A Parent Cooperative School

Clinton Path Preschool is a parent cooperative school, serving children from two to five years in a mixed-age, play-based program. The school was founded in 1972 by a group of parents and teachers. The co-op environment allows parents to remain a strong presence in the school. They share administrative and maintenance duties. The pre-school community benefits from close interaction with parents and teachers.

Our Program

Clinton Path offers a play-based program which aims to introduce children to group life, helps children develop satisfying and joyful friendships, and respectful feelings towards themselves and others. The environment is arranged to support free choice and focused activity; teachers encourage children’s interests by offering experiences and materials that build on previous play. The planned curriculum reflects children’s needs for individual expression and growth. Art, cooking, woodworking and physical activity
encourage experimentation and planning, while theme units promote long-term thinking about a topic, and provide experiences which challenge children to look at a topic in different ways. Field trips, visitors to the classroom and resources from libraries and museums enhance our planning.

Our Children

The program serves a mixed-age population, allowing children to experience relationships with children of different ages, and develop real feelings of empathy, responsibility and competence as they grow. Children generally attend Clinton Path for two or three years and develop strong bonds with teachers and friends. The strength of the school community supports each child’s developing sense of self in the world and their growth as an individual with unique skills and traits.

We have a maximum of 18 children per day, ages 2 through 5 years.

Our Cooperative Format

Parental involvement in the school is significant. As co-op members, parents perform diverse administrative and maintenance tasks, participate in planning and policy-making for the school, and have access to a community of families and teachers. The school welcomes parental visits at any time, and encourages parents to join their children at lunch, providing a relaxed opportunity for discussion with other parents or teachers. In addition to performing a co-op job, parents participate in two work days each year, attend bimonthly parent meetings, and are scheduled to do weekend cleanings of the school on a rotating basis. Throughout the year several social events are planned which provide more time for relaxed socializing.