A job teaching Sunday School turned into a lifelong career in early childhood education for Malibu Presbyterian Nursery School Director Cindy Ludwig. This April, she is saying goodbye to the job she has had for 35 years.
Ludwig moved to Malibu with her family in 1976 when she was pregnant with her second of two sons. The family began going to church at Malibu Presbyterian, and Ludwig has not stopped her involvement since.
“One thing led to another and next thing I knew, I was [teaching] preschool,” she said. “I started working here when my older son started kindergarten. I always say he graduated and I didn’t.”
Ludwig got her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and later went on to get her master’s degree while teaching simultaneously. She said much of her time at Malibu Presbyterian was a growing experience.
“I’ve always been very much believing in the whole child,” she said of her teaching philosophy. “The reason they come to preschool is social and emotional development. We work hard on what we call preparing world citizens.”
Led by Ludwig, the Malibu Presbyterian staff has taught a traditional yet structured curriculum with several theme-based units. One of these is the “Children Around the World” unit, during which the students learn about and communicate with students at their sister school — Light in Africa — in Tanzania, Africa.
“We strongly believe that we’re raising world leaders,” she shared. “When they leave here, we want them to feel like [they are] special and can make a difference in the world.”
Ludwig has seen several changes in the world of early childhood education during her time as a teacher and director. She said a notable difference is that preschool programs run for longer hours and have become more professional than they were when she began at Malibu Presbyterian.
“Academic expectations from kindergarten have pushed down, but we still fight to stay play-based” she said. “[Preschool] used to be looked at a babysit-ting thing, but now it is a very important step in their education. Another change is virtually every child out here goes to pre-school.”
Ludwig said that Malibu Presbyterian and the Malibu public schools have a good relationship and often work together when forming preschool curriculum in a changing world.
Technology is another change that Ludwig feels is becoming increasingly more present in preschool classrooms. Still, she and her staff try to remain focused on more traditional preschool activities.
“When I was working on my master’s, I had to try to implement some technology and I got a lot of rebellion, and I’ve come to believe the teachers were right,” she said. “There is so much else they need to do to play and discover and do art. We don’t really have time to hunker down on the computers.”
She added that she sees technology’s impact on students even when they are in the classroom without it, and that they are very comfortable with mobile devices.
“Obviously, technology is a part of everybody’s lives, but we tend to say, ‘Let them do that when they go home or when they start with kindergarten,’” she said.
Because Malibu is a small town, Ludwig said she never truly has to say goodbye to most of her students when they move on to kindergarten and beyond. She sees several of them around town regularly.
“Ralph’s takes twice as long because they’re all there,” she said with a laugh. “I see everyone, but it’s fun. I love that part about Malibu. That’s why we moved here to raise our kids.”
Several former students and parents have also come back to thank Ludwig for her service, which she said is one of the most rewarding parts of being an educator.
“I actually had a parent call the other day and she said, ‘I just know I went to preschool here and I have only happy memories,’ and she wanted her child to come here,” she said. “That’s why I do what I do.”
Ludwig said she will be happy to be free from 8 a.m. wake-up calls when she retires, but made it clear that she is not going anywhere and will still be heavily involved in the Malibu Presbyterian community. She looks forward to having more time to read and travel.
As advice to current and future early childhood educators, Ludwig said that the basic recipe for success is to love kids, be flexible and be healthy.
“I never thought I would stay in this job for so long, but I love the variety and that it’s a different job every day,” she said. “Basically, I love the idea of being able to give children a start.”
Malibu Presbyterian will host a party to celebrate both the Nursery School’s 50th anniversary and Ludwig’s retirement on April 24 at 10 a.m.