QACP requires a cooperative effort. Parents and/or caregivers are involved in their child’s education both inside and outside the classroom.
In class: Every member works one day a week in the classroom on a scheduled workday. In the Twos and Threes/Fives classes, if the member is unable to attend, they arrange a substitute (partner, nanny, grandparent, other cooperative parent). Additionally, parents rotate providing snack responsibilities.
Monthly Meetings: One or more caregivers from each family are required to attend a monthly parent meeting (Aug-May) to discuss class business with their preschool teacher and class parents and to meet with their parent educator who will present on a relevant parenting topic for the class. In September and April the class meeting is replaced with an All School Meeting.
Parent Education: One caregiver for each enrolled child must enroll with North Seattle Coops (NSC) for the related Parent Education course (included in tuition). Each class is assigned a parent educator who attends class one day per week, presents on a relevant developmental topic at monthly meetings, and provides one-on-one parent support as needed. From the NSC web page: “Parents receive valuable parent education over the course of the year from an NSC appointed Parent Education instructor. Many parents list this as their favorite part of co-op, and it is an important part of our preschool culture.”
All-school clean up: At the end of the school year, all members pitch in for a thorough classroom cleaning and a festive end-of-year picnic at a local park to kick off summer.
Jobs: It takes a village to run a cooperative preschool so each family signs up for a class, All School, or Board job to support the school’s operational needs. Jobs include admissions, treasurer, class secretary, fundraising, class coordination and more. Expect to devote around 20 hours over the course of the school year to your co-op job.
Fundraising: Ensuring our school’s financial stability is a crucial part of our job as QACP members. Each family is required to make a $120 fundraising contribution per school year. You will also have the opportunity to buy QACP t-shirts, placemats and other items throughout the year.
Queen Anne Co-op Preschool 