We're now accepting applications for the 2027–2028 school year on a rolling basis. Join us at an upcoming open house: Nov 7, Dec 5, or Jan 23. Open house details →
About Us

Started by neighbors. Still run for them.

Founded by local parents in the early 1960s, we're still a small nonprofit preschool. Our two- to five-year-olds learn through play in one mixed-age classroom, with parkland on three sides to explore every day.

Teachers and children on a nature walk along a wooded trail

Our most important goal

To foster a positive feeling in every child — about themselves, about school, and about the world.
Our teachers

More than fifty years at CJBCP between them — and each started as a parent or neighbor

Portrait of Dawn Page

Dawn Page

Director & Teacher

  • B.S., Rehabilitation Education
  • B.S., Physical Therapy
  • 90-hour Early Childhood Education certification
  • 28 years at CJBCP

My love for CJBCP started when my children entered the nursery school and were introduced to a whole new world of explorations and activities. It made me appreciate the loving environment in which they were comfortable, nurtured, and encouraged to grow.

As I have continued teaching for the past 28 years, I am grateful that I am still able to experience that excitement every day through the eyes of preschoolers — many of whom are my neighbors in Brookmont.

Portrait of Alexis Danis

Alexis Danis

Teacher

  • B.S., Zoology
  • M.S., Environmental Education
  • 9 years as a naturalist & educator in the DC region
  • 12 years substitute teaching in MCPS
  • 9 years at CJBCP

My first year teaching at CJBCP, in 2018, was my daughter's last year in the program. During her enrollment I was an engaged parent volunteer, especially as Field Trip Coordinator. When my daughter moved on to Bannockburn Elementary, I decided to stay — and I've been teaching ever since.

CJ Brookmont Kids is a great place to combine my love for the outdoors with my love for kids and families.

🦉 Favorite day: Wildlife Wednesday
Portrait of Sohna Jeng

Sohna Jeng

Teacher

  • 16+ years in child care, infants to teens
  • 5 years at CJBCP

I am from the Gambia in West Africa and have three children of my own. When I came to Brookmont 11 years ago, I fell in love with the neighborhood, where people are friendly and lovely.

I've always enjoyed working with children and am excited to be part of CJBCP. Working with children in a classroom environment has been a great experience.

Children of different ages playing together at the train table
Our mixed-age classroom

A classroom that feels like a family

Our mixed-age classroom — two- through five-year-olds together — is unusual, and it's one of our favorite things about the school. Siblings often get to share the classroom, and the whole room takes on a family-like feel.

New students are shown the ropes by returning ones. Experienced students build real self-esteem by helping and supporting the newcomers. Everyone gets to be both the little one and the big one.

Our play-based curriculum and monthly themes change each year, and every theme is designed to work for both our youngest and our oldest children. See some of our favorite themes.

“Little ones look up to and befriend older kids, and eventually grow into the leaders in the classroom.”
— Brookmont parent
Our location

A small school with a big backyard

Our home in Brookmont lets us experience the outdoors every day. We're surrounded on three sides by National Park and Montgomery County parkland, so our walks can wind through the neighborhood to the C&O Canal, the Potomac River, Brookmont Local Park, and Little Falls Creek.

Our days are full of nature walks and outdoor exploring that reach well beyond our own playground.

Where our walks take us

Illustrated map of our walks A storybook-style map, not to scale. A dotted trail leaves our school, passes the village green (with its swing) and Brookmont Local Park, follows Little Falls Creek down to the C&O Canal, and ends with an X beside the Potomac River. Potomac River C&O Canal Little Falls Creek Brookmont Local Park Village green right outside our door once a streetcar line! Our school N not to scale
Our philosophy

Six beliefs that guide everything we do

  1. The child is good, and is naturally impelled to grow, to develop, and to learn.
  2. The child's way of learning is through play and activity — through direct experience and experimentation.
  3. The child's interests and abilities should be nurtured and stimulated by offering a variety of activities.
  4. The child also needs structure, routine, and limits in order to feel secure.
  5. Each child has a unique contribution to make to the group. Individual differences should be recognized and valued.
  6. The teacher's role is to give guidance, enrichment, encouragement, and a feeling of security and worth to all who participate in the program.
Our objectives

What we hope each child carries on to kindergarten

Getting along

  • Working well with other children and adults — taking turns, sharing toys, and listening to others.
  • Growing in the ability to empathize and to respect the rights of others.
  • Approaching difficult situations with a problem-solving attitude.

Expressing & moving

  • Growing in the ability to express themselves — physically, artistically, and verbally.
  • Experience with media and tools that build small-muscle control.
  • Plenty of chances to use large muscles, both inside and outside the classroom.

Ready to learn

  • Reading readiness, encouraged through classroom activities, listening to stories, and choosing their own books from our library.
  • Math readiness, encouraged through counting, the calendar, time, money, and more.

Our community & our world

  • Getting actively acquainted with the community through field trips and holiday activities.
  • Exploring and protecting the environment — water, air, sun, earth, fire, and all living things.
  • A heightened awareness of street safety, with safety lessons on class walks to the park.
Our history

Six decades of neighbors caring for each other's children

  1. Early 1960sCabin John

    Founded by local parents

    Cabin John/Brookmont Children's Program began in Cabin John to give the community's children a creative preschool experience — originally serving families in which both parents needed to work.

  2. The early yearsA community effort

    A real alternative to babysitting

    Parents, teachers, and the wider community, through the Cabin John Citizens Association, worked hard to provide an affordable, reliable, and positive option for local families.

  3. September 1989Brookmont

    A new home in Brookmont

    The school moved to its current location at 4000 Virginia Place, in the heart of the Brookmont neighborhood.

  4. Today

    A school for the whole neighborhood

    We've grown into an educational and recreational program for children ages two to five from the local community at large — still small, still nonprofit, still run with parents at the table.

Come meet our teachers: Dawn, Alexis, and Sohna

The best way to know our school is to visit us. Join an open house or schedule a private tour.

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