The Belvedere Nursery School, Inc. has the distinction of being the oldest nursery school in southern Marin County. It was originally started in 1939 as a WPA Project during the New Deal Administration. The parents assumed control of the school in 1944 and conducted an intensive building fund drive. The present site on Cove Road Place was purchased in 1950 as a result of strenuous fund-raising and generous contributions. Our present building was built at that time, but as only one room. Subsequent additions were made at five-year intervals on the corporation's own credit.

It was in 1953 that the school switched from being a parent cooperative to a professionally staffed school. The Belvedere Nursery School became a non-profit corporation registered with the State of California. At this time a Board of Directors, composed of parents, was set up to oversee the operation of the school.

In 1968, when more children moved into the area, the Hawthorne Nursery School was created at the Community Congregational Church on Rock Hill Drive. By 1969, it became practical to schedule all nursery school hours in the mornings and to make the Hawthorne School a Pre-Kindergarten program, which it has remained since that time. In 1983, Time for Twos, a parent participation program, was implemented to introduce the two-year-old to preschool activities.

The fine programs offered at the Belvedere-Hawthorne Nursery Schools ("BHNS") are the result of well-guided development over many years. Hundreds of active and interested parents have worked hard for over two generations to create our exceptional nursery schools. Our splendid reputation is well known throughout Marin County.