Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool Benefits
Today, cooperative preschools are enjoying a renaissance thanks to changing attitudes towards work and family, and to many parents’ desire to play a larger role in their child’s development and education.
What are the benefits to children?
- School is special when a parent is there to share it.
- Children develop a more positive attitude toward school.
- Children see the value their parents place on education.
- School is more easily extended beyond the classroom, leading to a lifelong habit of learning.
- Children develop a greater sense of pride and self-esteem from “showing off” their parents.
- Parents have involvement in all aspects of their child’s education and a voice in school decisions and policymaking.
- Children build relationships with familiar, loving adults who accept each child in a safe and nurturing environment.
What are the benefits to parents?
- Families get stronger as moms and dads develop their parenting skills and increase their awareness of their children’s development and needs.
- Parents can learn about child development and parenting throughout the co-op — in the classroom, at parent meetings, et cetera. Co-ops also can teach parents how to advocate effectively on behalf of children.
- A co-op is a network of friends with many of the same interests and concerns, who can accompany each other through the good and the challenging times in parenting.
- It’s exciting and enlightening to observe one’s child interact with peers and other adults in a group setting.
- Parents have an opportunity to contribute their talents and perhaps discover new ones.
- Parents have involvement in all aspects of their child’s education and a voice in school decisions and policymaking.
- Communication with teachers and school staff is more frequent and more effective
Information in these pages regarding co-ops and how they work was gratefully borrowed and adapted from Parent Cooperative Preschools International and Agassiz Preschool in Cambridge, MA.
