Cooperative Schools: For Do-It-Yourself Parents and Kids Who Find Public School is Not Enough

by Kiersten Marek

The classroom at PTC*, a parent-teacher-child cooperative school started in the Fall of 2002 in Providence, is one large, high-ceilinged room in the French American School Building, with a span of tall, southern exposure windows. PTC has six students this fall, and two of them are children of the teacher. Next year they hope to expand to at least 10 children, and possibly cover the middle school grades as well as grades 1 through 5.

Most non-public schools start small their first year, and in this way PTC is no exception. But in many other ways, this is an exceptional learning environment, at a unique point in its development. How many school children start the school year by building the chairs and tables with their parents and teachers? How many parents choose the curriculum with their children and teachers? How many parents are directly involved in their child's education?

For some, this is a radical notion: actually being hands-on involved in your child's learning, but as a new parent myself who has enjoyed watching and participating in the progression of my infant and toddler's learning, I can see the appeal of PTC. Since visiting the school, I have thought of what it would be like to go into my daughter's school to teach a writing workshop, or to participate in a cool science experiment. Wouldn't it be great if her physical education curriculum included yoga? We might be able to carry out some of these innovative ideas in our public schools locally, though. But in speaking with parents at PTC, I heard themes of disappointment with public education.

"We got a sense that people didn't trust the public schools in Providence," said Hijab Chaudhary, a pediatrician and mother of 6-year-old Nayab, who started at PTC in November. "We visited some of the private schools in the area, but a lot of them are just too expensive, and there are long lists to get in." Dr. Chaudhary added that private schools didn't seem to have the level of involvement she wants in her daughter's education. "I want to work with a motivated group of parents," she said.

Co-president of the school, Susan Hradil, says parents are expected to participate in various jobs that contribute toward "making sure the school runs smoothly." These jobs include "publicity, supply monitor, snack monitor, treasurer, payroll, teacher liaison, field trip coordinator, etc." She explained that the school philosophy is based on the Reggio Emilia approach to early education, which suggests that parents be more involved in their children's education to celebrate the educational successes, and help overcome the educational obstacles.

If possible, parents of PTC students are asked to bring their knowledge or interests into the school curriculum. For example, parent Mitch Berkson, an electrical engineer, and father of 6 year old Madeleine, teaches science at the school. So far, they have done science lessons on aerodynamics, experimenting with paper airplanes and reading about the Wright brothers. In another science lesson, students studied live worm behavior, finding out whether the worms preferred light or dark and moist or dry environments. Of course, all worms were safely transported back to their environments of choice after the experiments.

Berkson described other science curriculum he has brought to the school, including lessons on the solar system, where students learn about the planets. They studied details like their relative size and weight. To help students comprehend the distances between the planets, the class used a roll of toilet paper to measure out the distances.

Berkson is also teaching computer programming at PTC. "We are currently learning the Logo programming language," he wrote in an email, "which will segue into programming robots."

PTC has received full accreditation this year from the Department of Education. All parents who engage in teaching roles at the school are required to have BCI checks, as mandated by the State Department of Education guidelines.

The school day at PTC starts with a morning meeting of students and teacher. Students are given index cards which have their subjects and assigned work they must do in each lab book. Lab books are the math, spelling, and reading booklets that provide lessons and exercises. Since the age range of students at PTC is from 6 to 11, students are working on different levels in their lab books.

PTC is not free, but by the standards of the current cost of private grade school education, the cost is very reasonable. The cost for this calendar school year is $5,995.00. For next year, Susan Hradil estimates the tuition will be about the same. "We were hoping initially to set it lower, but that wasn't feasible," said Susan.

Susan has a PhD in literature from Brown University and formerly taught Women's Studies and English at Oberlin. Now, her daughter, Cassandra, is in the second grade at PTC, and Susan is experiencing her daughter's education with much more ease and nearness. In the local public school where Susan lives, her daughter spent an unfulfilling first year. "It wasn't awful," said Susan. "It just wasn't as wonderful as I wanted it to be for her."

"I wanted Cassandra to have more of a role in her own day-to-day learning," Susan added. "I wanted her to have the space to ask questions and be heard."

Susan wanted more for her daughter. A lot of parents do, including myself. The question is, can we get it from our public school system? Shouldn't we invest the resources of our parental concerns for good education into the public system, if at all possible?

But if that system is failing big time, I'm glad to know there are options like PTC. It was a unique pleasure to spend time in the classroom, where, for now, children have a bit more space to learn and question and grow. Like small fish in an extra big pond, swimming together in groups of two and three, or sometimes solo.

Resource Links

ERIC/EECE, a Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education

CoopSchools.com, a resource on cooperative schools

SchoolGrants.org, providing information on K-12 grant opportunities

National Association of Independent Schools

Private School Resources at KidKanuck

Information on Reggio Emilia, an approach to education based on small communities in Italy where 12% of the town budget is dedicated to toddler and elementary education.

Authentic Childhood: : Experiencing Reggio Emilia in the Classroom (Amazon link)

Bringing Learning to Life: A Reggio Approach to Early Education (due out Jan 2003)

Information on Beth Olshansky of The University of New Hampshire's Laboratory for Interactive Learning

*Please Note: In the Fall of 2004, PTC officially changed its name to The Laurel School. You can visit their website at http://thelaurelschool.org.

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Kiersten Marek is an editor of Kmareka.com and a licensed independent clinical social worker.

Copyright © 2003 Kiersten Marek. All rights reserved. Reprint rights? Contact us.