A Preschool, a Kindergarten, and a Worshiping Community on South Robb Way
Abiding Hope Preschool & Kindergarten sits on South Robb Way in Littleton, Colorado, where it has become a familiar first step for families across the south Denver metro area. The school is a licensed Christian early-childhood program serving children from 18 months through 6 years old, blending an established academic curriculum with a Christ-centered environment, weekly chapel, and a long list of community outreach partnerships.
Beyond the classrooms, Abiding Hope is also a worshiping congregation whose weekend services are open to anyone who wants to attend. The preschool and the church share a campus and a stated mission: Equip all to be the heart, hands, and feet of Jesus in the world, and the same framework that shapes the church shapes the school.
Worship at Abiding Hope
Worship at Abiding Hope is woven into the wider life of the ministry. Saturday evening services begin at 5:30 PM, and Sundays offer two morning services at 8:15 AM and 10:30 AM. The preschool's stated mission is the same mission that shapes the church, the school, and the families who pass through both. The church also operates a second campus, Abiding Hope Nature School, a nature-based and inclusive preschool for children from 6 weeks through 6 years old.
A Christian Setting with a Recognized Curriculum
The program is Christ-centered and multi-sensory. The school's philosophy emphasizes discovery, creativity, the development and strengthening of each child's gifts, respect for self and others, the love of God, and love for one another. Weekly chapel brings biblical stories and faith conversations into the rhythm of each classroom, and several teachers note that the chance to teach in a Christian setting, sharing God's love through Bible stories, is the reason they chose to work at Abiding Hope.
The academic side of the program is built around two well-established early-childhood curricula. FunShine Express provides the overall early-learning framework, and Zoo-phonics brings a multi-sensory approach to language arts. Both are widely used and combine hands-on materials with structured lesson plans.
Classroom design follows Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory. Each classroom intentionally nurtures all eight intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and existential, through daily routines, themed lessons, and individualized support. Sight words and readers' workshop sit alongside counting, patterning, and graphing. Art, drama, sculpting, and musical performance rotate through the week. Scientific exploration covers space, dinosaurs, insects, the human body, and hands-on experiments with air, buoyancy, and chemical reactions. Children also have time for the deeper questions of existential intelligence: placing themselves within time and space and growing through experiences of beauty and human connection.
Specials: PE, Music, and Arts & Science
Beyond the home classroom, every child at Abiding Hope rotates through three specialty subjects each week. Morena Reyes teaches physical education, with movement and motor-skill work woven into the weekly schedule. Melissa Buecher leads music and movement for more than 200 students a week, drawing on a background that includes teaching all four of her own children at Abiding Hope before joining the staff. Heather Gee leads arts and science, bringing close to thirty years of experience working with children, including fourteen years teaching upper elementary in Jefferson County schools.
Classrooms for Every Stage
The school organizes its classrooms by age and developmental stage, with ratios and group sizes calibrated to each level.
- Littles serve children from 18 months to 2.5 years old (by August 15). Children must be walking independently, beginning to self-feed, and no longer using a bottle. The ratio is one teacher to seven children, with a group size of ten.
- Tweens cover ages 2.5 to 3 years. Children do not need to be potty-trained for this room. The ratio is one to eight, with a group size of twenty-four.
- Threes classrooms accept children who are 3 by October 1. Children must be fully potty-trained; diapers and pull-ups are not used. The ratio is one to ten, with a group size of twenty-four.
- Pre-Kindergarten classrooms are for children who are 4 by October 1. The ratio is one to twelve, with group sizes of twelve to fifteen.
- Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten serve children who are 5 by December 1 for Junior Kindergarten, or 5 by October 1 for full Kindergarten. The ratio is one to fifteen, with group sizes of twelve to fifteen. Kindergarten is a full-day program only, with two to five day schedules available.
Daily Hours and a Family-Friendly Schedule
Abiding Hope is open Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM, and follows the Jefferson County Public Schools calendar, including all federal holidays. Tuition is billed in two blocks: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM for half days, and 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM for full days. Most classrooms accept one to five days a week.
Before care opens at 7:00 AM and runs until the 9:00 AM start of billed hours. After care runs from 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM and is billed at an hourly rate. Doors are locked except during the arrival window of 8:55 AM to 9:15 AM, when staff members are stationed at the door to greet families. Outside those minutes, parents ring the doorbell at the main preschool door for entry. Each teacher keeps a roster and maintains a count of the students present in their care throughout the day, and the closing staff walk each classroom before locking up to confirm that every child has been signed out.
Summer Camp and Field Trips
For ten weeks each summer, beginning in June, Abiding Hope runs a summer camp licensed for children ages 1.5 through 8. Themed weeks cover superheroes, the circus, outer space, the deep blue sea, bug hunts, slimy science, Christmas in July, and jungle fun, with a big water slide to cool off between activities.
Older campers take school-bus field trips around the Denver metro area. Destinations include the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Downtown Aquarium, and local theaters for age-appropriate plays. Younger children in the Littles, Tweens, and three-year-old classrooms stay on campus for the summer; off-site field trips are reserved for Pre-K and above, and walking field trips require written permission and parent chaperones.
A Second Campus: Abiding Hope Nature School
Families interested in an outdoor, nature-based early-childhood experience have a second option under the same ministry. Abiding Hope Nature School operates as an inclusive, nature-based preschool for children from 6 weeks through 6 years old. The Nature School serves as a separate point of entry for families drawn to outdoor learning.
Outreach and Community Life
The school's outreach ministry is built around the conviction that Jesus calls Christians to care for those with fewer resources. Throughout the year, Abiding Hope children and families participate in three signature outreach efforts. The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Trike-a-Thon is a preschool-wide fundraiser that combines riding practice with a lesson in generosity. The school also sponsors children through the Haitian Timoun Foundation, and families contribute to an annual food drive that benefits the Light of the World food pantry. The school frames these partnerships as part of a child's education in empathy and global awareness.
Safety, Inclusion, and the Parent App
Abiding Hope's non-discrimination policy is stated simply: All means All. The school fully complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and makes accommodations for all individuals within reason. The Abiding Hope Nature School campus is inclusive, and at least one classroom teacher weaves English, Spanish, and ASL into lessons whenever possible.
Safety procedures are detailed and consistent. All children must be checked in and out by an adult, and no child is left in a classroom until the teacher has acknowledged the arrival. Carpool drivers must sign each child in and out. Anyone picking up a child who is not known to the staff must show identification, and the school will not release a child without parental authorization. Late pickups trigger automatic sign-in to extended care after a ten-minute grace period, with hourly fees that increase after closing. After sixty minutes of failed contact attempts, the school will call the proper authorities. Visitors sign in at the door, and the building is a cell-phone-free zone during drop-off and pick-up so children receive an undistracted welcome and teachers can share observations directly.
Daily logistics run through the ELV Parent App, which is downloaded once enrollment is complete. Parents use the app to scan children in and out at a QR-code kiosk at the door, make payments, update contact information, and report absences. Authorized pickup helpers can use a companion app to scan children out from their own phones.
Parent Involvement
Abiding Hope welcomes parents into the classroom. After the first month of school, which is reserved for children to acclimate to their new classroom, parents are encouraged to observe and assist. Each class has a room parent who helps plan classroom parties and special events, and parents are welcome to chaperone walking field trips for Pre-K and older. The school also holds periodic fundraisers to support ongoing upgrades to the early-childhood program and facilities, and parents can contribute in-kind donations throughout the year.
The Team Behind the School
The leadership team is small and long-tenured. Erin Fisher, the Director of Schools, is originally from Minnesota and has been with Abiding Hope for seventeen years in a variety of roles. She took on the director's role nine years ago and led the opening of the second campus. Eryn Riecke, the Assistant Director, joined Abiding Hope in 2012 as a teacher assistant, moved into teaching summer camp, and stepped into administration in 2023. Debbie Betts, the Director of Billing and Enrollment, joined the school in April 2016 and helps families navigate registration, fees, and waitlist communication.
Below the leadership team, more than two dozen teachers staff the classrooms and specials. Several have been with Abiding Hope for ten years or more. Gayle Lindsey, who teaches in the Older Threes and Older Tweens rooms, has been in early childhood education since 1966, owned her own preschool in Littleton in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and has worked with every age group during two stints at Abiding Hope. Crystal Lukens just passed her tenth anniversary at the school. Kelly Plungis has been part of the Littles classroom since 2015 and has called the school a place where the staff feels like family. Cristina Vega has been with Abiding Hope for twelve years, teaching in the Tweens. Jenni DeLauro has been teaching kindergarten at Abiding Hope since 2008 and reads Bible stories with her class as part of the school's Christian mission.
Enrollment, Tours, and the Waitlist
Enrollment for the upcoming school year opens in January for currently enrolled families, with waitlist families receiving enrollment information in February. Registration fees are submitted through Zelle, cash, or check within one week of enrollment, and current families can pay through their ELV Core account. The school emphasizes that enrollment is not honored until the registration fee is paid.
Tours are available most days from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and typically last 20 to 30 minutes. Children are always welcome on tours. Tours scheduled after 1:00 PM include limited classroom observation because of rest time. Prospective families can call 303-932-9160 to schedule a tour.
The main building sits at 6337 South Robb Way, Littleton, Colorado 80127. The school's general phone number is 303-932-9160, with option 1 reaching Erin Fisher, option 2 reaching Eryn Riecke, and option 3 reaching Debbie Betts. The fax line is 303-972-0424. Email addresses are erin@abidinghope.org, erynh@abidinghope.org, and debbie@abidinghope.org.
Forms, Policies, and Parent Resources
Families are provided with a thorough set of forms and reference materials before the first day. Required documents include a Health Appraisal signed by the child's doctor, a Certificate of Immunization, and, if applicable, a Nonmedical Exemption form. The Parent Handbook covers everything from drop-off procedures to the illness policy. The Illness Policy spells out how sick is too sick for school and how parents are notified if a child becomes symptomatic during the day. The school also provides a Nut-Free Lunch Ideas document for families packing from home, and a Parent Resource Guide that pulls together helpful outside information.
The annual fee schedule and school calendar are posted for incoming and current families. A separate Summer Camp fee schedule outlines the structure of the ten-week session, with tuition billed in two installments due at the start of June and July, and a one-month minimum charge for any schedule that is less than four weeks.