Founder Story
Built by an educator. Run by a mom.
Little Dreamers was built by Tori Cotton — an Oregon State early-childhood educator who spent 15 years building one of Oregon's premier cheer and tumbling programs, and always knew she'd come back to preschool.
Meet Tori
The long way back to preschool.
Tori Cotton earned her Early Childhood Development and Elementary Education master's degree from Oregon State University, ready to spend her career with preschoolers.
Then life moved fast — marriage, a first pregnancy, and her husband's deployment to Iraq. To build something that could hold a family, she bought a cheerleading gym.
For 15 years she poured herself into it, growing Oregon Dream Teams into one of the state's premier cheer and tumbling programs and coaching thousands of athletes.
In 2025 ODT moved into a much larger facility — and Tori finally had the space to build the thing she'd always dreamed of and planned to come back to.
Little Dreamers opens in Fall 2026 with room for up to 24 students: a full preschool and Pre-K program, inside the gym, run by an educator who's been preparing for it her whole career.
“I loved coaching cheerleaders. But I always knew I'd come back to preschool. It was just a question of when — and where.”
How we teach
Our teaching philosophy
We use the research-backed Brightwheel Experience Curriculum — built for kindergarten readiness — and pair it with something no other Tigard preschool can: a full gym for daily movement.
Academic readiness
The Brightwheel Experience Curriculum builds early literacy, numeracy, and the self-regulation that makes kindergarten click.
Physical & spatial learning
Daily time on the tumbling floor develops coordination, confidence, and the body awareness that growing brains depend on.
Low ratios, real attention
An 8:1 ratio and 24 students total means every child is known — not managed in a crowd.
Transparent communication
Daily Brightwheel updates keep you in the loop — photos, milestones, and notes from the people who spend the day with your child.
Our space
Room to move, every single day.
Our facility already serves hundreds of children every year — at Oregon Dream Teams camps, classes, and programs. Now we're opening a dedicated preschool & Pre-K classroom inside the same space.
📸 From our 2025 Summer Camp at the same facility
Our team
Meet our teachers — coming soon.
We're finalizing our team of credentialed early-childhood educators ahead of our Fall 2026 opening. Want to be the first to meet them?