Co-op
One of the tenets of a cooperative school's philosophy is that parent helpers, under the supervision of professional teachers, bring a special element to the classroom.
Molly Michie Preschool offers parents the unique opportunity to observe and participate in their children's preschool activities. Parents operate our school; we hire the teachers, evaluate the program, and determine its policies. Through classroom co-oping, parent-teacher conferences, class meetings, and parent board meetings, parents are involved in every aspect of their child's education.
The MMP experience benefits not only the child but the parent. It provides a truly supportive network of families with young children; at MMP you don't just see the other parents at drop-off and pick-up. In addition, assisting in the classroom and learning about running a school through performance of our parent jobs teaches us about working in our communities and advocating for all children more effectively.
Duties
Each family in the MMP community agrees:
- To pay tuition and fees.
- To read and comply with MMP's Policy Manual.
- To fulfill co-oping duties. Duties include providing and serving a healthy snack, helping with the execution of daily planned activities, engaging with the children in unstructured playtime, supervising bathroom trips, and an after-school classroom clean-up.
- To perform job or committee duties, as assigned. Each family either performs a specific ongoing job for the school or serves on a committee.
- To attend Orientation, Parent Board, and Class Circle meetings. Every other month, all parents gather to review policies, vote on initiatives, and air ideas and concerns. On alternate months, the parents and teacher from each class gather for an opportunity to discuss class business and other topics of interest. Parent Board meetings are mandatory; childcare is provided. Class circle meetings are counted toward required training hours for each co-oping parent.
- To support the school's scholarship program and fund-raising functions.
- To assist with maintenance and cleaning for the opening of the school year, and for either mid-year (5-Day Class) or at the end of the year (2- and 3-Day Classes).
- To comply with the health and safety regulations of the school.
Please note that while these duties are vital to the smooth operation of the preschool, we recognize that special circumstances do arise, and we work with individual families to accommodate those circumstances.
Resources
The following links may offer aid in parenting and childcare:
Your Child: Development and Behavior Resources A good collection of information and links to parenting resources. A panel of pediatricians at the University of Michigan reviews the information presented on this website.
National Network for Child Care This is an excellent source of over 1000 publications and resources related to childcare. Publications are research-based and peer-reviewed. The site also offers an e-mail list-serve as a way to communicate nationally and internationally with others who care about children and childcare.
Becoming the Parent You Want to Be Book written jointly by a preschool teacher and a parent providing parents with tools to help them grow: Ways to learn from mistakes, balance needs in a family, learn about children, and build supportive communities in which families can thrive.
