New Day School Preschool Programs
New Day School, 1825 SE Clinton Street, Portland, OR 97202
About
New Day School Preschool Programs includes activities such as yoga, meditation, artistic expression, intellectual exploration, and service. Children take part in gardening, maintaining an organic food and flower garden, apiculture, worm composting and composting, as well as singing, music, and exploring the art of play. The program also offers yoga classes and gardening in a classroom context.
• Ages: 2.5–5 years old
• Schedule: Full-day preschool programs with two-, three-, and five-day options, operating 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
New Day School Preschool Programs began its first preschool program in 1976 and became a registered non-profit in 1979. It has been providing Neo-Humanist education since 1979 and has continued to add features such as a cob structure and rainwater catchment systems in 2003, the Mahávidyá building and green space in 2008, and renovations of two buildings in 2018. In 2020, it became the first net-zero preschool in the state of Oregon with a solar-powered building.
The program’s mission is to create a unique learning environment that unveils the innate greatness within, strengthens the foundation of ethics and inspires benevolent action in the world. New Day School Preschool Programs offers mixed-aged classrooms, daily hot vegan meals and snacks, and a hands-on, year-round garden curriculum that includes seasonal cycles, medicinal herbs, apiculture, plant biology, worm composting, organic gardening techniques, and permaculture. Students maintain an organic food and flower garden in a Certified Backyard Habitat that was previously a parking lot, and the campus includes four rainwater catchment systems, a large composting system, and a cob structure built as part of a citywide alternative building initiative.
The program operates as a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and has attained certification as an Audubon society nature habitat. The campus includes three buildings, with two used for project activities and a third residential building that houses teachers and volunteers, and tours are offered for adults only on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 3:15 pm, one tour per family. Community involvement has included participating in a citywide alternative building initiative for the cob structure and working with depave to transform a large parking lot into urban greenspace, more than doubling the campus to just under one acre.
Leadership for New Day School Preschool Programs includes a Board of Directors: Ray Wood, Maitri Ersson, Atandra Didi, Didi Anandakrsnapriya, and Didi Jayagiita. The director since 2001, Didi Ananda Krisnapriya, has served as director and chair of the Board of Directors for more than 20 years. Staff credentials include Didi Atandra completing the OAEYC Director Certificate Program in the Early Childhood field in 2011 and Didi Jayagiita receiving a Master Trainer Certificate in Early Childhood Education.
A parent testimonial describes New Day School as a nurturing environment with a phenomenal outdoor play area where a child enjoys playing outside year-round and states, “I cannot think of a better place to be a kid.”
Last updated July 14, 2026.
• Ages: 2.5–5 years old
• Schedule: Full-day preschool programs with two-, three-, and five-day options, operating 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
New Day School Preschool Programs began its first preschool program in 1976 and became a registered non-profit in 1979. It has been providing Neo-Humanist education since 1979 and has continued to add features such as a cob structure and rainwater catchment systems in 2003, the Mahávidyá building and green space in 2008, and renovations of two buildings in 2018. In 2020, it became the first net-zero preschool in the state of Oregon with a solar-powered building.
The program’s mission is to create a unique learning environment that unveils the innate greatness within, strengthens the foundation of ethics and inspires benevolent action in the world. New Day School Preschool Programs offers mixed-aged classrooms, daily hot vegan meals and snacks, and a hands-on, year-round garden curriculum that includes seasonal cycles, medicinal herbs, apiculture, plant biology, worm composting, organic gardening techniques, and permaculture. Students maintain an organic food and flower garden in a Certified Backyard Habitat that was previously a parking lot, and the campus includes four rainwater catchment systems, a large composting system, and a cob structure built as part of a citywide alternative building initiative.
The program operates as a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and has attained certification as an Audubon society nature habitat. The campus includes three buildings, with two used for project activities and a third residential building that houses teachers and volunteers, and tours are offered for adults only on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 3:15 pm, one tour per family. Community involvement has included participating in a citywide alternative building initiative for the cob structure and working with depave to transform a large parking lot into urban greenspace, more than doubling the campus to just under one acre.
Leadership for New Day School Preschool Programs includes a Board of Directors: Ray Wood, Maitri Ersson, Atandra Didi, Didi Anandakrsnapriya, and Didi Jayagiita. The director since 2001, Didi Ananda Krisnapriya, has served as director and chair of the Board of Directors for more than 20 years. Staff credentials include Didi Atandra completing the OAEYC Director Certificate Program in the Early Childhood field in 2011 and Didi Jayagiita receiving a Master Trainer Certificate in Early Childhood Education.
A parent testimonial describes New Day School as a nurturing environment with a phenomenal outdoor play area where a child enjoys playing outside year-round and states, “I cannot think of a better place to be a kid.”
Last updated July 14, 2026.
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