Working Together
Is a Co-op
Preschool Right for You?
 By
Christy Gordon Baty
© 2005
Illustration © 2001 Artville LLC
When my daughter was in a typical,
professionally run preschool, I followed the usual preschool-parent
ritual: I would walk her into school, sign her in, maybe chat
briefly with the teacher, kiss my daughter on the head, and leave.
I knew I was an involved parent, confident that my child was
being cared for by a professional staff.
But now I'm at a co-op preschool.
I not only bring my daughter into the school, I also stay to
put out the playdough, see if any laundry needs to be washed,
sit down with the other kids to color for a bit, and talk to
the other parents. If it's my work day, I sling my job card around
my neck and get ready to teach or clean or prepare the snack.
I never knew how involved I could be.
But co-oping is not for everyone.
You have to ask yourself, am I willing to teach, play,
clean, prepare food, fund raise, be around young kids, know the
other parents, and take responsibility for the school? If you
say yes, then you should consider a co-op.
What is a Co-op?
A co-op, short for cooperative, is an organization that is owned
or managed by the members of the group. The first co-op preschool
in the United States was founded in 1916 at the University of
Chicago. The founding mothers' goal was to pool their resources
to create a child care program that would allow them to participate
in the war effort.
A co-op preschool is usually
a non-profit organization. A professional teacher, director,
and/or staff is often employed, but parents are relied upon to
run the school.
"Parents are the teachers,
the parents are the janitors, the parents are the fundraisers,
the parents are the maintenance workers, the parents do almost
everything," explains Sandra Westlie, director of the Peter
Pan Parent Co-op in El Cerrito for 21years.
Parents participate during the
preschool day, at regularly scheduled night meetings, on work-party
days, and occasionally during off-hours for special projects.
All this participation keeps down the cost of running a
school a key benefit to many parents.
Co-op preschools range in complexity.
They can be as simple as a group of friends meeting on
a regular basis and providing activities for their children,
or as structured as a professionally run preschool. A number
of co-op preschools are offered through local adult education
programs, and parents can earn school credit by participating.
Educating Parents
Most co-op preschools have a compnent of educating parents on
early childhood development a key difference from standard
preschools. The parent education is usually provided by the school's
director, who is often a trained educator with an early childhood
development background. Directors use the night meetings to discuss
topics such as developmental stages and maturity, effective discipline,
nutrition, enrichment, encouraging independence, and constructive
socialization. Parents then use this knowledge to interact with
the children at the school during their workdays. Schools
often bring in guest speakers to provide more depth on these
and other topics.
Many parents feel that this education
is one of the best benefits of being in a co-op.
Frank Biondi, a parent at the
Redwood Parents Nursery School Redwood City and president of
the California Council of Parent Participation Nursery Schools
(CCPPNS), says he's benefited from this continuing education:
he can now deal with situations such as "how to handle tantrums,
why you need to read to your children at a young age, fine motor
skill development. It's an ongoing thing. You can't just get
a list of parenting skills and go home and think it's going to
work. You need that continual reinforcement."
In fact, some preschools focus
primarily on an adult education curriculum. Little Wonders, a
parent-child co-operative in San Mateo, structures its program
so that daytime meetings are actual learning sessions. Parents
discuss various topics with the director while they observe the
children playing in the classroom.
But no matter how much guidance
and teaching is provided, parents will naturally have some differences
of opinion about how to supervise the children at their preschool.
Carol Mandere, director at the Campbell Parents Participation
Preschool, says, "It's difficult for the parents to be on
the same page. There are different sets of values from different
families. In a group situation, you have to come to a meeting
of minds and [put] what is best for the child first."
A Community for
the 21st Century
Co-op preschools are, by their very nature, a close-knit community.
This is something many people don't expect when they get involved.
Robin Goebel from the San Anselmo Co-op Nursery School describes
it this way: "It's like acquiring a new set of in-laws.
It's an extra family commitment. You're all connected."
Frank Biondi says this sense
of community let him share parenting experiences. "A lot
of other parents go through the same challenges," he says.
"It's very comforting to hear that and the way other parents
handle it."
For many parents, this closeness
is something they need to get used to. But it can also be a very
positive experience, reminding parents of the power of participation.
Says Meenakshi Srinivasan, vice president of the CCPPNS and a
parent at Campbell Parents Participation Preschool, "It's
about being part of the circle which we call community at any
level, whether you call it the immediate neighborhood, the immediate
next neighborhood which is your city, or your next neighborhood
which is your state. You are going to become better participants
of democracy if you are in this kind of a system. You actually
see an effect of what you do or don't do in your immediate environs."
Making a difference really is
possible in this type of community. Linda Tumulty from El Cerrito
Parent Co-op says that when she had some concerns about the cleaning
procedures at her child's school, she brought it up to the membership.
"It surfaced an intelligent,
organized discussion in our school about alternative [cleaning]
products what they were, how to use them, the differences
among them, when they were appropriate," she says. "[We]
created written instructions, posted guidelines, and [had] a
parent education process."
Connecting with
Your Kid
One of the most personally rewarding aspects of being in a co-op
is the opportunity to be intimately involved with your children's
education and their day-to-day interactions with the other kids
and parents at the school.
Sandra Westlie of Peter Pan says that at a co-op, "You know
their friends, you know their teacher, you know their friends'
families."
This familiarity gives parents
a valuable opportunity to connect with their children, she notes.
"It's so important to be
able to talk to your kid about school. Not just to say, 'How
was your day, how did school go?' You can ask, 'Was so-and-so
in your room today? What did they do, what did they say to you?
Did they read this story. What was the story about?'"
So, Is a Co-op
Preschool Right for You?
Co-op participation can be highly rewarding. It creates a strong
sense of community, provides parent education, and can give you
a valuable connection with your children.
But all this comes with a commitment
of time and energy. It is the parent's participation that makes
a co-op unique.
Some schools do allow a certain
amount of "buy-out." If parents are unable to fulfill
some commitments, they can pay an extra fee. But not all schools
offer this option, and it's not available for all commitments.
If parents are unable participate in the work days, night meetings,
maintenance, and all the other extras needed to run the school,
a co-op will quickly fall apart.
Karen Pojmann, a parent with
children at both a co-op preschool and a co-op elementary school,
advises, "It's a huge time investment. I guess that's the
only drawback, because it's an amazing experience and I know
my child is benefiting tremendously from it. And it's great to
get to know everyone intimately well. But it's a lot of
work."
Be prepared to make the commitment
to your designated job, and also to get involved in general:
to jump in and fill a need, whether it's holding a board position
or doing some extra laundry. You don't have to have any special
skills, but you need to be able to contribute when and where
you can.
So, if you are ready to teach,
play, clean, prepare food, fund raise, be around young kids,
know the other parents, and take responsibility for the school,
then you are ready to join a co-op preschool.
What to Ask When
Looking for a School
Here are some quick guidelines to determine if a school is right
for your child and your family. (Many of these ideas apply to
other types of preschools as well. )
 Always
ask the basic questions about the philosophy of the school. How
do they discipline children and resolve conflict? What are their
goals in terms of childhood development? Make sure that the school's
values match yours. If you are interested in kindergarten readiness,
the school should know the readiness guidelines and have programs
to reach those goals.
Ask
about the stability of the program. How long has the school been
around? How long has the teacher been there? How long have the
current families have been there?
What
exactly are the commitments in terms of work days, night meetings,
fund raising, and tuition? What are the penalties if these commitments
are not met? What are the policies around parents' leaves of
absence, illness, pregnancy? What sort of flexibility is offered
when life changes occur? Make sure you are comfortable with these
terms.
What
are the educational goals for the parents?
Arrange
to visit the school with your child. Any co-op should allow you
to visit, either through a designated day or as a drop-in. Make
sure that you are comfortable with the play area and classrooms
and that your child seems comfortable as well. Talk to the other
parents. You will be working with them.
Now That You're
a Member
If you do decide to join a co-op, it is important to set appropriate
expectations for yourself. Give yourself time to learn this new
"job." Ask to buddy with an experienced parent. Remember
that it takes a lot of energy to deal with preschoolers, so always
eat a good meal before your work shift.
When you first participate at
the preschool, observe, observe, observe! If you're not sure
what a rule is, where something is kept, or why things are done
a certain way, don't be afraid to ask. Misinformation can
spread like wildfire in co-ops because there are so many parents
responsible for day-to-day management.
Be sure to respect the ground
rules set down by the school you have to be comfortable
enough to enforce all the rules. Consistency is absolutely critical
with young children, and if you are not willing to abide by the
rules agreed to at the school, you are going to be creating difficulties
for the children, yourself, the other parents, and the director.
As with regular schools, you
can call any time to determine if there are any upcoming openings
or a waiting list. The standard time to start applying
is February or March for the following September. But because
co-ops tend to be community-based and require so much time from
parents, openings do happen throughout the year.
Most of all, remember to enjoy
yourself and the kids. After all, that's the reason to join a
co-op.
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Finding a Co-op
Preschool Near You
For a detailed list of parent
co-operative preschools in the Bay Area, click
here.
The California Council of Parent
Participation Nursery Schools maintains a list of member schools
at www.ccppns.org.
The Next Step:
Co-Op Elementary Schools
Many parents who are involved
in co-op preschools send their children on to public elementary
schools, but some do choose to continue with the co-op experience.
Most things that are true about co-op preschools apply to co-op
elementary schools as well, including a strong sense of community
and a major time commitment.
"It's run by the parents,"
says Karen Pojmann, a parent at Crestmont Elementary School,
a co-op elementary school in El Cerrito.
"At a co-op, you have
a say-so," says Sandra Westlie, director of Peter Pan Parent
Co-op in El Cerrito. "You can decide. At regular school,
if you're on the site council, you can make some decisions. But
at a co-op, there are a lot of decisions made [by the parents],"
This ability to drive decisions about curriculum, enrichment
programs, or excursions comes with a cost. A co-op elementary
school is "everything you'd experience at a preschool co-op
multiplied by 10," says Pojmann. "Like more committees,
longer meetings, and there's a lot more staff involved."
And because they are private, co-op elementary schools tend be
smaller than public schools.
Pojmann especially likes the
philosophy at Crestmont.
"They're really dedicated
to nurturing the whole child and looking at each individual child's
development in all facets: academically, socially, physically,"
she says.
About CCPPNS
The California Council of Parent
Participation Nursery Schools (CCPPNS), founded in 1948, is a
state-wide organization of co-op preschools. While not all co-op
preschools choose to belong to CCPPNS, over 320 schools representing
more than 10,000 families are part of this organization.
The purpose of CCPPNS is similar
to that of a local co-op: to create a community for the benefit
of educating young children and to provide support to schools
and families.
Says CCPPNS President Franki
Biondi, "It offers to the individual schools what each individual
school offers to the family members. It's a community of schools
just the way the schools are a community to the families in that
area."
CCPPNS provides a variety of
benefits to its members. These include grants and interest-free
loan eligibility, discounted group liability insurance, legislative
updates and information, informational handbooks, space on the
CCPPNS website, and a newsletter.
Every year, CCPPNS hosts a
convention featuring workshops for teachers and parents.
They also invite nationally
recognized keynote speakers. This year the speaker was Adele
Faber, the co-author of Siblings without Rivalry.
For more information about CCPPNS, see www.ccppns.org.
SIDEBAR #3
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