Participation and Role of Caregivers

 
As a cooperative, all parents and caregivers are a part of the whole educational experience of the children. Whether it is as a facilitator, as a substitute facilitator, or as a support in other ways for the children, each family is given the opportunity to participate in a way that makes sense for them.
 
Our community-supported-education model uses a “share system” – in which caregivers are able to commit to a share for their child(ren) to take part in the program. Each season, the child(ren) would attend for 1-4 days per week, depending on the share.
Caregivers are also given the option to commit to offering a share each week. These would include one of the following:
 
  • Facilitation = 2 shares/week
  • Administrative = 1-4 shares/week
    1. eNewsletter
    2. Scheduling/Billing
    3. (Future) Fundraising/Event Planning
    4. (Future) Website Manager
    5. (Future) Airbnb Manager
  • Cleaning = 1 share/week
    1. Laundry
    2. Trash
  • Artistic Electives = 1 share/week for 2 offerings/week
  • Seasonal Volunteer Sign-ups for special offerings
    1. These are not in exchange for a share, and can be offered by community members
 
Available shares for parents are dependent upon the number of children in the program. Weeks before the start of each season, the available shares will be listed and parents will be given the opportunity to sign up on a first-come, first served basis. We will also take into consideration those parents who may not have had an opportunity to have a share in the previous season, and will give priority to them.
 
There is one head facilitator, a parent, who is present every day of the program. Assistant facilitators must commit to one day per week for the entire season. Facilitators have weekly check-ins at the end of each week either in person or via email.
 
As a cooperative, we make decisions using the consensus model. We meet monthly or biweekly, depending on the season, to discuss how the program is working, our finances and to hear new ideas and questions. Meetings are documented by a scribe, who takes minutes. The minutes are then shared with the parents via email.