Mission Statement

The Parent Cooperative for Early Learning is a full-day, year-round preschool, serving families who require care for their children. We are a multicultural community, organized as a cooperative, jointly owned by the families and professional staff. Parent Co-op is a partnership among the families, the teachers, and the community, attending to the social-emotional, physical, and cognitive needs of our growing children with a curriculum grounded in our teachers' knowledge of what is developmentally appropriate.

We depend on one another in order for the school to function smoothly. We value our diversity, family atmosphere, and the opportunities our children have to create, think, solve problems, work, and play cooperatively. Our children develop confidence through mastery and experience trust in a safe environment.

Our Curriculum

We chose the Creative Curriculum in 2008 to guide our classroom experiences. It is flexible, developmentally based and embodies our belief that young children learn through play. This curriculum rests on a firm foundation of research and responds to new requirements for academic content. The goals and objectives for two year olds and three-five year olds incorporate social/emotional, physical, cognitive and language development.

On Being A Parent Cooperative

The Parent Cooperative for Early Learning is a not-for-profit corporation that is collectively owned by our parents, who share the common interests of the care and the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development of our children, as well as the smooth and efficient functioning of the corporation. All parents who enroll their children are members of the corporation. Membership is also extended to the professional staff who are entrusted with the daily responsibility for our children and for the day-to-day management of the corporation.

The Cooperative relies on a high degree of involvement from our parents and strong supportive roles from the staff. Parents participate in activities ranging from Board and committee membership, fundraising, and donation of equipment to laundering sheets, making a classroom presentation, or going on a field trip. The partnership is essential for the organization to carry out its mission.

Licensing Standards for Day Care Centers

Parent Cooperative for Early Learning is licensed by the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. The city sends inspectors relative to plumbing, ventilation, electrical, kitchen, fire, and health and then licenses annually through the Department of Revenue. The Department of Children and Family Services (Illinois DCFS) has a department of day care licensing that assigns a representative who determines the appropriate number of children for the available space and looks at all aspects of the program, including credentials of teachers, number of toys and play materials, hours, discipline and other policies, menus, outdoors space, etc. The licensing representative makes regular visits and does a complete regimenting every three years. A copy of the state standards is available in the office for parents to read. Parent Co-op's and state licenses are posted in the office.