On behalf of Rock Spring 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.

As a mother of two young children, spending time with them during their school day has been a blessing for me and my husband. It has allowed for us to be part of their development in a way that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. We both have full time jobs outside of the home, and the hours we can dedicate to co-oping provide insight on their skills, their likes and dislikes, and to participate side by side with them in the fun and learning they are provided through RSCP. 

As it stands, we are grateful not only to be part of their classroom, but also to have the opportunity to volunteer through the school and meet other moms and dads in our community. This would not be possible if the school was set up any different than it is today. Additionally, the cost for childcare in this area is at an all time high whether it’s in school care or in home care, and the current school system allows for a slightly lower and more manageable cost.  

The proposed new training requirements for parents who volunteer at cooperative

preschools are much too burdensome for parents of young children. Additional training hours for parents would ultimately create extreme difficulties in time management and most importantly cut down spending quality time with children and families. It simply is not feasible to ask parents to undergo 16 hours of orientation training and 20 hours of annual training.

We ask 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.

Cooperative preschools have been a valued early education option in Virginia for decades. Our school, Rock Spring Cooperative Preschool, was established in 1943. The

traditional cooperative preschool model has many benefits for children and families including low tuition (because the parents serve as unpaid classroom aides) and deep, meaningful parental involvement in children's early education (widely acknowledged as

beneficial for children's development).

In order to comply with the new regulations, cooperative preschools would have to hire aides so that parents would not be counted in staff ratios. This would not only

reduce the significance of parents' roles in the classroom, but would also raise tuition so significantly that many families could be left without any affordable preschool options.

We respectfully urge you to seriously consider and further, implement the above changes to the proposed regulations in order to preserve the viability of traditional cooperative preschools.

Our school community would just not be the same with the proposed changes. 

Best regards,

Nicole Harding 

Mom of 2 year old Case and 3 year old Pierce