Elevation began with a question and a vision for the future: Where can we find a place for young children that respects and honors their ideas and understanding of the world? The answer for Liz Dolph, a speech-language therapist and parent of a young child, was to start a school for young children. Inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy, Liz endeavored to create a place to elevate the lives and minds of children. In a time when schools were reducing recess times while increasing academic requirements of young children, she wanted to ensure that children were respected with access to the outdoors, natural materials, and a place to be free to play. As a director of a school for young children, Liz was also committed to empowering educators who felt passionate about early childhood education, all within the community of mindful parents here in Albuquerque.

Elevation opened its doors in the summer of 2014, with seven children of wonderful, engaging families. Since then, the school has grown, largely by word-of-mouth, from a single class to five classrooms from ages 12 months to 5 years. Unique to Elevation has been the development of immersive programs in nature— the Bosque Backpackers program and Adventure Kindergarten—and a strong community of dedicated families. Elevation has grown in tandem with burgeoning research that reflects the innumerable benefits of learning through play, which as Einstein said, is “the highest form of research.”