A cooperative nursery school is one in which the parents run the school and are actively involved in their child’s pre-school education. This is beneficial for both students and parents. Through parent participation in the classroom, parents are offered the opportunity to learn, observe, and improve their child’s development in an objective manner. Participating in a co-op is a wonderful way to get to know and make friends with other families in the area.

What’s involved in parent helping?
Parent helping is available in all classes EXCEPT the afternoon Pre-K class. The parent helper serves as the teacher’s assistant for the day. Depending on enrollment and class schedule, each child’s parent helps approximately once every 4-6 weeks on the same days their child is scheduled to be the special helper and bring a healthy snack for everyone in the class. There is no preparation necessary outside of the classroom. Most parents find it to be a very rewarding experience.

Children in the afternoon Pre-K class take turns being special helper and bringing snack, but the parents do not need to worry about parent helping due to the teacher’s assistant. However, there are other opportunities to participate such as attending field trips, class parties, or staying for part of class to observe your child be the special helper. Some children, for a variety of reasons, do better with the consistency of the same adults in the classroom every day. The afternoon Pre-K class is a good fit for them.

How does the co-op work and what’s involved?
There is a Board of Directors made up of parent volunteers. The Board meets one evening each month and oversees all functions of the school. One parent from each family is required to attend a minimum number of board meetings. These meetings are for parents only.  It is at these meetings that all the “ins and outs” of the school are discussed (upcoming events or fundraisers, teacher updates, any concerns or issues, etc.) The meetings generally last about 45 minutes. Each family must have a parent who is a board member, class chair, or a committee member. The committees are as follows: Social and Charity Events, Fundraising, Maintenance, Publicity, and Newsletter.

Social and Charity Events:
Each year the school plans a Welcome Picnic in the fall, a Winterfest sledding party in the winter, and an Ice Cream Social at the end of the year. These events provide a wonderful opportunity to come together as a whole and to get to know all of the families who are involved in the school. The charity events allow us to give back to the community as well as provide a good teaching tool for the children.

Fundraising:
Typically we hold two or three different fundraisers each year. The money is used to pay for permanent additions and improvements to the school such as playground or “big room” equipment, classroom manipulatives, and our bright yellow sign out front.