History

The W.H. Pepper Preschool was established in 1894 when the concept of early childhood education was first being developed. Pepper was introduced to the idea while visiting a school in Germany under the direction of Fredrick Froebel, one of the pioneers of the early childhood education movement.

While there Pepper observed that the children, when introduced to different activities and encouraged to follow their own interests, became more engaged in and responsive to their learning experience. This inspired Pepper to open the first school in Northern California specifically for young children.