Prague

NestLingue puts two cultures into preschool days

Bilingual program fills childcare needs for business park

By František Bouc
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 23rd, 2006

For once, Vladimíra Šlegrová followed the voice in her heart — and managed to make her 2-year-old daughter coo with joy.

Mixing the two forces has led to the launch of a new Czech-English bilingual school for toddlers and preschoolers in Prague 4�

Chodov. The new school, NestLingue, will open Sept. 4 on the site of a hub for fast-developing businesses, Chodov Park. Neighbors will be high-tech investors such as DHL, Accenture and IBM. What's more, additional bilingual NestLingue schools could open in Prague in the near future.

Last year, Šlegrová's little girl attended a kindergarten in Prague where the children were taught according to the Montessori method, which is based on a child-centered approach to education. The concept is built around children's need to learn, examine, discover and communicate about things they are surrounded by.

Šlegrová, a mother of two who formerly worked as a lawyer and manager, realized this was an idea she wanted to further develop.

"This time, I followed my emotions rather than mere business calculations," Šlegrová says when describing the roots of NestLingue. "I did not care that much about the actual return of my initial investment, but about the challenge of developing a beneficial project."

In order to distinguish NestLingue from dozens of kindergartens and preschools in Prague, Šlegrová bet on two key features.

First, she built in the bilingual Czech-English educational program.

"There are many Czech schools and several schools with education in a foreign language. But there are few if any schools that offer bilingual education," Šlegrová explains.

Second, Šlegrová attempted to make her preschool affordable to a greater number of parents by setting lower fees than most of the competitors that offer education in a foreign language. While monthly tuition can reach up to 25,000 Kč ($1,140) in Prague, NestLingue's fee is 15,000 Kč.

"If we followed the usual market prices, it would be more difficult to penetrate the market," Šlegrová says.

More to come

The school is open to children from 18 months to 6 years old and is divided into two programs: toddlers and preschoolers (ages 3 to 6). Children can attend in the morning, the whole day and on all or selected weekdays.

In the first year, NestLingue will be ready for up to 35 children — 15 toddlers and 20 preschoolers.

Šlegrová revealed that some 15 children, both Czech and foreign, had already been pre-registered by mid-August.

"Foreigners tend to better perceive the value of good-quality education for their children from a very early age," Šlegrová says. "Many Czech parents tend to think there is no need to rush with educating their children and that it can start when they are about 6 years old."

The location of the school, in the business park in Chodov, also makes it attractive, especially for executives working in the neighboring business facilities.

"We've considered that aspect when selecting the location. Parents working in the Park will be able to visit their children even during the day and see what they are doing."

NestLingue plans to actively cooperate with parents, who are encouraged to consult with the six teachers, both Czechs and Americans, on any matter related to the development of their kids.

Parents will receive biannual reports summarizing children's progress and lecturers must not only be native speakers but must be qualified to teach.

"We've had three Czechs and three Americans so far," Šlegrová says, adding that teachers from the United Kingdom, where the Montessori education method is less popular, have not been brought on board so far.

Depending on demand, NestLingue may well in expand into Prague 6 and Prague 1, says the upbeat new academic. But no massive expansion is planned, she cautions.

"We want to focus on top quality, and this can only be achieved with small numbers."

Comment: Sounds a lot like us only we're cheaper still.