At cooperative preschool, parents are an active part of running the school and participating in the classroom. Both parents and students reap the benefits of parental involvement in the school:

• Teachers and families to work together to create strong, mutual goals for both home and school
• By participating in the classroom, parents can watch their child enjoying their first school experiences
• A higher adult-to-child ratio is possible than in a traditional preschool
• Social events for parents make the preschool a true community
• Parents have the opportunity to shape the school by serving on the board or committees
• Parental assistance in setting up, cleaning, and running the school allows for higher quality at lower costs

How Does a Co-Op Work?

• Assist in the classroom 5-10 times a year depending on the class (four-year-old classes, which meet more often, have more Helping Days than three-year-old classes).
• On your Helping Days, you help set up the classroom before class and clean up afterwards.
• When you are the Helping Parent, your child is the "Special Child" and has special jobs like bringing and setting out the snack.
• You can either serve on the Executive Board or perform monthly duties such as cleaning classroom toys. These duties not only help keep costs down, they also ensure that the school is clean to a high standard, and it keeps your child healthy!
• Other involvement is also possible if you are interested, such as coordinating social events.

Don't worry that you won't know what to do when you are assisting in the classroom. You will get training the first week of school, and there are two experienced teachers there to lead the way. In fact, you may find you learn a lot yourself.