we celebrate our community’s resilience and our staff’s ongoing commitment to providing the highest level of education for our young learners! Thank you to each of you who passionately believe in and support the work that this school’s wonderful staff continues to provide today.

-Elizabeth “Widge” Nelson