What is a Cooperative Preschool?
A cooperative preschool is a parent-owned, parent-run organization. In a coop, a family's involvement is threefold- participating in the classroom, governing and financing the school and maintaining the facilities. Several times a year parents participate in classroom activities with their children and provide a light snack for the class. Each family helps to govern and finance the school by serving on a committee or the Board of Directors and actively participating in fundraising events such as the silent auction. Every family also helps maintain the facilities during the special community-wide "environment days" or by working on projects of their choosing and done on their own. Each family can choose which activities and tasks best meet their skills, interests and time constraints. This may consist of everything from planning parties and fundraising events to rewriting school policy or raking leaves in our spacious play yard. The organization is flexible in how its needs are met and we try to work creatively with families to help them fulfill their cooperative obligations. We feel that every family's contribution adds something special to our school, and supports our commitment to bringing quality learning in a diverse and creative setting to preschoolers.
Why Choose a Cooperative Preschool?
The direct parental efforts and involvement make the cooperative a unique educational opportunity for parents and children alike. Strong, lasting bonds are formed between cooperative families as they work along side each other building a superb educational experience for their children. The opportunity to directly experience your child's expanding world as they learn to look beyond themselves cannot be matched outside the cooperative experience. As a parent, it is a delight and a privilege to be an integral part of a program, which encourages children to grow in mind, body and spirit. For the child, there is no better place to play, learn and grow than in a dedicated, involved community of parents and teachers who nurture each child with acceptance and kindness.
What it Means to be Involved....
Be a parent helper. Five or six times a year one parent from each family spends the morning (8:00am-1:00pm) in the classroom assisting the teachers, providing a light snack for all of the children, sometimes sharing a special talent. The number of days may be adjusted by the Corporation based upon enrollment. The parent(s) who will be parent-helping attends the Orientation Meeting for parent-helpers in September. At this meeting the teachers will outline the morning program and the parents' part as parent-helper.
Serve on a committee or Board of Directors. We do our own hiring and marketing, building and grounds maintenance, fundraising to support a scholarship program and the general operating budget, grant writing and enrollment management. For those serving on the Board of Directors, board meetings are held once a month and committee meetings are held as needed for the tasks to be done. There is a wide variety of committees to serve on, and a great array of skills needed, which allows a great deal of choice when deciding how you would like most to contribute.
Actively Participate in Fundraising. All families are expected to participate in our annual fundraising auction including selling admission tickets, donating items to auction (have a special talent or a friend with their own business?), and attending the function. It is the culminating social event for the school year and our community of present, past and future school parents. In addition, the school organizes a few smaller fundraising events that all families are asked to participate in. Fundraising proceeds help provide scholarship funds for our school families, as well as support special projects and programs.
Participate in Environment Days. Families are expected to participate in the cleaning, painting, planting, sewing and other maintenance projects for the school. Special days are set aside for the entire TCS community to gather and work on these projects together; before school starts in August, Fall, Spring and before the open house in January. Can't make it? There are also other tasks to be done that can be completed anytime during the school year, as your schedule permits.
Attend Corporation Meetings. Twice per year (September and May) parents meet for an evening to discuss the current business of The Children's School.