Class of 2022
Aliyah Melaver • Cassandra Leung. • Charlie Maxson • Elodie Pittard • Emily Williams • Fiona Cox • Harrison Fischer • Jett (formerly Katie) Williams• Joe (Moe) Pittman • Lilly Ashe • Maddock Thomas • Mai Nguyen •Max Bee-Lindgren • Nia Lovvorn • Poppi Florence • Talia de la Cruz • Zoe Saul
Aliyah Melaver
Class of 2022
Tapestry Public Charter School
Next Year’s Plans
Landmark College in Putney, Vermont. Aliyah plans on attending Landmark for her first year and then transferring to Berry, where she’s deferred acceptance until Fall 2023.
Favorite memory of OCP
We loved the experiential learning, creative exploration, gentle support, and sense of community. And I loved that we lived close enough to OCP so that I could ride my bike, pulling Aliyah along in the trailer – usually munching a snack and reading a book – behind me.
Cassandra Leung
Class of 2022
Atlanta International School
Next Year’s Plans
SCAD Savannah studying Architecture
Favorite memory of OCP
So many!–Circle reading, nature play, friends, crafting, community.
Charlie Maxson (formerly Zoe)
Class of 2022
Paideia
Next Year’s Plans
Charlie will attend Rice University in Houston, TX in the fall and is planning to major in Biosciences and either minor or double-major in Spanish.
Favorite memory of OCP
Charlie went to OCP Monday-Thursday each week for two years, so we had parent-teacher obligations almost every week. I (Charlie’s mom) loved those days in Anna’s classroom, getting to know the kids and helping them throughout their school mornings. It was amazing to watch their growth from 2-1/2 year olds to 4 year olds.
Elodie Pittard
Class of 2022
Henry Clay High School, Lexington KY
Next Year’s Plans
Gap year- volunteering, internships, etc
Emily Williams
Class of 2022
Decatur High School
Next Year’s Plans
Emily will be attending American University in Washington DC and plans to study neuroscience and psychology.
Favorite memory of OCP
Emily’s favorite memories are of Miss Anna and Miss Michelle — and bringing her new kittens to class one day to share with her friends! Her parents fondly remember the great friendships and strong support during the OCP years.
Fiona Cox
Class of 2022
Arcata High School
Next Year’s Plans
Hampshire College, MA
Favorite memory of OCP
From Fiona’s mom Daphne, one of our early teachers: Teaching all the wonderful children and getting to know the parents!
Harrison Fischer
Class of 2022
Druid Hills High School
Next Year’s Plans
Harrison is graduating from Druid Hills High School. He is planning to take a gap year.
Favorite memory of OCP
From Harrison: My favorite memory was playing with the magnets. I still hangout and vibe with my childhood best friend who I met at OCP.
From parents: Our memories of OCP will always hold a special place in our hearts. Many of the friendships we made are still going strong today. That is the beauty and the gift of the OCP community.
Jett (formerly Katie) Williams
Class of 2022
Decatur High School
Next Year’s Plans
UGA, Fine Art
Favorite memory of OCP
Their mother’s favorite memory is of all those potlucks with the adorable little people running around and the big people hanging out.
Joe (Moe) Pittman
Class of 2022
Decatur High School
Next Year’s Plans
Pursuing a degree in Archaeology at Appalachian State in Boone, NC
Favorite memory of OCP
We have fond memories of OCP gatherings at the Land Trust, potlucks, and Festivus parties. OCP felt like a big extended family full of love and support. Lifelong friendships were made at OCP by us as parents and for Joe, whose best friend is still Harry Fischer, his Chickadee classmate.
Lilly Ashe
Class of 2022
Decatur High School
Next Year’s Plans
Lilly is going to attend The College of Wooster in Ohio and plans on majoring in Music Therapy.
Favorite memory of OCP
We are so grateful for our time at OCP and the long-lasting friendships we made there. Being a part of such a thoughtful community made parenting easier and more joyful.
Maddock Thomas
Class of 2022
Decatur High School
Next Year’s Plans
Brown University to study Economics, French, Russian, Urban Studies, Architecture, Photography, Industrial Design and more
Favorite memory of OCP
We were part of the playgroup that was the core of one of the first classes at OCP. It was such a wonderful group of parents and toddlers; it has been a joy to follow many of them over the years – and so hard to believe that another class is now graduating from high school! I fondly remember sitting in my dining room with Paul and Marlyne interviewing potential teachers (and meeting Kate) and setting up the first classroom. How amazing that the school continues to evolve and thrive in Oakhurst!
Mai Nguyen
Class of 2022
Capstone Academy
Next Year’s Plans
Playing tennis at Rutgers University
Favorite memory of OCP
Anything Miss Anna!
Max Bee-Lindgren
Class of 2022
Decatur High School
Next Year’s Plans
Up in the air a bit. Accepted at Georgia Tech; waitlisted at Stanford, Harvard, MIT, and CalTech. Hoping for MIT to major in Physics! Regardless, Max was a finalist in the Regeneron Science Talent Search and so is thrilled to have a $25,000 scholarship as a result of that! And literally this week of May he is competing at the International Science and Engineering Fair and hoping to win something there as well.
Favorite memory of OCP
Family perspective: Such a caring community! The Bonfire at Clyde Shepherd nature preserve was lovely. We learned so much, and we adored Kate, Max’s teacher. (And then people asked us to get more involved, and man, did we in later years.)
Nia Lovvorn
Class of 2022
Decatur High School
Next Year’s Plans
Nia is going to Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.
Favorite memory of OCP
We have great memories of lantern parades, Festivus celebrations, and art auctions. But the best memories are of the everyday things, like playing on the playground, preparing snacks, playing dress-up, making home-made playdough, parent-teacher days, and many more. Our whole family made amazing friends at OCP, many of whom are still important to us to this day. We are so thankful for our days at the co-op!
Poppi Florence
Class of 2022
Decatur High School
Next Year’s Plans
UGA
Favorite memory of OCP
The friends I made.
Talia de la Cruz
Class of 2022
Decatur High School
Next Year’s Plans
Going to Sewanee, University of the South
Favorite memory of OCP
Our little nido, a place to be with like-minded parents raising our little ones together.
Zoe Saul
Class of 2022
Decatur High School
Next Year’s Plans
Zoe will be attending the University of West Georgia and is interested in pursuing a career in Nursing.
Favorite memory of OCP
It was hard to find an individual picture of Zoe from OCP, because she was always doing things with her friends there! Zoe loved playing “hair salon” and fixing up her friends’ hair, swinging on the swings, making art projects and climbing all over the play structures outside. In fact, one of our favorite memories is how she freaked all of us adults out climbing up so high that we had to block off that part of the playground equipment! Most of all, Zoe loved being with the friends she made there and we have very fond memories of that sweet time in her life.
Congrats Grads of 2022!
Conrad M.
Class of 2021
Conrad is graduating from East Lansing High School (East Lansing, MI) this year. Conrad was dual enrolled for his senior year at Lansing Community College. He is majoring in Information Technology while working.
Favorite memory of OCP
Conrad’s favorite memories of OCP are bike day, Miss Daphne, and also when OCP met at our house and Paul McClendon let the kids go in the yellow lockers we had set up (we still have those lockers—they were from Agnes Scott).
From the parents
As for the parents—OCP was founded to be more than just a preschool. It was really important to me that families became part of a lasting community. We leaned on each other, laughed with each other, and even cried with each other while our kids were in preschool and have continued to do so as our kids have grown and faced the challenges of the teen years and now the college years. Even though our family moved to Michigan in 2012, the relationships I built with our founding OCP families continue to be ones I cherish for the support, love, advice, and humor they bring. OCP families became my family … for life. ??
My advice to parents is to take advantage of the OCP nido not only for your kiddos, but for yourselves. Xoxo
Olivia W.
Class of 2021
Olivia graduated from Thetford Academy in Thetford, VT and transferred in 2020 to Bard College at Simons Rock.
Major interests include Arts/Graphic Design, Writing, and Ecology.
From the parent
In one of those pix everyone is celebrating at the Lake Claire Land Trust. Kids are spread out all over the place–from emu to play ground. Parents are too. From the moment we got out of the car, to when Livi saw her friends, I remember how our family all–parents and kid–breathed a collective sign of relief. In our then tiny co-op, those car doors opened and the kids went zooming off to buzz happily for hours unfettered and Kid-Busy, and the adults all (well, mostly all) got down to the business of either relaxing and comparing notes, debriefing and venting with many empathetic ears, or helping with all manner of children who might randomly wander up and ask for something. 99% of the time this wasn’t even your own. But the kids, generally, just knew that an adult was an adult and that meant help/drinks/snacks/parent location/bandaids/emu answers/etc. In short, love.
I have a card that says something like “It takes a cocktail to raise a village.”, and while that is a bit cynical (though for us it may indeed be true!:)…I think it just takes a village to raise a village.
We are ever grateful for our brief, oh so brief, stay in that village. We tried our best to help. We couldn’t stay. But we loved every minute of it and count ourselves beyond fortunate to have those memories
They say, if you want to teach someone something that’s important, start young. I’d say, start all good lessons as early as possible, and some earlier than you think you need too!!! Also, the family you create now can be with you for a long while! This is the gift of OCP.
Alex W.
“some of you may recall as Gaia”
Class of 2021
I went to Decatur High School, graduated in 2021, and plan to attend the University of Georgia’s Honors Program.
Favorite Memories of OCP
kate’s homemade pretzels and nature walks
Parent’s Most Valuable Philosophies from OCP
giving kids the time and space to DO and learn on their own… art, cooking, stories, cleaning… getting hands dirty… messes and wonderful experiences along the way!!!
Esme D.
Class of 2021
Esme graduated in May 2021 from Paideia. She is taking a gap year. She has been hired to work on Paideia’s farm this summer. She plans to do some international farming during the gap year either through WWOOF or on the farm of a Paideia alum in Portugal. She would like to study science in college.
Favorite Memories of OCP
She remembers fondly the walks to the fairy circle with Daphne and her classmates.
From the parents
I appreciated the play based learning style at OCP and the strong community
Audrey V.
Class of 2021
Audrey is graduating from Decatur High School in May of 2021 and will be a Vocal Performance major at High Hodgson School of Music at UGA starting this fall.
Favorite Memories of OCP
All Audrey remembers is cutting Play-Doh into strips. Mom (Julie) remembers feeling relieved at bringing Audrey into Kate’s class and them being engaged immediately with what was going on, that feeling that Audrey could be stimulated and I could focus on my newborn.
From the parents
15 years later OCP parents are still some of my best friends. We’ve been to war together, so I would say that the support found in the community was immensely life-changing. I say this to younger parents all the time but it’s true…the days are long, but the years are short. Being a parent is tough and sometimes relentless, but don’t wish it away. When you feel like you can’t take it anymore, when you feel like you finally have found the joy that made you want to have kids, try to take a step back and breathe and pay attention and remember. Suddenly, you wake up and a chapter of your life will be over, so try to be present as much as possible while you can.
Aria Y.
Class of 2021
Aria is graduating from Woodinville High School in Washington this year and is a valedictorian. She will be attending Tufts University in Massachusetts and plans to study Biochemistry and Computer Science.
Favorite Memories of OCP
Aria’s favorite memory during her time at OCP was Teacher Kate reading out loud or telling a story. My favorite memories include parent-teacher days and community celebrations.
From the parents
Our time at OCP truly shaped how we parent our children and interact with our community. After countless hours involved in the co-op, volunteering at the schools through the years was only natural and very much appreciated. You get out what you put in and then some.
Sam W.
Class of 2021
Sam is graduating from Decatur High. He will be studying mechanical engineering at UGA in the fall.
Favorite Memories of OCP
I don’t think Sam has a favorite memory of preschool, but I for one loved the OCP philosophies of learning through play, the value of time and experiences in nature, and being good stewards of the environment. I remember many a potluck making sure to return the reusable cups and utensils!
From the parents
Especially now that the kids are all so grown up and (gulp) about to fly the nest, I am that much more grateful for the time I was able to spend with all 4 of my kids at OCP.