PAC (Parent Advisory Council) is the group of co-op representatives which meets monthly during the school year to discuss matters of shared concern (scholarship, resources, enrollment, etc.) and to act as an advisory group/liaison with the NSCC staff and co-op program administration.
The NSCC-affiliated Parent Advisory Council is comprised of one representative from each of the 42 NSCC co-ops plus an NSCC parent educator/faculty member in an advisory role. Each member serves either in a board or committee position. We meet once a month to discuss current co-op issues and to review PAC business. Our operating budget comes from annual PAC dues (currently $66 per co-op x 42 coops or about $2600 for the year). Scholarship money is NOT part of the operating budget—it is separate. The reason PAC exists (aside from being a NSCC requirement) is for the further empowerment of each individual co-op. We gain strength by pooling and sharing resources and knowledge among our 42 member co-ops, representing 750 to 800 families, and combined NSCC parent education faculty.
One critical PAC activity is to provide quarterly parent education seminars and lectures, free to our families and the general public, featuring some of our area’s leading experts on education and childhood development. The Parent Education Committee arranges for speakers to discuss such important topics as sibling rivalry, emotional intelligence, and how to choose a great school for your child and family.
The Registration Committee supports co-ops by training parent coordinators in the entire registration process, and recommends standardized procedures to every coop in the system so that parents can have reliable expectations. It also orchestrates open registration to enroll new children and monitors openings at individual coops in order to assist co-ops that need help to fill those empty slots.
PAC’s Kindergarten Readiness Committee creates and updates the Kindergarten Readiness folders that are given to each co-op in the Fall, and maintains up to date web resources on the subject of school tours, application deadlines, and readiness. This comprehensive resource saves co-op parents time and energy by providing information about Kindergarten options in the Seattle area. By being available to all co-ops, not just the 3-5s, it’s a terrific way for parents to get a head-start on the process.
The Communication Committee supports our co-ops by publicizing co-op events, teacher position openings, and other co-op business. It produces a monthly newsletter and maintains our web site (northseattlecoops.org) to inform and educate co-op members and the general public about important dates, ideas, related classes and seminars, cooperative preschool solutions and techniques from other preschools, teacher openings, and fundraising opportunities. It also works to promote our preschool program to the outside world, encouraging enrollment.
The Health & Safety Committee was formed as an ad-hoc committee in 2006 to compile emergency preparedness resources for co-op classes. As a standing committee the following year, it developed guidelines regarding food allergies, intolerances and preferences in preschool children.
Each co-op makes an annual contribution toward the PAC scholarship fund, which helps make the cooperative preschool experience available to families not otherwise able to afford it. Qualifying families receive awards of up to 75% of their co-op tuition. The Scholarship Committee works with parent educators to confidentially evaluate applications and distribute funds. Each year, around 80 families, or 10% of our co-op population, receive scholarship assistance. 100% of the money raised for the scholarship fund goes to tuition assistance.
Each co-op is responsible for supplying to the PAC scholarship fund an annual “minimum financial commitment” based on the number of students enrolled in that co-op. The scholarship contribution is currently $25 per enrolled child. Co-ops typically meet their PAC Scholarship contribution through fundraising. PAC maintains a resource list of fundraising options, as families should not be expected to pay higher tuition to meet the scholarship donation commitment.
Continued...... PAC ScholarshipPAC Meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of each month during the school year.
Meeting time: 9.30am-11.30am