The Cooperative Playschool - Play-based Preschool Education Since 1949

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

Parental involvement is a core belief of our school.

For more information, read the Parent's Handbook and our Working Parent's FAQ

Working with the children, teachers, and other parents in the classroom setting gives life to the Co-op community and makes this a truly unique school. Parents have commented that becoming involved in our cooperative preschool is empowering and confidence-building .

There is great value in what parents have to offer - this realization motivates parents to continue their active involvement in their child’s education beyond the preschool years.

The number of mornings per year a parent assists in the classroom ranges from 11 mornings per year if the child attends two days per week, to 24 for a child who attends five days per week:

Tuition and Parental Work Commitment for 2009-2010 school year

Scholarships are available.
*Tuition and Work Commitment subject to change based on enrollment.

Parental Administrative Responsibilities
In addition to assisting in the classroom, parents take part in running the school. Several of our parents make up the Co-op’s BOARD OF DIRECTORS, which meets each month to discus issues relating to current school business, long-term enrollment, etc. All other families are given COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS, which are designed to support the daily school routine and to foster community among members.

At least one parent from EVERY family participates in the following activities:

PARENT MEETINGS:
One parent from each school family is required to attend two evening parent meetings, one in the fall and one in the spring.

WINTER WORK NIGHT:
One parent from each family is required to come to the school to help “spring clean”. This takes about two hours. If a family member is unable to attend, a “take-home” job may be requested.

FUNDRAISING:
Each family will be asked to participate in fundraising activities, such as bake sales, T-shirt sales, and other quality fundraisers. These activities fund our scholarships and also may be used for general expenses as needed.

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL CLEAN UP OR PICNIC DUTY:
The evening before the last day of school, or while the children are celebrating at Sunset Park, parents clean and close the school for the summer. Some parents of children with summer birthdays fulfill their obligation by helping at the park.

Cooperative Playschool Board Position Descriptions

Chairpersons of the Board (aka Co-Chairs):
The Chairpersons are responsible for the overall operation of the school. This includes renewing the school license, compiling the monthly board meeting agendas and chairing the meetings, direct communication with the teachers, fielding parents’ concerns and questions, maintaining contact with Friends liaison and doing lots of delegating to an incredibly supportive board team!

Registrar:
The Registrar is responsible for the entire enrollment procedure for the school. She/he is the one who mails out school applications, gives new families tours of the facilities, and coordinates Get Acquainted Days. The Registrar also keeps all records for enrolled families and maintains the enrollment/address listings.

Treasurer:
The Treasurer collects and deposits tuition checks; reconciles checking and savings accounts, prepares financial reports for parents’ meetings, serves on the scholarship committee, prepares local taxes and state and federal W-2’s and W-3’s, recommends budget figures for next year, reimburses people who have paid for school supplies, and issues payments on school bills. The Treasurer should be organized and have a business background of some kind. It is especially helpful to have some accounting or tax background. The Treasurer should be able to attend board meetings on a regular basis as many of the issues involve monetary matters. The Treasurer serves on the nominating committee for the next year’s Board.

Scheduler:
The Scheduler is in charge of scheduling workdays with parents. She/he determines the number of work spots for the year and the number of days each family must work to fill these spots. She/he posts a Monthly Scheduling Calendar each month throughout the year, and makes sure there are enough parents working each day to provide activities and snacks for the children. The Scheduler serves on the nominating committee for the next year’s Board.

School Programs (a.k.a. Programmer):
The Programmer coordinates the sign-up of families to their Committee assignments at the beginning of the year, and monitors the assignments throughout the year. The Programmer also monitors the “Activity Calendar” to ensure that parents list their activity on the day they are scheduled to work. The Programmer provides copies of “The Co-op Activity Book” to any families who wish to purchase it. She/he is also responsible for the mid-year and end of year evaluations, which provide us with invaluable information used to improve the program each year, and serves on the nominating committee for the next year’s Board.

Communications/Publicity:
The Communications/Publicity Chair is responsible for ensuring that Co-op families and the local community are accurately informed of happenings at the Co-op. This task includes coordinating the design and placement of all paid and free advertisements; providing new families with an up-to-date information packet; facilitating email communications between members; maintaining and using a database of past and current families for mailings; maintaining a Co-op website, sending cards and creating signs on behalf the Co-op, organizing face painting during Arts Fest and organizing a table/booth for any other publicity platforms we attend.

Newsletter:
The Newsletter Editor collects news items from teachers, board members, parents and past newsletters, to produce a monthly newsletter to be distributed on the first school day of each month. The newsletter highlights what is going on at school that month, describes special events, and publishes the Work Calendar (schedule of parent work commitments). There is also opportunity to include community-building items such as shared recipes, craft ideas, and articles of interest to Co-op families. The newsletter is distributed via email to as many families as possible, so the newsletter editor definitely needs email access and computer skills.

Recorder:
The Recorder compiles and distributes minutes of all regular and special board meetings. She/he posts copies of minutes on the school bulletin board, submits copies to the newsletter, furnishes them to the co-chairs, and keeps them for permanent record. The Recorder takes an active role in helping to identify decisions made during the meeting, and is responsible for recording all motions made. The Recorder also makes note of all Action Items identified during the meeting, and sends a reminder list of items requiring follow-up out with the meeting minutes. The Recorder will also produce the Family Profiles in the fall, and keep the school’s Documents Notebook up to date. (The Documents Notebook contains school policy and other documents necessary to the operations of the school.)

Fundraising:
The Fundraising Chair was a Board position in years past and is being reintroduced as such this year. The Fundraising Chair is responsible for coordinating the Fundraising Committee and overseeing all of the school’s fundraising activities, which are used to finance the scholarship fund and to help pay for operating expenses. He/she oversees all major fundraising efforts, and helps to pursue new ideas to keep the school well funded.

Housekeeping:
The Housekeeping Chair supervises the Housekeeping Committee, and is responsible for maintaining housekeeping and kitchen supplies. This position involves coordinating the committee assignments of the families assigned to Housekeeping, and purchasing many of the school’s supplies. Housekeeping is a Committee position this year, whereas it has been a Board position in past years.

Social:
The Social Chair is a committee chairperson, and was a Board position for the school year 2002-2003. This position could be fulfilled as either a committee assignment or a Board position, if the committee chair would like to serve on the Board. (As a member of the Board, the chairperson is required to attend all Board meetings.) The Social Chair is responsible for coordinating and overseeing all of the school’s social functions, including summer playdates, the Welcome Picnic and Last Day Picnic, and the DelGrosso Park trip. The Social Chair oversees the Social Committee assignments, which may include: Fall and Spring Morning Coffees, Holiday Cookie Exchange/Coffee, the Swim and Ice-skating parties, Fall and Spring ‘Parents Night Out’ dinners and the Teacher Appreciation luncheon. Additional responsibilities include: taking the ‘First Day at School’ parent-child photos and preparing the photo display board, and arranging the dinner sign-ups for families with new babies.