We are a Cooperative
Prairie Flower Children’s Center is a cooperative of families with a passionate commitment to providing educational programming in which children’s hearts, hands and heads are nurtured at each stage of their development, and to building a community where families are strengthened by their involvement.
What is a Cooperative?
A cooperative education model integrates parents into the program, giving shared responsibility along with the teacher and the board of directors. Parents are involved in different aspects of operating and sustaining our programs. Together we build a village – one in which our children are surrounded by caring adults, the sharing of traditions and the protection and celebration of the magic of childhood.
Why the Cooperative Model?
The cooperative model has many benefits.
Commitments
Many hands make light work. Each child's parents ((or their designee—e.g. parent, teen-aged sibling, grandparent, close friend/godparent, etc.) are expected to provide volunteers for about ten hours per semester (e.g. helping with move-in, cooking/baking for an event at school, staffing an activity table at a festival, helping winterize the cabin, fixing a broken chair, making crafts for sale or working at a fundraiser, etc.--) in addition to tuition.
Examples of volunteer areas:
Teacher’s helpers Building & Grounds Maintenance
Seasonal Festivals Marketing/ Publicity/ Website
Fundraising
Prairie Flower Children’s Center is a cooperative of families with a passionate commitment to providing educational programming in which children’s hearts, hands and heads are nurtured at each stage of their development, and to building a community where families are strengthened by their involvement.
What is a Cooperative?
A cooperative education model integrates parents into the program, giving shared responsibility along with the teacher and the board of directors. Parents are involved in different aspects of operating and sustaining our programs. Together we build a village – one in which our children are surrounded by caring adults, the sharing of traditions and the protection and celebration of the magic of childhood.
Why the Cooperative Model?
The cooperative model has many benefits.
- Benefits for the children: Children understand the importance their parents place on education by seeing them contribute their time and talents to their children’s school. This parental involvement allows children to share their experiences with the most important people in their lives – their parents.
- Benefits for the parents: First hand understanding of the rhythms and beauty of Prairie Flower; Ability to share your ideas, voice, and talents to help the community; Become a part of the Prairie Flower “village.”
- Benefits for the program: Teacher gets to know families better; More consistency in handling issues between school and home due to regular interactions with parents.
Commitments
Many hands make light work. Each child's parents ((or their designee—e.g. parent, teen-aged sibling, grandparent, close friend/godparent, etc.) are expected to provide volunteers for about ten hours per semester (e.g. helping with move-in, cooking/baking for an event at school, staffing an activity table at a festival, helping winterize the cabin, fixing a broken chair, making crafts for sale or working at a fundraiser, etc.--) in addition to tuition.
Examples of volunteer areas:
Teacher’s helpers Building & Grounds Maintenance
Seasonal Festivals Marketing/ Publicity/ Website
Fundraising
