Being a part of a co-op preschool is a unique experience. Because of involvement with the school and their child’s education, families create strong support systems, friendships, and further their understanding of young children and child development.
A CO-OP MODEL HAS 3 COMPONENTS:
- Working in the classroom: Parents and caregivers support, encourage, play with, and extend children’s experiences in the classroom. Required number of Parent Workdays is relative to how many children are enrolled in the cooperative program. Depending on which class your child is enrolled in, parents can anticipate working or being a “backup”” 1 to 2 times per month.
- Parent education: Each family will attend 5 evening parent/caregivers meetings with our faculty advisor from Whatcom Community College to discuss current and relevant topics surrounding parenting, early childhood, and education as well as information regarding working with children in the classroom.
- Family jobs: Each family is responsible for a job (assigned with input from the family as to best fit) at the preschool. Jobs include fundraising and social event committees, classroom cleaning and maintenance, preschool support like grant writing, graphic design and marketing, and board positions such as president and class representative.