Parent Co-operative and Parent Participation Preschools
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Parent Co-operative and Parent Participation Preschools
A parent co-op is a school where parents work in the classroom
on a regular basis, usually one morning a week, and also help to
run and administer the school.
A parent participation
preschool is a program that is usually for younger children (under 3)
that children and parents/caregivers attend together.
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Parent Co-op Preschools with BPN Reviews
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Parent Participation Programs with BPN Reviews
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March 2009
I am looking for a preschool in Sept for my son. He will be 4 at
the end of Dec. So he will be 3 and 4 this year and 4 and 5 next
year. We are looking for two years of preschool. (He won't make
the cutoff next year because his B-day is the 22nd of Dec.)
Ideally I would like something for 2 or three days the 1st year
and I am comfortable with the idea of 9:30 to 1:30 OR 9:30 to
3:30 or thereabouts. I would love to hear from anyone who anyone
who has good things to say about Co ops that are working well for
them in North Berkeley, Albany or East Oakland. I either want him
close to where his DCP can pick him up one day a week or close to
were I work. A lot of the opening I have been exploring seem to
be for 2-3 year olds. And that is problematic as he will be 3
turning 4 when he goes.
Please Share!!I look forward to hearing from you!
Shelly
Shelly, I hope your experience is better than ours has been. Our
son's birthday is the day before your son's and we were in the
exact position. Not to be discouraging, but to give you a heads
up, we NEVER found a preschool for our son, and we were looking
for co-ops first. It seems like all the younger kids move up and
fill the spots, and then siblings fill spots, too. We tried MCPC
(where we were on the list of about 8 which never got to us),
Sequoia, Lafayette Nursery School (where we were FIRST on a list
which never moved), and Children's Community Center in Bkly for
the co-ops and we didn't get into any of them. You might look at
Kensington Nursery School or Skytown, both Co-ops. (They were
too far for us without a car- I was willing to use PT)We looked
at a few other non co-op schools, but there was never any room.
It is hard with a boy this age. Our son is now about to go to
Kindergarten with not much group experience, and if it weren't
for the advice, reassurance and ideas of the BPN community as
well as the amazing staff at Bananas, I'd be a nutcase by now.
Best of luck, I really hope you find what you need. I had to
piece together a bunch of different group experiences to help
our son with the skills he needed, and I'm still doing it until
September.
-One of the many underserved in the Bay Area
We loved, loved, loved Peter Pan Co-op in the Maxwell Park
neighborhood of Oakland. Our daughter is now nine (how time
flies) and we are still very tight with all of the PP families
from our time there. Gail Murphy, the director, is a powerhouse
and a kid magnet. And then if you need afternoon program,
Lenore is also awesome. PPNS is the way to go if they have an
opening......
http://www.peterpancoop.com/ or 510.533.1197
Once a Panner, always a Panner
My child attends Skytown Preschool Co Op
which is located in Kensington. It is a
fantastic school that is separated into three age groups, Toddler (18 months - 3
years),
Younger Preschool (3-4) and Older Preschool (4-5). Each class has a high ratio, 1:3
for toddlers and 1:4 for preschoolers. A child moves to the next class based on
assessment and recommendation from the Director. Each class has a head teacher and
parents that participate in the classroom. The base program is from 9am-1pm with
extended programs available. Skytown is a play based school that is a wonderful
learning environment for all of the children that attend. I have also really enjoyed
being a part of this cooperative! There is a tuition calculator on the website
www.skytown.org where you can see exactly what your expenses will be. You are
welcome to attend the Open House on March 28th to visit the classrooms and meet the
teachers and families.
A Happy Skytown Mom
Feb 2009
I am very interesting in the local co-op preschools for my son
next year. I feel they would be a great fit for me with the
parent involvement and community, but I am not sure if it would
be the best fit for my son (which is really what is
important). My son will be barely 3 at the start of the school
year and is extremely shy in new situations. He is very
outgoing at home and with family, but outside the house or his
comfort zone its a totally different story.
My concern is will he find comfort in a co-op environment with
the large number and variation of parents as teachers for the
day? If there are any co-op or non co-op families that have
considered this same dilema I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks!
kmc
My daughter has been going to mcpc co-op in Montclair.
I'd say a co-op is great for a shy kid. Our co-op is run by
amazing teachers and wonderfuly caring, patient parents. I
can't think of a better environment to make a sky child be at
ease.
leslie
We used to be in a co-op, a very well-regarded one, but had to withdraw
after only
a few months because it was not a good fit for my child. The fact that
there were
only 2 trained teachers for a group of 24 kids in a large space meant that
developing social dynamics were not able to be observed/directed. The 4
(rotating
cast of) parents in the classroom were all caring, of course, but
untrained, & in the
classroom only once a week.
The kids who seemed to do well there were the older/larger kids with
outgoing
personalities, who didn't need special attention. My child was small for
his age, &
less verbal than the other 3-year-olds, & was incessantly picked on on the
playground. His budding sense of confidence was being pummeled daily, &
was
heartbreaking to watch. We then had to scramble for new childcare. not an
optimal
situation.
I'd be most concerned about large co-ops - he had previously done fine in
a small
toddler co-op.
Been near there
This is such an interesting and complex question. My 3 children
went to co-op preschools for a total of 7 years, and two of them
were quite shy. My youngest cried every single morning for 6
months when we dropped him off at school. In retrospect, I can't
say with much certainty whether a co-op was the best fit for any
of them. Sometimes I think they might have been happier in a more
structured setting. There are pros and cons, as with every
parenting dilemma. Here are some things that come to mind:
1. The main point of Preschool is to start developing social
skills that will be needed in elementary school and later life.
But a shy child in preschool is unlikely to suddenly become
un-shy in kindergarten, regardless of the preschool. So in some
ways, for a shy child, you mainly want them to be comfortable and
not too unhappy during the preschool years.
2. Co-ops are usually play-based. Is that best for a shy child?
I don't know! In some ways, my shy kids were much more
comfortable in the highly structured environment of K and 1st
grade than in the anything-goes setting of preschool, where they
might be left to wander alone if they aren't able to
self-initiate play with other kids. So maybe they would have
liked a Montessori preschool better. On the other hand, I was
shy, and I didn't go to preschool at all. I was basically loose in the
neighborhood with all the other kids, just like in a play-based
preschool. But I was totally traumatized by the
strange structure of kindergarten! So who knows?
3. One attraction for me with the co-ops was that I would be at
the school one day a week. I thought this would be more
comforting for my shy child. I am not sure if this is really
true, though. In 7 years of co-oping I often saw children who
behaved completely differently (i.e., worse) on the days their
parents were there.
4. Co-ops usually have a higher adult-to-child ratio than
other preschools because of the participating parents, something
like 1 to 4 or 1 to 5. This means that the kids are hardly ever out of
sight of an adult, so it is possible for a shy child to receive
more attention at a co-op. In my experience, my shy son really
hit it off with a couple of other parents, so he had very rich
interactions with a variety of adults, which was great. There was
a little girl who cried a lot, who would usually be scooped up by
one of the parents on duty and held and comforted for most of the
morning. That would be difficult at school where fewer adults
were present. OTOH some co-op parents are more into it than others.
There's always the co-op parent who only has eyes for her own
child at school. Not every adult is able to empathize with
other peoples' kids. Many parents do not have experience interacting
with shy kids. And of course most participating parents don't
have any background or training in early childhood education.
5. Always remember: it's hard to go wrong with a preschool in the
Bay Area. We are blessed with so many good ones. You aren't
going to mess up your child by picking a school that turns out to
be slightly less desirable than another one.
6. The preschool years whiz by. Make your best guess and don't
worry TOO much - you've still got 12 more years of school
to worry about!
Former co-op mom
As a formerly shy person and mom of two formerly shy girls who
went to a coop preschool, I'd encourage you to send your child
to a coop. I think the exposure to many different children and
adults who participate in the school helped my daughters learn
to feel comfortable with a wide range of people. My youngest
daughter, the shyer of the two, was pretty stressed out for the
first two months of school but she adapted and thrived. By the
time they were ready to go to Kindergarten, they were
confident. I credit the coop experience for making that
transition to a bigger school easier. Now, I would say, neither
girl is shy. Good luck and have fun in pre-school! (Another
benefit of a coop is you get to go play and learn there too,
and your child will love that!)
anon
We sent our shy girl to a co-op and loved it. The social ties
that form between the kids and between the parents are really
wonderful. Even 9 months after graduating to a new school, we
still have play dates and carpools with some of the kids/families
we know from the co-op. The big picture is that your child( and
you) may end up with a very extensive network of friends, which
will help counteract shyness for a lifetime!
JM
Feb 2007
Many of my friends and I have visited CCC, as well as other co-ops, and
we really love
the schools. However, we were curious how 3-year-olds respond to the 20
or so
different adults participating each week. Does it take a child longer
to seem at ease,
given this turn-over? I assume that after a few months they get to know
all the parents
and feel comfortable, but is it difficult beforehand? Would a semi-shy
child feel
completely overwhelmed? Thanks for any insight.
Mother of a shy 2-year-old
My two shy daughters attended CCC and had a great experience
there. The number of adults at the school did not seem to be an
issue. The children are with the same teachers each day, so that
provides a lot of consistency. Getting to know many children and
adults was a great learning experience and one that made my
girls feel more confident by the time they entered elementary
school.
CCC alum
Hi-Our not really shy daughter started El Cerrito Preschool Co-
op (ECPC) at age 3.5. It took her about 2 weeks (going MWF,
8:30-noon) to adjust to ''school.'' During that time I would
stay for the day & then less & less each day. For the first
few weeks or so, ECPC encourages this practice to give children
(& parents) time to ease into the new routine. We have shy
kids at the school & they seem to adjust just fine, even tho
the school is big, 30 kids. From what I've experienced, shy
kids tend to seek out a parent (whether they know them or not)
to hang around with each day (& that parent then assists in
helping the child integrate with other kids.) At ECPC, there
are always 6 parents & 2 teachers. Having different parents
each day was never an issue with our child. Meeting them was
simply part of adjusting to preschool. What was more important
was the interaction with the teachers who are the constant that
the kids get comfortable with & who initially reassure them
that they are in a safe, fun environment. As the school year
progresses, kids naturally bring parents into the mix. We love
ECPC & the co-op experience. Our son (age 3 in Nov) will
attend this fall along with his big sister. Feel free to
contact me if you want further info.
Debbie
I really relate to your question. My son has now been at a co-
op preschool for two years and, particularly before beginning
PS, was very slow to warm up to new situations and was
extremely shy with new people. In fact, I had officially
enrolled him in a small, home based PS for this reason. The
closer it came to Fall though, the more I had the instinct that
he was ready for something a little bigger with more options
and I loved the idea of being involved in his school in the way
a co-op allows. So, with some hesitation about the rotating
adult situation, we enrolled him in a co-op PS that we had
really liked, Albany Preschool.
Despite my worries, it has been an extremely positive
experience for him. He has become much more confident and
comfortable with new adults as well as with new kids and
situations and I attribute at least some of this growth to
getting to know new adults in a safe situation and being able
to think of them as a friend's parent. The comfort, though, has
definitely extended to his life outside of PS.
All that said, it did take him a while to get used to this
situation and, despite absolutely loving PS, he stuck quite
close to the head teacher for the first year. (Thankfully, she
really understood his approach to new situations and was
extremely patient and loving towards him.)
He still will often choose to do an activity that is led by a
parent he knows well, rather than one that seems quite up his
alley, but is led by a parent he doesn't know as well. But,
having the chance to get to know new parents at his own pace
has been a very important experience for him and now (at age 5)
he really likes to tell people about how he ''used to be really
shy with people he didn't know.'' Good luck with your own
decision.
APS parent
My daughter recently graduated from CCC. I would call her
typically shy around adults, but she had very little trouble
adjusting to co-op life. At CCC, the teachers on staff are
always present, providing a wonderful consistency for not only
the kids, but the parents working. My daughter loved getting
to know her classmates' mom/dad/grandparents and was never
overwhelmed by the rotating parent-teachers. Also, at CCC a
lot of time is put into training new parent-teachers to have
consistent and postive responses to children. Not sure how it
works elsewhere, but my daughter thrived in this setting. On
an added note, the afternoon staff maintains the same teachers
without parent-teachers -- and they are absolutely, hands-down
fantastic and amazing.
CCC fan
Dec 2006
I have been looking for a co-op preschool for my son to begin
attending in September. I've just begun my research. So far
they all seem to have similar philosophies, work loads, hours,
and fees. I have not visited any schools yet. Recently I heard
through a friend that another friend is hearing a lot of gossip
at her co-op. Most of it concerns one mother. Now I'm starting
to wonder whether this is a problem at all co-op preschools
because the parents know each other so well. Could other co-op
preschools parents share their experiences with gossip? Is this
a common problem? Could anyone recommend schools where it is
not a problem?
anonymous
It depends on what kind of gossip you're talking about. If it's
gossip about home lives, that's one thing, but if it's gossip
related to parenting skills, yes, sometimes that's more evident
in a cooperative environment. That's because parents are more
keenly aware of the behavior of individual children when they
work with them on a regular basis. In my experience, the impulse
to gossip about other parents does not arise unless there is a
behavioral issue that is going untreated at the school. If the
school is a good one, parents will be educated thoroughly and
early on the need to address matters of discipline and behavior
only with the school and not with other parents. But when the
school is not responding adequately to concerns, gossip will
surely erupt -- because parents are frustrated. Cooperatives can
be absolutely wonderful places to put your children -- the
feeling of community is so strong and so immediate, for everyone,
you, the children, the teachers. Everyone's working toward the
same end and is tremendously invested in the quality and success
of the school. Your kids will have the experience of working with
a variety of adults, each with a different personality and set of
skills to offer, and their experience will be much richer because
of it. On the other hand, any kind of cooperative business is
tricky to sustain in a healthy way. And with a preschool there
are new people and new ideas about child rearing coming in every
year; parents feel strongly about the well-being of their
children (especially when they're very young); and if the
institution itself does not maintain a consistent policy and
philosophy year-after-year, and maintain constant clear lines of
communication between the parents and the teacher or
decision-makers, then definitely destructive forces like gossip
will crop up.
Cooperative parent
I don't think there are more gossiping parents in a co-op, but I
do think there are more opportunities for people to gossip at a
co-op, just because parents are around each other more. I have 3
kids who attended 2 different co-ops, as well as other schools
later. When most parents at a school are dropping their kids off
and not hanging around, the people who like to gossip have to
make more of an effort to find receptive ears. So you tend to
hear less gossip. But when 5 or 6 parents are spending all
morning together at a co-op, even if they are busy, there are
lots more opportunities for gossip to spring up. I have to hand
it to the teachers at CCC, the co-op my 3rd son went to. They did
a good job of discouraging idle talk at school. In the 4-year-old
class, parents were not allowed to discuss kindergarten plans at
school (which, if you have a 4-year-old, can totally consume
you.) And we were often reminded that we were there to be with
the kids, not talk to each other. Parents did socialize of
course, which is one of the benefits of a co-op, but the staff
did a good job of minimizing gossip.
There are always people who need to gossip regardless of the
school. It's not so hard to avoid it, though. Gossipy people
know the ones who like it and the ones who don't, and if you
don't seem like a gossip lover to them, they probably won't
gossip to you!
Peter Pan preschool coop is great in a lot of ways, much cheaper than
other coops and I really haven't noticed any gossip. I have only been
there for 3 months, so maybe I am out of the loop, but I just haven't
heard any. The teacher is very professional; the parents nice; its in a
beautiful setting. So you may want to check it out. My son is VERY
happy there.
Oct 2003
I have my daughter in a co-op preschool 2 mornings per week, but
wondered if any of these schools in the East Bay offer a program
with some full days or close to that (basically more than the 2-
3 mornings per week that most do).
Anon
Recommendations received:
Dandelion Nursery School
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