Member Responsibilities
Now that you understand what a co-op is and what makes Spring-Mar special, what does being in a co-op really involve for your family?
You have 3 basic responsibilities as a member at Spring-Mar:
- Serve as a classroom assistant, also known as “co-oping parent” or “parent helper”. Each day a parent is assigned to be there before, during, and after class to support the teacher, rotating with other families in the class (frequency depends on the number of students and the number of days the class meets per week).
- Provide community support. You’ll join a committee and perform specific duties to help the school. Every job is important, whether it’s serving on the Special Events committee to organize fundraisers and fun events or on the Property committee to make sure the school grounds and equipment are in top shape. We do our best to match every family with the committee that interests them most. A minimum of 8 hours per semester is required as well as working a shift at a school clean-up event.
- Complete parent training. To maintain our state license, all co-oping parents are required to earn their own education hours, 4 per year. These can be earned through training at back-to-school night, attendance at outside education sessions, or even by reading books and articles that focus on preschool learning and behavior.
Spring-Mar members will tell you that the responsibilities of being in the co-op are far outweighed by the benefits each family receives. Being so involved in your child’s earliest school experiences is a precious opportunity you won’t see again in elementary school or beyond. Our alumni tell us time and time again how happy they are that they took advantage of that opportunity while they had it!
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