San Clemente Preschool is located on Avenida Victoria.

Six-years-ago, Heidi Nau was not a happy camper. After working hard to earn a Bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, a Master Degree in Education and a PSP Credential in School Counseling, she was working at her dream job as an Academic Advisor for the Temecula school district. But each day, as she dropped her son Bradley off at his day care center she felt a  nagging sensation that something was not quite right. Nothing major, just a sense that things could be better. Little did she know that shortly she would be given an opportunity that would change her life and erase that nagging little feeling for good. 

For over fifty years Heidi’s family had owned the property located at 163 Avenida Victoria in downtown San Clemente. Her great-grandmother, had actually started the first preschool in San Clemente on the property and many local old-timers can remember first attending and then sending their own children to the family-owned school. 

The business was passed from great- grandmother to grandmother and then on to the rest of the family. But sometime during the 1990s, the age of the building and the changing demographics of the neighborhood had led to the school closing and sitting unoccupied for nearly five years. 

Enter Heidi. At the ripe old age of twenty-three, Heidi left her job, took out a business loan, packed up her young family (now joined by second son Logan) and moved to San Clemente to open an all new and improved San Clemente Preschool in the same spot her great-grandmother had started one 50 years earlier.  

“At the beginning we literally had one child enrolled in the program,” remembered Heidi. “Within less than two years we had a full enrollment of seventy-five kids and now we have a waiting list, it’s just been amazing.”

Anyone who has met Heidi would not be surprised at her quick success. This is a young woman who combines the perfect traits for operating a successful preschool. She is kind and nurturing and loves working with children, but she also has a head for the business side and has always made a point of doing things to the best of her ability. 

From the beginning Heidi knew she had obstacles to overcome. The school’s reputation needed rebuilding, and the fifty-year-old property needed updating into a place where parents would feel comfortable leaving their little ones. But Heidi was up to the challenge. 

After initially sprucing up the old building, she then added highly trained staff, extra-curricular activities and a reasonable fee. Local families responded, and today the school offers a year- round program, complete with pre-school and childcare for children aged two to six. Heidi, herself, teaches the pre-kindergarten program, emphasizing school readiness. 

“Standards have changed in public school, kids need to be much more prepared when they enter school, and that’s what we provide,” explained Heidi. “We hear from parents all the time about how pleased they’ve been with their child’s readiness to enter kindergarten, both socially and academically. I’m lucky to be included on the Capistrano Unified Kindergarten Team and to work hand-in-hand with other educators to insure that our students have everything they need to make the transition from preschool to kindergarten.”

But Heidi really is much more than a superior educator. She has built the business based on what she has always wanted for her own children. To her, the children aren’t just numbers attached to a paycheck, and she works hard every day to guarantee that none of her parents ever experience that “little nagging feeling” she once had. Her program provides a warm friendly environment, where parents are always invited to drop in and reassure themselves that their children are safe, well cared for and are having fun. In short, Heidi has created a perfect blend of business and passion and is definitely a welcome addition to the San Clemente scene. b

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