Drama in the Preschool

The preschool that I sent Julia to last year and will again this year is a co-op. For those not familiar with a co-op, the parents basically run the school (with the exception of teaching the classes) and work in the classrooms as teacher's aides. It's a little less expensive than a traditional "drop your kids off preschool" but the reason I like it is that i get to really be involved in the experience and get to know the parents and kids a little better. For the most part, the parents and teachers are very like-minded, good people who are very involved in their kids' lives. My mom sent us to a c0-op preschool and really loved the experience.

For the past few years enrollment at the school has been down. This year it is even worse. The economy doesn't help and the uncertainty has led to many moms returning to work or families deciding to forgo preschool (which I don't get). Since enrollment is down, there are many parent jobs that have not been filled. Mainly the auction that raises about 25% of our funding is without a team to run it. I represent our classroom for the auction and did so last year too, so they came to me to see if I would be interested in co-chairing it. Ugh...not really, but do I have a choice? Fortunately, a returning parent that ran the auction several years ago stepped up to do the job, so it's not so bad. I will be her go-to-gal. Hopefully my organization skills and ability to be calm in the midst of chaos will compliment her high energy. November can't come soon enough.

Yet the drama ensues...we were told that due to the low enrollment over the past few years, we've been operating in the red. This year will be no exception and we're depleting the school's savings. It's sad, because the school has been around for over 40 years and is one of the only co-ops in operation in the area. It bums me out, because i really like the school and the teachers. But what are you going to do? It's a sign of the times we're in. Stepping back, this isn't the end of the world. There are other preschools and it is "just preschool." We'll enjoy this year and in my quest for a young 5s program for Julia for next year, we'll hope that we don't have to also look for a 3 year old class for Jimmy at a different school.