November 14, 2025 Vol. 55, No. 12 | | |
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
And the Winner is... | PCPI Grants | Grant Information Session
Grant Recipient Recap | 2026 Annual Meeting Date
Regional Co-op Collectives | Welcome, New Members! | Join Us!
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We hope the month of October was full of opportunities to celebrate your community during Cooperative Month. Let PCPI help strengthen your community and give you one more thing to celebrate: consider applying for one of our many grant opportunities. Applications for several grants are being accepted now through December 15. See below for more information.
Speaking of strengthening our communities, the date has been set for the 2026 PCPI Annual Meeting! This year we'll be traveling to Milpitas, California, where our meeting will coincide with the California Council for Parent Participation Nursery Schools Annual Convention. See below for additional details. We hope you'll consider joining us to be inspired and contribute your own experience as part of the co-op community!
Finally, a great big WELCOME to our new PCPI members, and THANK YOU to all who renewed your membership for 2026 (it's not too late to join us!). It's an honor to partner with you, and we look forward to being a resource to support the good work you're doing.
Cooperatively yours,
Melissa Ranck
Editor, Cooperatively Speaking
pcpinews@preschools.coop
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Last month we asked about your "fall personality," and it turns out we have a pretty equal number of pumpkin spice influencers, life pile jumpers, flannel fashion icons, and Halloween candy hoarders! As the weather turns colder and several holidays are upon us, we want to know:
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| When do you usually start your holiday shopping? | | | | Now Available: PCPI Grants | | Don't wait too long to submit your grant applications! Requests must be submitted by December 15, 2025, with determinations made for recipients by January 15, 2026. We can't wait to hear your ideas! | | - Apply for the Anne Eddowes Cooperative Spirit Grant to help build spaces that create a legacy for the future of your school, while strengthening bonds and encouraging community within your current membership.
| - Established schools or newly forming schools can apply for the Co-op Support Grant for short-term financial assistance to help with unexpected immediate needs.
| | - To help fund parent education projects, PCPI members in U.S. based schools and councils can apply for a mini-grant from the Becky Allen Fund.
| - Canadian members may apply for the Katharine Whiteside Taylor Grant to support a parent education program in the spring of 2026.
| | PCPI Grant Information Session | | |
Curious to learn more about the many grant opportunities available from PCPI? Join us for a virtual information session open to PCPI members and non-members. Come ready to ask any questions you may have. Please register in advance to attend. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the virtual meeting.
Thursday, November 20
4 pm PST/7 pm EST
| | As you think about how your school community might be able to utilize a PCPI grant, check out these updates from 2025 Becky Allen Fund recipient Fayette Cooperating Preschool in Kentucky and 2025 Katharine Whiteside Taylor recipient Baker's Corner Preschool in British Columbia. | |
The Fayette Cooperating Preschool hoped to reestablish a tradition of annual parent education programs, which had fallen by the wayside during the Covid pandemic. The hope was to bring in a nationally recognized speaker and to engage families with a free community event. The Fayette Cooperating Preschool invited Dian Gano, M.Ed. to present "Play is FUNdamental: Keys to Kindergarten Readiness and Lifelong Learning." With funds from the Becky Allen Grant, the school met its goal.
Despite a February snowstorm which shut down local schools and made roads a bit treacherous that day, parents and teachers came out to hear Dian talk about Kindergarten Readiness. Dian even brought materials for parents to try some hands-on exploration of their own! Parents loved the engaging speaker and expressed their desire to have more parent education nights. Plans are in the works for a speaker this winter. Thanks to the Becky Allen Grant for helping to renew our commitment to parent education.
Thanks again to PCPI for its leadership and support for the parent cooperative model of education!
| Baker's Corner Preschool was very pleased to hear that we were the recipients of this year's Katherine Whiteside Taylor Grant. We have used the funding to purchase access to online parenting resources (courses and toolkits) that cover a variety of topics from boundary setting to body safety. Our parents have already started to access these resources, and we are thankful that we will have them available to our families moving forward. | Thank you to Executive Director Mary Brenzel with Fayette Cooperating Preschool and Baker's Corner President Christina for sharing your updates with us! 2026 PCPI grants are now open, and we can't wait to hear your ideas. | | Want to support the mission of PCPI and the broader co-op community? Donate toward one of our grant funds! | | | | |
The date has been set for PCPI's 2026 Annual Meeting! We'll be gathering in Milpitas, California, March 5-8, and we'd love to see you there. Please save the date and watch for more details coming soon!
(Travel grant applications and PCPI award nominations coming soon too!)
| | Regional Co-op Collectives | | PCPI has one final huddle happening this fall for co-op schools and interested parties in the Pacific West region. "Huddles" give schools an opportunity to gather together within regions. They take place virtually and are open to PCPI members and non-members. Topics on the agenda may include: operations with/without a local council, common challenges, boosting enrollment, legislative issues, co-op success stories. | | |
Know someone who may be interested in attending?
Please share!
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Pacific West
Huddle
November 19
4 pm PST
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British Columbia
Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington
| | We want to offer a warm welcome to our newest members. We're glad you're here, and we look forward to getting to know you better! | | Is there something special about your school community that you just can't help but share? Interested in being highlighted in Cooperatively Speaking? Reach out and tell us more! | | Thinking about becoming a member of PCPI? Membership is open to schools, councils, libraries, and individuals who recognize the value of parents as teachers and the necessity of educating parents to meet the developmental needs of their children. Click here to check out the many benefits PCPI has to offer! | |
A PCPI Members Google Group has been created to give us another avenue to share ideas and information. This has replaced the Yahoo Group which is no longer active.
Joining is easy!
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Click the button below to send an email to PCPINews@preschools.coop.
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Use the subject line: Add to Google Group.
- Include your first and last name, your school and/or council name, and the email address you'd like to have added. (If there are multiple people in your school who should be added to the group, you are welcome to include all of their information in one email.)
Group members will receive a daily digest of messages exchanged. Message threads will be grouped by topic for easy searching later. Spread the word!
| | Thank you to our sponsors: | | Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact PCPI to learn more! | | | | |
