About Us

Speedway Cooperative Preschool, owned and operated by the parents, has been a member of the westside community since 1966. We are a non-profit parent-participation preschool located in Speedway, Indiana, enrolling children from 2 to 5 years. Parents assist teachers in the classroom on a rotating basis and share in the business operation of the school — thus making it truly a cooperative venture. The children are offered a wide range of activities including art, music, stories, science experiments, and large muscle activities.

The facility consists of two classrooms, a "big muscle" room, and a spacious fenced playground where children are given the opportunity to explore, play, and learn. A playground with climbing equipment, swings, sandbox, and a sidewalk area for tricycles are all available outside. If the weather prohibits outdoor play, the children are taken to the muscle room for a chance to use their gross muscles through climbing and play.

The Cooperative employs two teachers. Lenore Ward has been teaching Sparkplugs since 1996. Suzanne Carroll Kenny has taught Racers since 1997 and Rookies since 1998. The teachers stay up-to-date on early childhood education by independent study and attending workshops, study groups, and conferences a minimum of 8 hours each year. They believe in presenting a well-rounded, developmentally appropriate program for their students under the guidelines of ICPC and PCPI.

Speedway Co-op has been located in John Knox Presbyterian Church since its inception over forty years ago by a determined group of mothers. Since the preschool's beginning, it has been staffed by dedicated, caring teachers who have the best interests of their students in mind as they plan their curricula.

The teachers use developmentally appropriate activities — you will find no worksheets or forced activities here — based on guidelines set by NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children), of which both teachers are members.

The preschool is a member of ICPC (Indiana Council of Preschool Cooperatives) and PCPI (Parent Cooperative Preschools International), two umbrella organizations committed to enriching the lives of young children through the cooperative preschool experience, both in this country and around the world.

Click here to view the current Executive Board members.