Starr King is an exciting and magical place!

Liliana Hensel
Liliana Hensel is our interim Director for the 2023/24 school year. 
Calais Storey
Calais Storey is the assistant director at Starr King PCW. Over the past 15 years, her focus has been on supporting young children, families, and Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) Early Childhood Education (ECE) students in the Santa Barbara community. As a former infant & toddler caregiver, special education paraeducator, preschool teacher, and current ECE adjunct faculty at SBCC, Calais has had the pleasure of working with a diverse population of children and families. Family partnership and education are deeply rooted in her pedagogy and caregiving practices, along with the importance of play-based learning for young children. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Development & Education from Antioch University Santa Barbara and her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Pacific Oaks
College. As a Santa Barbara local, Calais holds dear the unique beauty of this community, and she is grateful to live here with her two young children and husband.
Elisabeth
Elisabeth “Lili” Smith is our Head Teacher at Starr King.
Charlie Cook
Charlie Cook is the Assistant Afternoon Teacher at Starr King.
Kristina Prout
Kristina Prout is the Administrative Assistant at Starr King.

GOALS

It is not our aim to fill the child with rote learning; rather we want an atmosphere where children may be curious, may experiment and construct for themselves an understanding of the environment of objects and relationships in which they find themselves. Parents and staff are available for help, support, and response.

PHILOSOPHY

We believe that structured and formal learning, forced too early, does not prepare children for a creative and flexible response to a rapidly changing world, nor does it provide the solid conceptual foundation for future academic experiences. We believe that we must actively nurture the children’s concern for the well-being of others in the group, as well as support their own positive self-concept, resulting in the development of people who will be confident and caring adults.

We provide flexibility to meet individual needs of children and adults considering age, ability, social/emotional needs and problems. We are a supportive community for families as they cope with difficult periods, such as illness, financial problems, death, and separation, and as they cope and share in nurturing the joyful events of family life.Participating families make learning about their own child and other children an enjoyable process by taking active responsibility in this cooperative venture.