Meet Oonagh Delaney-Gottlieb of The Little Preschool in Lake Balboa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Oonagh Delaney-Gottlieb.

Oonagh, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I had begun my teaching life in the Elementary years, and was very happy teaching children with ages ranging from 6-10 years of age. After having my first child in 1996, and subsequently enrolling him in preschool, I realized that there seemed to be a dearth of play based preschools which really tailored their curriculum to the child as opposed to the other way around. A co teacher of mine encouraged me to make the leap, and together we decided to open a preschool in my back yard in Sherman Oaks in 2006, As we continued to grow, we moved the preschool to the Lake Balboa area in 2011. What began as an 8 child, 2 teacher operation, is now a 25 child, 6 teacher preschool.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
When we decided to make the move from Sherman Oaks to Lake Balboa, many families, (understandably,) felt that the drive would be just too far and so we made the move with just 3 families committed to staying with us. The following year was a tough one…most of it was spent on marketing and advertising and helping us get our name out to local families, but all the while staying true to our philosophy which remained that young children need to have the ability to play and socialize within a safe, nurturing environment.

Being your own boss certainly has many advantages, but it also has many, many challenges. Financially, especially in the early years, it was a real struggle, and there were many times that I thought it would be much more sensible to simply go back into a classroom situation where I would have a stable salary and health benefits. There are also many, many bureaucratic hoops which must be jumped through…many of them seemingly arbitrary, And the administration side of business can be tedious and exhausting. It’s always great if you have someone on board whose skill set is different from your own, and in my case, that skill set deficit was definitely organization of admin and paperwork!

The Little Preschool – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Little Preschool is a play based, child led school, which passionately believes in the right of a child to play, learn and create, within a nurturing environment. All of the evidence, both anecdotal and scientific, suggests that children learn through play, and yet many, may preschools continue to operate under the misguided notion that in order to succeed, young children must begin their academic learning in a traditional, didactic way. This couldn’t be more wrong, and I think one of our proudest accomplishments, is sticking to our philosophy. When you’re passionate about your beliefs, it is easy to pass those beliefs on to others. That generally means that we get likeminded families joining us. Parents want to do their best for their children, and I think we see them as a copartner in the education of their children.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Well, I think my definition of success has changed over the years. At the beginning of my career I think I saw success as being at the point where you have financial freedom. I think that is many people’s idea of what success looks like. Also, at the beginning and growth of the business, I had 3 young children, and so there was certainly a financial imperative in making the business succeed at least to the point of making a living. That has changed for sure. I see success as being much more nebulous. Life can be tough. Some day’s success can be feeling like you manage to bring some balance to the day…. Get up, spend some time with your 9th grader, call your kids who are in college, go to work, have a connection with a child or coworker, go home, work out, don’t eat too much cake, go to sleep…. that can honestly feel like an incredibly successful day to me.

Pricing:

• Two days per week. 8:45am-3:00pm. $690.00 per month
• Three days per week 8:45am-3:00pm. $815.00 per month
• Four days per week 8:45am-3:00pm $880.00 per month
• Five days per week 8:45am-3:00pm $975 per month

Contact Info:

• Website: Thelittlepreschool.com
• Phone: 8186008190
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: thelittlepreschool
• Facebook: The little pre-school