Family Participation

Family involvement and participation is a cornerstone of the Schoolhouse community. Parent involvement connects families to their child’s school life, deepening relationships with their child’s teachers and with other families. Participating in building, maintaining and evolving an active, engaged, caring community of learners can be a profound experience for Schoolhouse families. In addition, as part of our family jobs program, having parents handle some school functions typically managed by paid staff allows the school to keep overhead costs  — and tuition — as low as possible.

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All families are responsible for: (1) working in partnership with their child’s teachers and actively participating on their child’s education team, and (2) participating in the Schoolhouse community in the following ways:

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• contributing time, skills, expertise and energy to a family job

• supporting your child’s teachers with classroom resources as needed

• hosting one Wednesday Teacher Appreciation lunch each year

• attending Parent Meetings during the year

 

Contributing to a Family Job
Family jobs are the living link to connection, involvement and community-building at the Schoolhouse — volunteerism at its best. The options for family jobs are as wide and varied as our school. Each family chooses a specific job each year, and jobs are matched to parents’ stated interests and skills and can be tailored to a family’s lifestyle, schedule and availability. The minimum requirement averages out to 1 hour a month during the school year or several hours within one month (e.g. organizing a school event).

Supporting Your Child’s Teachers
Each teaching team is in charge of designing the curriculum and deciding how parents can best support their multi-age group, with the support of Room Parents. Some teachers prefer that parents provide assistance outside of the classroom. Some teachers encourage the assistance of parents within the classroom environment. Most teachers will require assistance with Adventure Days.

Teacher Appreciation: Snack Time
Once a year, each family donates coffee, drinks and snacks for the teachers and staff. Bringing food to the educators began the Schoolhouse’s first year as a way for parents to express their appreciation to the teachers by fun treats for them to snack on throughout the day.

Attending Parent Meetings
Schoolhouse has a tradition of hosting monthly parent meetings and/or family events. For the current school year, there will be meetings that include parent education, Back to School Night, and other similar events. Childcare is available for evening meetings.