On behalf of Annandale 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.

Since 1947 Annandale Cooperative Preschool has been a place for parents to actively participate in their children’s education by working directly in our classrooms as teachers’ aides. The new requirements for staff orientation (22VAC40-185-240) and ongoing training (22VAC40-185-245) would impose an undue burden on our parents by expecting them to complete 16 hours of orientation and 20 hours per year of ongoing training.  Parents who are volunteering their time are simply not going to be willing or able to complete the same orientation and training requirements as our paid classroom teachers.

We request that the total number of training hours (both orientation and ongoing, collectively) for cooperative preschool parents be limited to the current 4 hours. Please remove the language "who are not considered staff" from section 22VAC40-185-245C describing the required annual training for cooperative preschool parents. Please include an exception for cooperative preschool parents in the new orientation training section 22VAC40-185-240.

Parents working in classrooms at Annandale Cooperative Preschool complete all of the background checks outlined in Background Checks for Child Welfare Agencies.  They work under the direct supervision of well qualified classroom teachers in our award winning, NAEYC accredited program.

I am a full-time working mom and my husband and I value this type of educational opportunity for our children so much that we have committed to taking personal time off from work to fulfill our responsibilities as part of the cooperative. Our child has had a significantly more positive experience here than what he had at a traditional day care precisely because of the type of commitment and passion that parents have for making this a quality experience. However, as a full-time working mom the proposed additional requirements would make our participation impossible. I sincerely hope that you will consider making the changes proposed above so parents like us who are dedicated to early-childhood education will be able to provide those experiences for their children.

Sincerely,

Dr. Meredith Ferro