Parent/Guardian Participation
We invite all families to become part of the Center community. Parent(s)’/guardian(s)’ involvement in their children’s lives at the day care center is the best way to bridge the gap between home and school. This participation is achieved in a variety of ways each day. We encourage communication with teachers and administrative staff when parent(s)/guardian(s) are bringing in and picking up their children. We try to inform and involve parent(s)/guardian(s) through bulletin boards, field trips, potlucks, and meetings, visits to the classroom to participate in activities or to eat lunch, parent-teacher conferences, and a monthly newsletter. Be sure to check your child’s cubby daily for announcements, letters or other information from the staff or the Board.

Involvement by parent(s)/guardian(s) is also vital to keep the child care costs as low as possible. Part of the Enrollment Agreement that is required for enrollment is a committment to contribute 3 hours annually. Families who fail to meet this obligation will be assesswed a $50 feeprior to the end of the fiscal year in August. One of the easiest ways to meet this committment is to participate in one of the four Saturday morning parent workdays that are scheduled each year. A log of the parent participation is maintained by the Center Director with help from the Parent Planning Committee. Families can make alternate arrangements with the Director to meet the participation requirement and avoid the $50 fee.

Many opportunities are available to parent(s)/guardian(s) to be involved in the day care center. Listed below are projects/activities from which parents can choose. We also encourage parents/guardians to come up with their own ideas for participation.

• Serve on the Board of Directors.
• Serve on a committee of the Board.
• Serve on the Parent Organization.
• Come to parent work-days.
• Participate in classroom enrichment: do something special for your child’s class, such as talking about your job, bringing in something special to share and talk about, etc.
• Help with a fundraising event.
• Accompany your child’s class on a field trip.
• Build, paint, or repair classroom equipment.
• Help with the Center newsletter.

The Center Director and the staff are happy to talk with you about these and other projects.