Co-Op Information

The best way to decide if Cottage is right for you is to meet us! Our admissions team consists of parents just like you who are eager to share our experiences at Cottage.

 
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WHY A CO-OP?

Many parents naturally want to become involved in their children’s education. Cooperative schools not only provide a structured way to allow such parental participation, but encourage it and may even rely on it. 

A cooperative preschool is the perfect way to be directly involved in your child’s introduction to the concept of school. At a co-op, you can influence the way your child’s early education is structured. Additionally, you and your family become part of a community of like-minded parents and educators. 

Additionally, thanks to the support and time commitment of member parents, co-ops are able to reduce operating costs, thereby offering more affordable tuition to families. 

WHY COTTAGE?

Cottage Co-op focuses on the "whole child", where social, emotional, physical and intellectual development are equally celebrated. Our approach emphasizes the role of the parent in the child's development and recognizes that we — the children, parents, teachers, and the community — all grow through the experiences we share.

At Cottage, we are strong believers in a child-led, emergent, and play-based curriculum. We spend a lot of time outdoors and emphasize the importance of play. We have small class sizes with a low adult-to-child ratio, enabling the kids to lead their own explorations and learning in a truly child-led manner.

You can explore a lot more about the Cottage way in our philosophy section. We also invite you to come see and experience Cottage for yourself. Fill out our contact form for more information.

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WHAT IS EXPECTED OF PARENTS?

  • Teaching in the classroom

    • Every family is expected to teach in the class with their child. Each class has one "yard parent" and one "snack parent" every day. The number of days you work in the classroom depends on your child’s class size. Generally, biweekly for the younger class and approximately monthly in the older classes. The classroom rep works hard to accommodate everyone’s schedules.

  • Parent Education

    • Cottage is all about learning! The Parent Ed pod hosts monthly events, covering various child development topics presented by experts in the field. This is a fun way to connect with other families and discuss parenting challenges, techniques, and philosophies. Each family is required to attend 4 of these events per year.

  • Pod Jobs

    • Each family is asked to take on a job for the school year. These jobs range from facilities maintenance, IT, fundraising, event planning, classroom maintenance, or even a position on the parent governing board. Parents are grouped into “pods” based on interest and need, and work together, with the pod leader, to fulfill the yearly goals. The expected time commitment varies by role.

  • Fix-It

    • Each family is asked to support the maintenance of our school by giving 8 hours of their time to our Fix-It weekends. The Fix-Its are scheduled one weekend day per month and tasks vary from staining the play structures to painting walls to any special projects requested by our teachers. Families fulfill this obligation by dedicating 4 hours per semester (8 hours for the year).

  • Financial

    • Each family is expected to keep current with their tuition and fees payments. Beyond these financial commitments, each family is expected to participate in the annual fund and fundraising events/activities.