Membership
Advantages to a Cooperative
The obvious advantage of a cooperative is the benefit to your child of your involvement in his/her preschool. Your child will experience first-hand the value you place on education and look forward to the days when it is his or her turn to have a parent in school.
Of course, you'll experience benefits as well. As part of a cooperative, you'll get to:
- Observe successful teaching methods, suitable play materials for various age groups and student progress in all areas.
- Read a story, sing a song or lead a cooking project in your childs class.
- Get to know your childs teacher and friends and participate in movement, music, science, center time, circle time, snack, outside play.
- Lend your special talents, skills and care to the benefit of all Spring-Mar students.
- Network with other parents who share common interests and goals.
- Attend parent education workshops on topics such as Positive Parenting, Kindergarten Readiness, and Learning Through Play.
- Have an active voice in school policy and operation.
Spring-Mar strives to celebrate the diversity of families in our community, while remaining non-denominational and inclusive of all backgrounds. We encourage parents to share their traditions and build new ones with the school for all children to enjoy.
Parent Participation
Spring-Mar offers parents a unique opportunity to be involved in their child's early school experience. As a member of the cooperative association, you'll:
- Be a "parent helper" in your child's classroom (typically once every three to five weeks). On the days that you are the parent helper, you must provide a nutritious snack for the class,
arrive early to help set up and stay late to help clean. Each "parent helper" must undergo training, have completed a background check, and have an up-to-date negative TB test and health form on file with the school. Each family must have one eligible parent helper; many families have two or more.
- Be scheduled for "On-call" days (typically a few
times per school year). On the days that your family is "on-call", you
will make sure that an approved Parent Helper is available to serve as
a substitute Teacher, Aide, or Parent Helper, as needed.
- Complete 12 Community Hours per semester. Community Hours can be fulfilled through work on school committees, volunteering at our fall and spring consignment sales, and participating in school maintenance work parties. Each family will
be assigned to work on a committee or specific job. We work with each family to find ways to contribute which fit your skills, interests, and schedule.
- Chaperone occasional field trips as needed, without siblings.
In addition, many parents volunteer to serve on Spring-Mar's Board of Directors.
We encourage the entire family to be involved in our community, including working parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, and other favorite adults.
Many working parents find involvement in Spring-Mar is a great way to keep connected with their child's daily activities and education.
The Spring-Mar Community
Spring-Mar understands the importance of community. We work hard to help children and families get to know each other and communicate throughout the year,
including:
- home visits by the teacher to meet your child
- new member mentoring/shadowing
- member orientation and training
- school mailing list, including weekly teacher updates
- class play dates and field trips
- parent education classes
- holiday parties and special events
- playschool for younger siblings
- committee work, especially the consignment sales and work parties
As we are a small community, we work hard to help each family find suitable ways to contribute, including scheduling "parent helper" duties and community hours to
accommodate your family's other commitments. Spring-Mar also encourages parents to explore babysitting exchanges with other parents to watch younger siblings when needed.
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