A History of Drayton

The first cooperative preschool was started in 1916 by a group of twelve faculty wives at the University of California who wanted to secure social education for their children, parent education for themselves, and a little free time for their Red Cross work. The first parent cooperative was followed in the 1930’s by five others. Since that time, they sprang up with such spontaneity and in such numbers that they have been considered a folk movement.

Our own Preschool began in 1949 with a group of mothers who were working in the Roosevelt School Summer Play School. During the summer, they attended a series of workshops on child development at the Merrill Palmer Institute. After the summer play school was over, they began thinking of starting a Preschool during the school year. They obtained the use of a room at the Drayton Avenue Presbyterian Church and recruited an enthusiastic teacher, the leader of the summer playgroup, Mrs. Harry Penson. By using the phone and preschool lists, they had twenty children to begin the first session in the fall of 1950. The Preschool has operated continuously in Ferndale since 1950—making Drayton Avenue Cooperative Preschool one of the oldest, continually operating co-op preschools in Michigan.

The Preschool existed at Drayton Avenue Presbyterian Church until July of 2017, when Drayton Avenue Presbyterian Church finalized its decision to close, making the future of the preschool unsure and forcing it to move. In August of 2017, the Preschool moved just four blocks to the south, still on Pinecrest Drive, and just south of Geary Park to the former First Baptist Church of Ferndale, which is now Renaissance Vineyard Church. The Preschool started the 2017-2018 school year with a 1-year lease, sharing classrooms with Renaissance Vineyard’s Sunday School. The classroom space alternated between DACP during the week, and Vineyard Kids on the weekends. Beginning in 2018, DACP occupied the main classroom inside the educational area of Renaissance Vineyard Church.

Now entering its 75th year, DACP is making the move to Ferndale’s beautiful and historic First United Methodist Church on Woodward Ave.

Parents have been coming together at DACP to provide a preschool education for their children and
parent education for themselves for more than 70 years. Our future is bright, and we look forward to
preschool starting!