On behalf of Hunters Woods Cooperative Preschool, I am requesting changes to the Proposed Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers, specifically in regard to the requirements for staff orientation and ongoing training. Parent cooperative preschools, which have existed for over 100 years, are placed in jeopardy in Virginia by the Proposed Amended Standards.

Current Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers recognize the critical role of parent volunteers in the parent cooperative preschool model by including for cooperative parents an exception requiring 4 hours of training annually. This exception recognizes the unique role that parents hold in a cooperative preschool, as well as the intrinsic value of an early childhood education model premised on parent involvement.

The Proposed Amended Standards as drafted, however, undermine rather than support the cooperative preschool model by requiring cooperative parents to either:

(1) Complete the 36 training hours (16 orientation, 20 ongoing) required of professional staff, or 
(2) Remain in constant sight and sound supervision of a staff member.

These two alternatives fail to recognize that:

1. Cooperative parents undergo the same background checks as staff;
2. Cooperative parents assist professional staff in the classroom 18-22 days/year, for a total of 45-55 hours/year (thus required training hours could be more than half of the number of hours in class for the entire year);
3. Cooperative parents serve a unique position in the classroom, where they remain under the guidance and supervision of professional staff but may at times not be in sight and sound supervision of staff.

These changes are unduly burdensome both to the cooperative parents who seek meaningful engagement in their children's educations and to the small cooperative preschools that rely on parent engagement to survive.

To preserve the parent cooperative preschool in Virginia, the Proposed Amended Standards should be revised to allow cooperative preschool parents to work in the classroom without sight and sound supervision of a staff member provided that the parent:

(1) Satisfactorily completes the same background checks required of professional staff; and
(2) Completes a total of 4 hours of orientation and ongoing training annually.

On a personal note I would like to say that as a former co-op preschool pupil, a current university professor, and a current parent of two preschoolers that I fully support co-op preschools as an option for parents. The offer opportunities that otherwise would not be available to many parents. Opportunities that require financial means (i.e. tuition and fees) that many families that make enough so that they don't qualify for HeadStart programs, but not enough to afford private preschools, just do not have. This is a precious resource that not only helps the children, it can also help the parents that participate form a connection with their child's education. These connections once started, can blossom over their child's academic career. Involved preschool parents are involved high school parents of the future.

Sincerely, 

James M. Hyman