What's a Co-op Preschool?

A Co-op is...

Narrows Cooperative Preschool is part of the preschool network overseen by Bates Technical College. A co-op lets parents participate in their child’s education. You volunteer in the classroom with other parents and caregivers—this means a high adult to child ratio and lots of helping hands and individual attention for each child.

Co-op preschools have affordable tuition and a very high quality program. We use approved practices within the guidelines of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Parents receive lots of support and information from early childhood professionals at Bates Technical College and in the community. Our classes are visited monthly by our Bates Early Education Specialist, who is also available to answer parent questions and provide guidance, and hosts quarterly Parent Share sessions during class time and other parent education opportunities. This is covered by a small quarterly fee paid to Bates in addition to tuition.

In fact, when you register at Narrows, you register as a family—you select one caregiver in your family to be enrolled as a student at Bates. That person earns continuing education credits by working in the classroom and attending Parent Ed opportunities.

Parent Board
In addition to the teachers and support from Bates, Narrows is run by a volunteer board of member parents. This board keeps the school running and makes it possible to have low tuition. You can participate in shaping the school!