CHARLESTOWN - Every weekday morning, no matter the weather, 96-year-old Elizabeth Stonorov stands at the door of the Charlestown Play House and greets each child.

Miss Betty, as she is fondly known, founded the preschool and kindergarten in 1936 and still serves as its director.

"She is a wonderful, wonderful person," said Ann Dyer of Chester Springs, who attended the school in the mid-1960s and is now on its board of directors. "She is a hero for a lot of these kids, and she certainly is a role model for many of the parents."

In a beloved morning ritual at the door, some children smile back at her and hug her. Others simply rush by, eager to get to their classrooms.

Stonorov plays a vital role in school operations. She has her own yellow chair - "Miss Betty's Chair" is painted on it in blue - just inside the door, and an office. She attends all board of directors meetings, in which board members often turn to her in disagreements, and is active in the school's many fund-raising events.

"She is still that figure that everybody looks toward as the headmaster of the school," Dyer said. "She's a tremendously kind person who will give anybody anything."

Stonorov, who has three daughters, a son and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, is reluctant to talk about herself but gladly discusses the school and the critical role of play in children's development.

"Play is the important thing," she said.

Posted in the entrance hall is her philosophy of education, which she reads to all new parents each year. It starts, "The Charlestown Play House got its name after a great deal of thought and discussion in the year 1936, before many of you were born. The building was to be for children, and the most important thing for children was and still is Play, so that's why it was so named."

She describes how play means learning for children and sets out a number of goals for students and parents alike. The closing words are: "We know these children are young, but we believe Playschool can be a first step toward helping to build citizens who will one day be able to take their place with confidence, joy and love in our democracy."

The Charlestown Play House got its start at Stonorov's house on a nearby farm. After a few years, the school bought a former church on a wooded hillside along Charlestown Road, and Stonorov's late husband, architect Oskar Stonorov, redesigned it.

"This place is timeless. It's the same as when I was a kid," said Dyer, whose unmarried name was Theurkauf. Her son Jack, 6, attended the school until last year, and her son Mark, 5, is now in the "old-fours" class.

"Some parents spend 15 years here, by the time their last child is finished," she said.

About 75 children ages 2 1/2 to 5 attend the school, which has a capacity of about 85. It draws from a wide area, Dyer said, including West Chester, Downingtown, Kimberton, Chester Springs and Malvern. (Some parents carpool.)

The school's formal name is the Charlestown Play House - the framed charter hangs next to the kitchen - but it is popularly called just "Playschool." In fact, its Web site, designed by a parent, is www.playschool.us.

Tuition is $1,500 per child for five mornings a week, October through July. (Parents can pay extra for extended hours until 2:45 p.m.)

The school is a co-op, which means that parents are required to spend a day a week as classroom helpers and participate in the school's many fund-raising events. A large grid near "Miss Betty's chair" keeps track of each family's participation.

As a result, long-lasting friendships among parents spring up, said Marsha Diffenderfer of Phoenixville, the school's director of curriculum. She was a teacher at the school for 25 years.

"It's as hard for the parents to leave as it is for the kids," she said. "It becomes a big part of your social life."

Dyer said that several other current parents attended the school as children, and that many of the teachers have been there for decades.

For instance, Carol Neskie of Charlestown came to the school as a teacher in 1944 and, although she technically retired three years ago, is still an active volunteer. Jean Lacy of Charlestown, another retired teacher, is "a permanent helper," as she describes herself, reading to a little girl.

The school's five classrooms each have a table full of sand, a table with a waterproof lining for experiments, a climbing area, plenty of books and toys, arts-and-crafts supplies, and dress-up clothes. A wall of windows looks out onto an oak tree, which the school uses as its emblem.

"These blocks were probably here when I was a kid," Dyer said, inspecting some well-worn wooden toys.

There are no computers or televisions at the school, which installed an answering machine only recently. "You won't hear talk about the latest Disney movie here," Dyer said.

She said teachers discourage talk about "action heroes" because "they tend to be violent, and this is a peaceful institution, as much as you can have such a thing in this day and age."

Notes

After serving for 45 years, Irene Shur has retired as professor of history at West Chester University. In 2000, she founded the university's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and served as its director. She will continue as a special consultant for the center. Jonathon Friedman, associate professor of history, took over her position as center director.

Walter B. Satterthwaite Associates Inc., an environmental-consulting firm based in West Chester, marked its 25th anniversary with a dinner-dance at Vickers Tavern, Lionville.

Brad N. McIlvaine, son of Lee and Kathryn McIlvaine, West Chester, was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. A junior at Unionville High School, he is a member of Troop 22, Unionville, and the 91st Eagle scout in the troop's history. For his Eagle project, he led a team of scouts that redesigned and rebuilt the information booth for the Unionville Community Fair.