Excellence in early education relies on our teachers’ profound knowledge of child development and related areas. It also relies on the further recognition of the many other variables that foster an appropriate foundation for the very basic requisites of human qualities: individual intelligences, ethical attitudes, aesthetic awareness, a thirst for learning for its own sake, and the balance between one’s autonomy and that of social responsibility.

In a cooperative structure like Our School, parents are involved in this process of excellence. Our teachers’ responsibility is to give help when needed and support the positive contributions of the parents. Our School does not regard children as teachers’ or parents’ "possessions"; instead, the school respects parents as the "guardians" of the lives they created or adopted, and teachers for educationally nurturing basic human qualities in young children. Our School acknowledges parents’ and teachers’ awesome responsibility on behalf of young children for the future world in which they will live.

The parent’s involvement in the educational component of Our School is comprehensive. This gives families a variety of opportunities to meet their individual needs and interests. Our School realizes that raising children with guidance rather than indoctrination requires a long commitment and growing understanding by the parents. To give support in a parent’s commitment, the Our School teachers offer:

• Regular class session meetings to update the parents and discuss curriculum matters, questions, comments, and to exchange observations. It also provides parents with an opportunity to socialize with other parents in the session. Attendance is recommended.
• Workshops/seminars on Early Childhood topics chosen by consensus by the Board of Directors. Some examples are creativity, social limits, literature, violence, etc. It also provides an opportunity to socialize with other parents in the school as well as with potential families. These seminars are open to the public and are free of charge. Attendance is recommended.

For good daily functioning of the school, the preservation of its quality program and its financial stability, we have some basic requirements:

Classroom Assistance ( Co-op)

A family member is required to assist a minimum of once a month in the session their child(ren) is attending. The parent’s degree of assistance depends on their child’s ability to separate and the co-oper’s level of comfort in the situation. Our teachers recommend that co-opers observe, observe and observe and then share their observations with our teachers. In this way, the co-opers quickly learn the variety of learning styles, interests and abilities of all the children, not just their own. We recommend that they avoid telling children ”how to” unless it’s needed for safety or hygienic reasons. Co-opers are also encouraged to take risks as our teachers will support them or give them tips.

The co-oping parents' responsibility also includes cleaning after the session is over and making time to discuss the session with the teachers if possible.

August Workday

Each family is required to give three hours each August for the school’s cleaning day. Activities include cleaning inside, organizing art material, painting furniture, repairing the play ground and making other improvements.

Semi-Annual Meetings

As a tax-exempt and non-profit educational institution, member families in the school are required to attend two annual meetings. One in the spring to elect our executive committee and one in the fall to discuss the budget. These are also social events for all.

Fundraising Auction

This festive, entertaining dinner auction is the single fundraiser for the school. This one evening raises enough money to fund the tuition assistance program and assist with the budget. The event is usually preceded by a “kick-off” party and organized by a steering committee. Participation requires attendance at the “kick-off” party, joining a working committee and attending its one training session, selling dinner and raffle tickets to the event, and, most importantly, enjoying the auction with your guests and friends.

These are opportunities for families to give more than required to ensure the quality of the program, to become more involved in the functioning of the school and to enjoy social events with other member families.

School Picnics

Two picnics are scheduled each year - one at the beginning of the year to welcome back returning families and meet new families and one in the spring to say good-bye. These family potlucks are great opportunities for families to build relationships. They are typically held at Boulder area parks or at the school yard and usually attendance is high.

Other

• Volunteer on the Board of Directors as an elected or appointed school official.
• Volunteer on a limited basis to clean, weed, or make repairs to the school yard.
• Search for free or low cost resources for the program as identified by the teachers.
• Encourage prospective families to attend open houses and/or visit a session.