About Us

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cooperative Nursery School was founded in 1939, making it the second-oldest cooperative nursery school in Montgomery County. On June 21, 1943, Montgomery County opened nine daycare and recreation centers to help provide childcare for women working in the war effort. One of these was the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Center, used by the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cooperative Nursery School. The Cooperative Nursery School moved to its current location in Norwood Park in 1945.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cooperative Nursery School was an active pioneer in the movement for cooperative nursery schools and was a founding member of the first known council of cooperatives in the United States, organized in Montgomery County in 1944.

In 1948, the Maryland Department of Education awarded Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cooperative Nursery School a Certificate of Approval. Bethesda-Chevy Chase Nursery School was incorporated on March 6, 1959 and is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit.

Seventy years after its founding, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cooperative Nursery School continues to serve the community, with teachers of over twenty years’ experience at the school.