SPSCC Affiliation

The Olympia Westside Cooperative Preschool is affiliated with South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC). This affiliation offers numerous benefits to the preschool and members of the preschool for a nominal cost.

Being affiliated with SPSCC offers the preschool support and guidance, liability insurance, health and safety regulations and financial oversight. Affiliation with SPSCC provides WCP with an SPSCC staff member known as a Parent Educator who provides guidance and support for families as well as the WCP Board. One parent of each child who attends WCP enrolls in SPSCC, earns college credits, and takes advantage of the benefits of being a SPSCC student.

What You Can Expect From Our SPSCC Parent Educator:

Regular parent education material in form of speakers, handouts, email communication, etc
Individual parenting support and communication, responding to individual requests on specific needs and challenges
Classroom observations with feedback to parents and teachers
As needed mediation & support between parents, board and/or teachers
Best practice information to address changing dynamics, new resources, and development in the field of child development and education.
Coordination of earning three college credits per quarter at SPSCC plus an additional credit for WCP Board members

SPSCC Affiliation Benefits

Benefits of SPSCC Affiliation for Co-op Preschools

Parent Education:

Monthly parent education material in form of speakers, handouts, email communication
Individual parenting support and communication, responding to individual requests on specific needs,
challenges, and referrals for screening or counseling
Classroom observations with feedback to parents and work with individual and groups of children
Mediation & support between parents, board and /or teachers, based on need (IE: parent compliance,
behavior challenges and plans, disagreements between board members, parents, and or teachers)
Providing best practice information on a need basis to address changing dynamics and new resources
and development in the field of child development and education.
Coordination of earning two college credits per quarter at SPSCC

Teacher Support & Continuing Education:

Classroom observations with feedback to teachers on curriculum, problem solving challenges for individual and groups of children
Sharing of resources related to best practices in ECE and child development
Providing Teacher In-service learning opportunities, coordinated with other co-op teachers, SPSCC Coordinator and faculty
Providing best practice information on a need basis to address changing dynamics (IE: new teacher)
and new resources and development in the field of child development and education.
Support for mediation between parents, board and teachers, based on need (IE: behavior challenges and plan development for children’s success, disagreements between board members, parents, and or teachers)
Occasional supply money, dependent upon budget, ranging from $250-100, for teachers to order classrooms upplies.
This is SPSCC budgeted faculty supply money that has been given to preschool teachers for the last 5-6 years.

Board Support and Communication :

Guidance on best practices related to ECE and insurance compliance/safe environments
Annual board in-service training opportunity for board members on a variety of topics
Annual compilation of Teacher Assessment/feedback
Annual compilation of General Membership Evaluation/Feedback
Annual training and support to board chair, treasurer and health & safety coordinators with family educator/faculty member and college coordinator. Ongoing resources when requested or as needed.
Ongoing support in the business of running a preschool, as needed. Varies based on experience of board members and situations that arise in a given year, but topics may include, personnel supervision, budget development, agenda development and running of meetings, communication. Ongoing support, as needed, to board members as challenges or situations arise e (IE: new site investigation, disgruntled members, new policy development, health issues such as outbreaks of disease, … )
Participation in hiring committee processes
Collection of information, as requested, such as tuition survey of area preschools , best practices, and preschool environments
Processing of Washington State Patrol Checks annually and as new families enroll.
Coordination of earning 1 college credit per quarter for participation in preschool board.

Overall:

Opportunity to purchase liability insurance as part of the state wide co-op preschool program at a significantly reduced rate.
Opportunity to receive all of the benefits awarded to a student at SPSCC including utilization of student services such as library and career counseling, use of recreational facilities at Evergreen State College and SPSCC, student discounts at area businesses and ride IT bus for free.
Quarterly advertising in college course catalog to all households in Thurston County, on SPSCC website and on Facebook page.
Publicity at all Parenting Tools/SPSCC sponsored events with flyers and information.
Administrative Assistant at SPSCC who takes calls and refers to co-op preschools inquiries that come through SPSCC.
Relaying of information and changes statewide and locally on early childhood, preschool and childcare, and health
& safety best practices through college coordinator and faculty participation in OPEP, regional parent education forums and early childhood coalition.

Documents and materials that are provided by SPSCC/OPEP:

Co-op Preschool Parent Handbook provided to parents each fall
Risk Management Manual outlining best practices related to insurance and safety
By laws and some policies – need to be rewritten to exclude FE/SPSCC role and language
2nd Step teacher curriculum
Some teacher curriculum materials and parent education resources
Some board materials such as Financial Review Form and some job descriptions/handbooks, mainly Health & Safety, Treasurer & Chairperson

All would need to be returned to SPSCC and or recreated for preschool use in the event of disaffiliation.

Supporting documents: SPSCC/Coop Preschool Agreement, Role of SPSCC, Role of Family Educator.

SPSCC Student Information

South Puget Sound Community College Student Information

Did you know that parents participating in co-op preschools and completing the SPSCC registration form are entitled to all of the benefits that come from being a student at SPSCC?

Once you have a student ID with a current sticker, you are entitled to:
Student discounts or free admission to college events, including concerts, lectures, recreational and athletic events,
Use of the SPSCC Library and Media Center,
Unrestricted travel on the Intercity Transit Bus System,
Discounts from businesses that participate in the Student Discount Program, and
Use of recreational facilities at the Evergreen State College at free or reduced rates.

If you already have a student ID from SPSCC, you may get a quarterly validation sticker from the bulletin board in the preschool. If you do not have a student ID and are interested in obtaining one, you must go to the Office of Student Life in the Student Union, Building 27, to have a photo taken. Co-op parents are not required to have a student ID. It is optional, but one of the many perks of co-op preschool participation!

For directions and information on obtaining a student ID, contact:
South Puget Sound Community College
Student Programs Office
Student Union Building, second floor
(360) 754-7711, ext. 5306

It is highly recommended that you call prior to going to the Office of Student Programs as certain days will be very hectic with long waits for your photo ID. Fall quarter IDs will not be available until the last week of September. Let the Student Programs Office volunteer know you are enrolled in SPSCC through the Co-op Preschool Program.

The Role of SPSCC

The Role of South Puget Sound Community College

Your cooperative preschool has signed an affiliation agreement with South Puget Sound Community College for this school year. Every spring your members will vote whether or not to affiliate with the college for the following school year. The College/Co-op Preschool Agreement says that you, the parent, will fulfill certain requirements (see sections of this handbook on the Parent’s Role). In return, you will receive from the college:

A parenting course “Cooperative Preschool”, which includes instruction and practice in early childhood education, parenting and family relations, leadership training, and small business management.
A program coordinator is responsible for program development, implementation and coordination of Parent Education Advisors.
Services of part time Parent Education Advisors whose salaries are paid by the college.
Publicity which helps your cooperative enroll new members.
Group medical and liability insurance plans (preschool pays the premium).
Inservice training, networking, and individual help for teachers, board members, and advisors to further their professional development.
Parent handbooks, board training materials, parent education handouts, recordkeeping forms with a limited printing budget.
Access to College student services, counseling, and library/media services.
A photo student ID card for enrolled parents. This may apply to you if you are a board member, have more than one child enrolled, or otherwise commit many hours to the preschool. Ask your advisor. ID card allows access to South Puget Sound Community College library and student events, use of the recreational facilities at The Evergreen State College, and student discounts at many stores and cultural events.

THE PARENT EDUCATION ADVISOR

Your Parent Education Advisor has received college-level training in child development, education, and guidance. She is a part-time instructor at South Puget Sound Community College and is supervised by the Parent Education Coordinator. Her duties, within the limits of her contracted hours are to:

Assist cooperative preschool members in providing a high quality children’s preschool program.
Work closely with other Advisors to prepare parent education and other materials to jointly benefit the cooperative preschools.
Plan, attend and evaluate all joint co-op board trainings and teacher inservices.
Complete all necessary college recordkeeping including college registration forms; quarterly reports of parent hours, tuition, and credits; grading; make-up project documentation; advisor work hours logs; and annual program evaluation.
Meet with the children’s teachers at least once per month, during teacher inservices, classroom visits, or individual meetings to conference about children and their progress, plan and improve the children’s and parents programs and involvement, and assist the teacher in planning professional development.
Conduct classroom or child observations at parent or teacher request.
Consult with parents on parenting and family issues, share possible resources and referrals, both during parent meetings and scheduled at parent request.
Attend and assist with all board meetings. Consult with board members and committees as needed.
Attend the preschool class as the parent’s instructor as planned cooperatively by the teacher and advisor.
Plan, present or arrange parent education meetings in accordance with course goals and objectives (see next page).
Assist with special projects as agreed by advisor and preschool board, such as hiring, relocation, classroom arrangement or parent library.
Maintain high professional standards, particularly in the area of confidentiality. Take advantage of opportunities for professional growth.
Carry out any additional duties as described in the South Puget Sound Community College Part-time Instructor’s contract, College Handbook, and Parent Education Department’s Advisor Hours Description.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE PARENT COOPERATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS
State Board of Community College Education Resolution 82-1
GOALS: The goal of Washington community college parent cooperative preschool education program is to improve the parenting skills for parents of pre-school children.
OBJECTIVES: Parent education programs based in parent education cooperative pre-schools provide practical, experiential learning laboratories which have the following student objectives:

To develop realistic age-level expectations from knowledge of normal childhood behavior and growth.
To clarify child rearing values and attitudes and explore methods of child guidance.
To learn about the physical needs of family members: nutrition, safety, first aid, childhood illnesses, exercise and stress management.
To experience and understand the role of parent involvement in maintaining a quality learning environment for children.
To develops skills and practice in teaching young children in the following areas: art, science, concept development, language, music, motor skills, and cooperative play.
To share support, consultation, and resource information concerning childrearing and family life.
To learn about contemporary family concerns such as child abuse, divorce, sexual assault, illness and death, and family resource management.
To develop skills in group organization and leadership.
To develop and/or increase confidence in managing the demanding role of parents in a changing society.
To strengthen family communication and relationships.