Participate in your child’s growth up close
Glacier Way isn’t a daycare; it’s a cooperative preschool. That means you get to be way more involved than just picking-up and dropping-off.
Our parents and caregivers serve hands-on in the classroom several times a month, and also help create the magic behind the scenes.
You’ll play an integral role in your child’s preschool experience and, together, build a love for school and plenty of fun memories.
Parent roles at Glacier Way
Curious to understand the specific parent commitment for Glacier Way families? Here’s the big picture (more details below):
Assisting in the classroom: each day, two or more parents assist the teacher in the classroom (it’s a ton of fun).
Parent job: every family plays a small role or two outside the classroom to help keep our school running efficiently. Examples include organizing field trips, making play dough, posting pictures and videos to our social media, or even serving on Glacier Way’s board of directors.
Fundraisers: families participate in school fundraisers (e.g. our annual holiday poinsettia/wreath sale) as much as possible — as a not-for-profit school, this helps offset Glacier Way’s operating costs.
How classroom assist parents work
Two parents/caregivers assist our teacher in the classroom each day. Each wears a special apron to designate them as today’s helpers to the children.
The Glacier Way secretary sends out a calendar at the start of each semester for caregivers to sign up for dates (usually 2-3 per month, but varies based on enrollment.) If conflicts arise later, families work together to swap dates or find coverage.
All of the adults who assist in the classroom have completed a fingerprint/background check.
In addition to the two official apron-wearing adults each day, other parents/caregivers are welcome to stay and participate in some or all of the class activities.
The job of classroom assist parents
The job of both assist parents is generally to help the teacher in the classroom and interact with kids as they play and create. Assist parents help encourage play and creativity, and handle ‘work’ like writing kids names on their art, wiping down tables, and shepherding toy clean up at the end of Free Choice time.
Each of the two assist parents on any given day also has a special duty to help class run smoothly:
Assist Parent A: ‘Snack duty’
Assist parent A is responsible for bringing, serving, and cleaning up a simple, healthy mid-morning snack (a fruit/veggie + something salty/crunchy/cheesy).
Assist Parent B: ‘Phone duty’
Assist parent B’s job is to use our class phone to take pictures for our private photo album and answer any calls. B also helps children wash hands before snacktime.
Parent testimonials about Glacier Way co-op