For almost three years, Zion Lutheran Preschool has helped our son become a better person. What more could new parents ask for, right? Well, Director Kim Luxoro and her staff have also made our family part of theirs, with true care, attention, and love. If you have the chance, we encourage you to give the Zion Lutheran family a shot. Check out their open house on January 27th, you won’t regret it.
Watchogue Wonder
Zion Lutheran Church on Watchogue Road has served the Staten Island community for more than 120 years. Growing out of the church’s youth ministry, the Zion Lutheran Preschool has helped educate local two-, three-, and four-year-olds for the last 30 years. Modest in size and reasonably priced, Zion Lutheran offers an affordable, safe, and comfortable learning environment for its students.
We say “students,” because Zion Lutheran uses an integrated, three-year curriculum to really prepare its students for kindergarten and beyond. Each month, classes focus on a theme color, concept, number, and letter that teachers reinforce throughout the month. Subsequent years build on and strengthen children’s understanding of the themes. September has featured the color red and Clifford the Big Red Dog every year, for example.
Capping things off, four-year-old classes work on reading, writing, and using a new letter and number each week. Simple homework sheets let students practice writing at home, and even art projects begin to incorporate the children’s handwritten names. This week the students practiced writing uppercase and lowercase “L,” and identified pictures beginning with the same letter.
Our Experience
We cannot say enough about the caring environment and staff at Zion Lutheran Preschool.
From the beginning, the teachers and Miss Kim Luxoro, the school Director, really got to know each of the children, including our son. At two, his teachers saw that he would separate himself when things got too noisy. They gave him space and then encouraged him to rejoin the group. His three-year-old class teachers noticed his sense of humor, and helped him understand when to joke and when to work. His current pre-K teachers have watched his eating habits and helped us calibrate his bagged lunches. And it seems like the office staff greet every single child they meet by name. 
That level of attention and care extends to everything Zion Lutheran does. Local professionals – often parent fire fighters, police officers, doctors, and dentists – visit the classrooms to share their work. From the Zoktoberfest fair to Dinosaur Day to optional soccer lessons, activities in and out of the classroom foster a sense of community. Text messages and a new app keep parents informed about schedule changes, snow days, and events. And the children benefit from exposure to a church ministry that focuses on inclusion, love, and common values, regardless of background.
Beyond Zion Lutheran Preschool
In June, our son will graduate, leaving Zion Lutheran Preschool and moving on to the adventure of public school kindergarten. While we don’t know yet which school he will next attend, we do feel confident that Zion Lutheran has prepared him to succeed there. We invite you to find out for yourself whether this special school and community might be right for your child and family.
This article speaks only truth about this incredible preschool. We are so truly thankful to have a school like this to send our children to where they can feel safe and loved by such an incredible staff. It’s not easy sending your children, whom you love more than anything in the world, someplace without you. But from the moment you enter this school, they do all they can to make it feel like a 2nd home for all of their students. Words could never express our gratitude for this kind of attention, knowing that our kids are cared for by those watching over them throughout the day. We are so lucky to have a place like Zion!
This article really sums up the wonderful experience that my grandsons have both had at Zion Pre School. I began my love for Zion 6 years ago when my youngest grandson attended the music program when he was 13 months old. He attended Zion until he graduated and is now a first grader. Because of the caring staff and education that he received at Zion – his transition to Kindergarten went off without a hitch!! My youngest grandson has also been in Zion since he was 15 months old and is in the Kindergarten Readiness program now. He goes five days a week and I truly feel that what they learn and experience at Zion is the foundation that will carry them throughout their lives. Miss Kim is a wonderful leader for her staff and my only complaint is that the school doesn’t go through eighth grade!!! This grandma is so blessed that her grandsons have had the Zion experience. Thank you to all the staff at Zion.