As a cooperative school, Laurel Hill depends on the support of its parent and caregiver community. Our families’ dedication to the school is an extension of the dedication they have for their children. At Laurel Hill, you not only get to see your child in action you get to learn from a wide variety of other parents. It’s inspiring to see how many people are willing to go beyond what’s required and to feel empowered by pitching in.
Participation Requirements for Member Families
In order to keep our tuition affordable, the school relies on our member families to keep the school running. As each family is contributing their time, they also gain invaluable hands-on experience in play-based learning, attend free child development seminars and learn how to operate a school under a cooperative model. The following are family participation requirements for members of our co-op:
Workday
One 3 hour shift per week. Each family commits to do one workday (3 hour shift) per week at the school where they work alongside the teachers and other parents leading activities and supervising the children. Your family will be assigned a specific day of the week for the course of the school year (for example, every Tuesday morning). Although you are always responsible for that day, families are generally very flexible with one another in swapping workdays in a given week if something comes up and you need to switch days. For many members, workdays are the most fun and valuable part of the co-op experience.
Parent Education
5 parent education meetings for the year The Parent Education and Curriculum Support Committee at Laurel Hill provides parenting support and community building opportunities as we grow our collective parenting knowledge together. The committee facilitates a number of free parenting speakers and meetings on topics including child development, discipline/connection strategies, and child health and safety issues. The four Core Philosophy meetings are an integral part of our program and led by the Laurel Hill staff. These events are usually held in the evenings, although some opportunities are made available during the day.
Committee Hours and Volunteer Hours
Each member family will serve on a committee and pitch in on work parties and school events. Each family is assigned to a committee for the year, for example, the Beautification committee, Auction committee or Parent Education committee. These committees keep the school running and each family can generally expect to spend on average about seven hours per semester on committee work.
In addition to the committee work, each family completes six additional volunteer hours outside of their committee. These hours are generally on the weekends, although some opportunities are for evenings or weekdays.
Business Meetings
Business meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month. One caregiver from each family attends the monthly evening business meeting. This meeting is when committees meet, the Board and Director share information about the operation of the school and the membership votes on any relevant matters.
Fundraising
Each family participates in fundraising efforts for the school, including purchase of raffle tickets for our Auction Fundraiser. The raffle tickets typically equal one month’s preschool tuition.
Single Caregiver Families
Reduced obligations for single caregiver families. Recognizing that time is more limited in single caregiver families, single parents or caregivers are only required to complete a portion of the work hours and attend a portion of the business and parent education meetings. If you are a single caregiver and would like to discuss the member obligations and how to make it work for your family, please reach out to the Director (sabrina@laurelhill.org) or the DEI Chair (dei@laurelhill.org).
