ABOUT US

Our History

Discovery World was founded in 1988 by a new mother who wanted only the best for her children. After giving birth to her first child, Sheryl Austin visited many preschools in the South Bay to find that they were overcrowded with high ratios, lacking in curriculum, and dirty.

When she and her husband sat down to discuss what to do, they decided to open up their own early education center, focusing on her concerns as a mother – providing a clean environment where children can grow in all areas of development. Sheryl was very successful in carrying out her vision at Discovery World, and over the past 35 years, she has continued to develop our innovative and stimulating curriculum.

Discovery World History

Mission

Provide young explorers a safe and nurturing environment to learn about the world around them and develop their minds and bodies.

Philosophy

Early childhood is an opportunity to explore a breadth of experiences, dream of new possibilities, and practice bringing new ideas to life. If seized, this opportunity instills an appreciation of the complexity, diversity, wonder, and beauty that exists in the world. Furthermore, by gaining a head-start in their development, children will be better equipped to absorb, and they will be able to absorb the greater complexity in the topics that they were introduced to early on throughout the rest of their schooling, focus on the right path for themselves in their life by knowing the breadth of opportunities that is out there, and take a leadership role in teams by leading the brainstorming and creative process.

Methodology

The Discovery World Method takes the format of Discover-Imagine-Create, where the students discover what exists, imagine what could be, and create something new. We develop each child’s breadth of knowledge, confidence, and abilities through discovery-driven exploration and creation.

We pride ourselves in being able to design, implement, and continuously improve our innovative education system. We do not rely on centuries old methodologies, as is such with the once cutting-edge Montessori and Waldorf methods. We have thoroughly studied these methodologies and incorporated the aspects that have withstood more recent scientific scrutiny by child development experts while dismissing the aspects that have not.

Curriculum

The Discovery World Curriculum consists of 24 units that teach students about advanced academic, social, and cognitive concepts, while equipping them with critical developmental, self-help, and self-starter skills to excel in the world. Before Kindergarten, our graduates have built a Rube Goldberg machine, started a business, “visited” countries around the world, designed their own country, invented a species, and have incredible self-help skills.

In addition to their invaluable experiences, our graduates excel in academics as well; they can read, write, add, subtract, and they understand advanced quantitative, scientific, and social concepts like less/greater than and sets, buoyancy, the different roles and systems in a community, and how the cultures they study are similar and different.

Facilities

Our newly renovated facilities were designed to the highest standards in child safety and cleanliness with our educational objectives in mind. Learn more about our facilities.

Open More than 275 Days per Year

Our facilities are open year-round, so you rarely need to make alternative arrangements for childcare.

Daily Updates to Parents

We want to share your child’s experiences with you, so we keep you informed each and every day about your child’s experiences and development. From written daily reports that include pictures and videos, to parent-teacher conferences, to developmental portfolios that follow your child’s growth through their years here, we keep you in the loop.

Excellent Ratios

With some of the lowest teacher to student ratios around, our teachers spend time with each child individually, helping them through their transitions and growth so that they can take their development to the next level and create a nurturing environment to take new risks in trying new things.

Enrichment Classes

Developing Advanced Skills

We offer daily enrichment courses to all of our preschoolers, at no additional cost, including: friendly animal visits, yoga classes, karate lessons, music and movement courses, and Spanish. These enrichment activities develop advanced skills and provide additional education opportunities.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR UNIQUE CLASSES

We also offer on and off-site enrichment classes during nap time for our older students who do not nap at an additional fee.  These include Ice skating lessons, karate at the dojo, library visits with story time, musical theatre, and art. 

Young kids developing advanced skills while making art projects
Children playing on family day retreat

Family Days and Education Seminars

A Great Place for Parents to Learn and Have Fun

Our Family-Faculty Organization plans events that support our curriculum and bring families together such as Family Days and Education Seminars.  Family Days are optional monthly weekend field trips to destinations that compliment the area of study during that month.  This gives parents the opportunity to socialize with other parents in their child’s class, enjoy a day with their child, and provide guidance on ways to extend their child’s learning and development beyond the classroom.

Our Team

Our highly trained educators are passionate about providing a safe and nurturing environment where your children will learn and develop.

Discovery World School Director Sheryl
Discovery World Teacher Tammy