Both stars are for the teacher, Mrs. Jordan…read more
Other than that, I don't recommend this school. I voiced my concerns multiple times throughout the school year and nothing was ever resolved. The main issue with this school is this: it is highly disorganized.
You're expected to raise X amount of money in fundraisers every year, but you'll usually get the fundraising pamphlet about 1-2 weeks before it's due. When do you pick up the items when they come in? You won't know and neither will the person RUNNING the fundraiser until a few days before (once it was literally the day before....) and if you're not there to pick up your items, you're fined $5.
Over half of the special events outlined in the yearly schedule never happened and the others were a disorganized mess. Details of the last field trip of the year were given two DAYS before the field trip (price, meeting place, etc). Ice cream was supposed to be brought to the last class for the kids, a parent brought toppings, and when we showed up, the board had decided to do cupcakes instead, without informing the parents. The Christmas party had, and this is no exaggeration, the dirtiest Santa costume I've ever seen. When I posted photos on social media, people commented asking me if they found him in a dumpster and such. This was after we paid for tickets to the party and contributed a monetary donation on top of that. The end of the year party changed locations and dates at least three times. I could go on and on. The board members do not communicate with one another, details change constantly, and unless you're sitting at home with a completely clear schedule, this system, or lack thereof, will stress you out to no end all year long.
You're expected to be an active part of the co-op, which was no issue for me, and "work" a few times a month in your child's classroom. By the end of the year, half of our class had withdrawn because of all of the above listed issues and I was "working" pretty much every other class. The president changes every single year (and the one they have for next year will only be there next year), so there is no consistency in leadership.
Co-ops are seen as a low cost preschool for parents who can't shell out hundreds and here, the cost is low for monthly tuition, but when you add on monthly field trips, the $150 fundraising goal (that is seemingly impossible to meet when the person running the fundraisers on the board doesn't even attend monthly meetings or communicate....), bringing snack 2-3 times a month, extra money for school/class parties, and monetary donations for presents for the teacher, you might have well just sent your child to a traditional preschool and saved yourself a lot of grief. We'd be paying $55 a month next year at Topsy and we'll be paying $85 for the preschool we chose.
Next year, there is one child from our class returning. That should tell you something. I hope Mrs. Jordan finds somewhere worthy of her.