In addition to working in the classroom, parents hold a family job. These jobs typically take between 2-4 hours per month and help keep the preschool running smoothly.
Board Positions Descriptions
Co-Chairperson (2)
- Generates agendas and conducts all meetings of the executive board and general membership
- Helps the board to develop and meet goals for the year
- Acts as liaison to the landlord
- Signs legal documents such as the lease, teacher contracts, etc.
- Coordinates preschool set up and clean up (September, January and May)
- Promotes communication among group members, teacher and parent ed instructor
- Acts as toddler class/parent ed instructor liaison
- Initiates and oversees advertisement efforts in collaboration with teacher and parent ed instructor (including organizing open houses)
- Keeps reference binder organized and up to date
- Preferably 1 first year and 1 second year parent
Parent Leader – Scheduler (1)
- Prepares and distributes monthly parent work schedule
- Schedules set up and clean up helpers
- Coordinates 2 extra parents when substitute teacher is needed
- Takes minutes and records attendance at meeting not attended by the secretary
- Accepts suggestions from the members and works with the teacher and parent ed instructor to resolve conflict
- Keeps reference binder organized and up to date
Parent Leader – Family Job Coordinator (1)
- Assigns family job positions to incoming parents
- Oversees Safety/Maintenance family job position to ensure compliance with all necessary forms and procedures
- Coordinates with teachers to ensure support needs are met, reassigns parents as needed
- Educates parents and board on family job responsibilities
- Educates parents and board members on giving tours (i.e., all the information that needs to be shared while giving a tour to a potential new family (e.g., parent responsibilities including family job, classroom helper, extra cleaning session, mandatory parent ed classes))
- Accepts suggestions from the members and works with the teacher and instructor to resolve conflicts
- Keeps reference binder organized and up to date
Registrar (1) & Assistant (1)
- Acts as first point of contact for new families
- Receives, records, and responds to phone calls, e-mails and web requests from prospective members
- Provides information about the preschool, teaching staff and mechanics of the co-op to prospective members
- Arranges and often conducts observations or tours of the school
- Collects and maintains forms, keeps treasurer and scheduler informed of changes
- Makes up class roster and updates it throughout the year
- Fields inquiries from outside the school, does general public relations
- Conducts registration of the next year’s class that will begin in the following fall
- Emails board and web manager when new families join (particularly important for scheduler and hospitality coordinator to receive new families’ contact information)
- Prepares file folders for all new parents
- Accepts suggestions from the members and works with the teacher and parent ed instructor to resolve conflict
- Keeps reference binder organized and up to date
- No classroom work duties for the months of January and February (due to high work load)
- Assistant should be 1st year parent who plans to continue as Registrar the following year
Treasurer (1)
- Collects and disburses funds as approved by the members and work with accountant to record these transactions
- With the help of the accountant, submits a tentative budget for approval of the members at the beginning of the school year and notifies the group if running expenditures and income do not conform to the plan
- Presents a monthly report to the board on financial status prepared by the accountant.
- Works with the accountant to prepare a year-end report and submits books for audit by incoming treasurer and the instructor at the close of the year
- Conducts a mid-year audit with the Parent Educator
- Checks supplies against inventory checklist at least monthly to ensure adequate equipment
- Purchase and maintains all supplies (napkins, paper cups, paper towels, etc.) for the school
- Purchase art supplies as requested by the teacher or art room manager
- Purchase special supplies as needed by the group
- Keeps sales receipts for all expenses
- Accepts suggestions from the members and works with the teacher and instructor to resolve conflicts
- Keeps reference binder organized and up to date
Secretary (1)
- Prints our daily sign up sheets
- Maintains and updates informational and seasonal bulletin boards
- Records minutes of the buisness transacted at the parent ed and board meetings
- Promptly posts minutes of board and parent ed meetings on the informational bulletin board
- Promptly informs web manager of preschool news, events, meeting minutes, etc.
- Takes attendance at parent ed meetings and sends attendance information to scheduler and parent ed instructor
- Accepts suggestions from the members and works with the teacher and parent ed instructor to resolve conflicts
- Keeps reference binder organized and up to date
Family Job Descriptions
Hospitality Coordinator & Communications Liaison (1) & Assistant (1)
- The preschool has two school parties. We host a Pumpkin Carving Night in October and a Valentine’s Party during school time. The position arranges all the activities, gathers supplies, decorates, recruits volunteer helpers, etc.
- Plans and assissts with all parties and special events for the children in coordination with the teacher’s requests
- Surveys families at the beginning of the school year to gauge interest in educating about holidays that are celebrated by the families at the preschool. Informs families that join mid-year of the holiday policy for that year and ensures all families have the opportunity to educate about their important holidays inside or outside the classroom, depending on the policy for that year.
- Plans monthly parent social events and community building events (e.g., parents coffee, potluck dinners, etc.)
- Makes birthday crowns and birthday surprises and has at school in advance of each child’s birthday (best to do at the beginning of year, good to make 4-5 extra)
- Make an extra crown and surprise to leave at the school in case of unexpected circumstances
- Sends cards and/or gifts for births, illnesses or other events that occur among the group during the school year and coordinates any other assistance parents may choose to offer such as meals or babysitting
- Organizes extra play dates during the month and during school breaks
- Assigns board buddies to all parents
- Ensures new families that join mid-year are introduced to the preschool community
- Promotes communication among group members, teacher and parent ed instructor
- Lead group efforts for any community outreach projects that the group may choose to do, such as food drives, holiday basket projects, etc.
- Accepts suggestions from the members and works with teacher and parent ed instructor to resolve conflicts
- Keeps reference binder organized and up to date
Web Manager (1)
- Creates google group for preschool communication and ensures all new families join the group
- Creates (closed) Facebook group for parent and ensures all new families are invited to join
- Creates Shutterfly account and keeps it up to date as new families join throughout the year
- Maintains and updates the school’s website (including registration information, brochure, news/events and posting meeting minutes to the parent section of the website)
- Prepares parent classroom badges with photos at the beginning of the year and when new families join
Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) Representative (1)
- Attends all meetings of the PAC at BC and reports back to our group at the parent ed meetings (PAC meeting are usually held once a month on Monday evening)
- Takes any parent concerns or suggestions from our group to PAC
- Handles PAC fundraising activities for our group (in the past this has been selling Chinook Boos and tickets to the Spring Fair drawings)
Art Room Manager (1)
- Checks art supplies against inventory checklist monthly and alerts treasurer of needed art supplies (paint, glitter, glue, etc.)
- Provides a supply of play dough for the school on a regular basis
- Makes other art mixtures at the teachers request (cinnamon dough, cornstarch clay, etc.)
- Cleans the art room floor and equipment once a month
- Launders towels approximately once a week
- Repairs and launders aprons, dress up and doll clothes as necessary
- Aids teacher in cutting our and preparing materials for projects
- Helps make games or learning materials for the classroom
Wednesday Clean Up/Monday Set Up Helpers (8-10)
Each Wednesday all of our items are moved into the art room and we tidy up the space for the next user. Each Monday we have to set-up the preschool for the week. Clean Up/ set up takes approximately 30 minutes. It is best if your child attends on Mondays or Wednesdays. Every week you will either set up on Monday mornings at 8:30am or clean up on Wednesday while the kids play outside (clean up extends slightly beyond school hours on Wednesday that children do not play outside due to inclement weather). Your child may come with you to Monday set up.
Examples of tasks: Vacuum preschool (including entry way), wipe down tables and chairs, Empty/fill sensory table when needed, turn shelving units around, store/set up other equipment, sweep & tidy kitchen, put away dishes, stack/set up cubby bins in entryway and take out garbage
Maintenance and Safety Coordinator (1)
- Creates allergy sheets with photos for all the children with allergies and posts near snack area at the beginning of the school year. Ensures all new families joining preschool mid-year have allergy sheets created and posted, if necessary.
- Checks outdoor equipment periodically including sheds
- Orders wood chips or sand for outdoor area as needed
- Arranges an outdoor work party if needed during the year
- Arranges for any repair or painting that indoor equipment may need
- Checks in with teacher and the board monthly for any maintenance or safety issues that may come up
- Keeps first aid supplies and emergency supplies up to date
- Assists with the emergency preparedness plan for group
- Maintains safety risk management checklist and notebook at school
- Confirms compliance with insurance checklist quarterly
- Cleans and organizes shed twice yearly
- Cleans the door tracks on shed 3 times per year (Sept., Jan., May)
- Acts as a liaison with church for repairs that church is responsible for
Field Trip & Special Classroom Speaker/Photographer (1)
- The preschool takes a field trip appoximately once a month. The school is closed on field trip days.
- Meets with teacher at beginning of year to coordinate field trips and special programs
- Posts sign up sheets on the bulletin board
- Coordinates with treasurer to collect all fees for field trip
- Arranges payment for tickets/admissions by the treasurer if necessary
- Informs BC Parent Ed office of field trip plans for insurance purposes
- Sends reminders, maps, detailed directions and contact information for field trips by email at least one week prior to trips
- Sends thank you letters to all non-paid hosts or guest speakers
- Takes pictures of each child and his/her parent during first two weeks of school and displays on a poster in the classroom. Updates the display when new families join or leave the preschool
- Has admin privileges on Shutterfly along with web person, and should help make sure it is current
- Takes pictures at school parties and field trips or assigns someone at each event
- Sets up a professional photographer (such as Yuen Lui) to come and take class and individual pictures (optional for parents to purchase)
- Keeps reference binder organized and up to date
Fundraising Coordinator
If we are able to fill all other positions and someone has an interest in helping the school with fundraising, we would love your help. Fundraising may be used to help cover costs for extra field trips, replace failing equipment no in the normal budget, or help to fund extra scholarship money. Tasks include:
- Initiate fundraising efforts for the preschool (including a possible garage sale in the fall or spring)
- Present information at parent ed meetings to explain the reasons for fundraising, the process of the particular fundraiser, and the desired goals to be met
- Follow up throughout fundraiser to motivate parents and to initiate the collection of funds, distribution of products, or implementation of crafts
- Work with the treasurer or assistant treasurer to collect funds and pay fundraising partners
- Review effectiveness, ease, and popularity of fundraisers
- Ask parents to contribute new ideas for future fundraising efforts
- Keep binder organized and up to date