A history of Montecito Preschool
as told by Megan Matthews

The Original “Vision” of Montecito School - Founded 1961
My parents, Molly and Jim Matthews, both loved children and believed the most important period of life were the early years. They felt that the instinctual bond and hands-on interaction between humans, animals and nature was a necessary part of each child’s development. In January 1960, my mother and father started their first preschool in Los Altos in a rented space on San Antonio Road. A year later in 1961, they discovered a charming old house on a tree studded parcel and covered in ivy, situated under sprawling 100-year-old California Oak Trees. This property located on Grant Road, with its Italian Stone Pines, Deodar and Atlas Cedars, and a myriad of animal and insect habitats, provided an ideal setting for exploration by young children. The setting reminded them of the fabled “grandmother’s house” in a little forest. They bought that property and moved their growing family into the old house. They also moved the nursery school from its San Antonio Road location to the new Grant Road property. They named this new preschool “Montecito,” which means “little woodlands” in Spanish. Montecito Preschool was then born from my parent’s core beliefs and desire to teach these values, using this beautiful natural oasis in Los Altos as a canvas.

Through many years of hard work, my parents watched as the student body steadily grew from the original 12 children to 348 students and 17 classes. Both of my parents went on to have careers and to become professionals in other fields, my father a real estate attorney, my mother a psychologist and child welfare advocate. My mother owns the school today and she looks back at those years of hard work, with no privacy and little financial reward, as some of the most rewarding and memorable days of her life.

Still located at its original site in Los Altos, my parents have dedicated this magnificent piece of land to generations of young children to explore, cherish and enjoy. Their legacy has touched thousands of children and their families in the San Francisco Bay community. Montecito had become one of the largest and oldest preschools in Northern California, offering preschool and drop-in care to children ages 2-6 years old. Over the many years, the wonderful Directors and teaching staff at Montecito continued to nurture and teach children about their bond with animals and nature through a developmental preschool curriculum based upon hands-on learning. My sister, Erin Mobley, has now taken the helm as Montecito’s 5th Director.