August 15, 2025 Vol. 55, No. 9 | | |
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
And the Winner is... | Wild Med Fundraising Update
Regional Co-op Collectives | Communications Reminder
Grant Evaluators | Thank You, Sponsors! | Now Hiring!
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For many of us, these hot summer days seem like they'll never end! They mark the transition from pool days, family vacations, and a little less structure to the preparation of classrooms, the purchase of school supplies, and the excitement that comes with the beginning of a new school year. As you head back for your first day or soon will, we know it will be another great year of continuing to learn for teachers, caregivers, and students alike. The mission of cooperative preschools to partner together to give young children a high-quality early education never goes out of style!
As each school community works together toward the cooperative mission, PCPI continues this work as well. The 2025-26 school year will be filled with opportunities that we hope you'll take advantage of, from teacher and board trainings, to regional support through huddles, to our 2026 Annual Meeting - and so much along the way! We hope you'll take note as we make these opportunities available throughout the year.
Best wishes for the best school year yet!
Cooperatively yours,
Melissa Ranck
Editor, Cooperatively Speaking
pcpinews@preschools.coop
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At the start of the summer, we asked about your ideal summer activity, and the majority of you were longing for a shady spot and a good book. We hope you got what you wished for! Now as we shift into back-to-school mode, we want to know:
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| What is your favorite thing about the start of preschool? | | | | Thanks for Supporting PCPI! | | THANK YOU for partnering with PCPI and Wild Med once again! Through this year's partnership, PCPI received a generous $834.20, which will be distributed back to the cooperative community via our grant opportunities coming this fall. Thank you to all who registered for this virtual CPR + First Aid certification opportunity! | | | PCPI would love to highlight your fundraising success stories! Does your school have some helpful tips to contribute? Please take a moment to fill out this short survey and tell us what has worked for you. | | Regional Co-op Collectives | | Last spring we held our first ever "huddles" to give schools an opportunity to gather together within regions. We were so excited to build connections within the Northeast, Southeast, and East Central regions. As another school year begins, we look forward to facilitating more online meet-ups across the US and Canada. Be on the lookout for us to announce the dates of three additional huddles happening for co-op schools and interested parties in the following provinces and states: | | |
West Central
Huddle
Manitoba, Saskatchewan
Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas
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Mountain West Huddle
Alberta
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
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Pacific West
Huddle
British Columbia
Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington
| | Huddles will 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. Registration coming soon! | | Live in one of these regions and want to contribute by facilitating a huddle alongside a PCPI board member? Reach out! | |
Don't forget, we want your help to highlight how exceptional the co-op experience is! Use #pcpischools to share fun activities around your school and #pcpiteachers to acknowledge the wonderful things co-op teachers do for your community in and out of the classroom.
| | Interested in getting involved in our communication efforts? Do you bring experience in website development or social media management? Reach out to learn more about joining PCPI's Communications Committee! | | 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! | | Call for Grant Evaluators | | |
Love the co-op community and looking for a way to get involved and have a broader impact? Consider joining our committee of grant evaluators! This group meets in the winter to review applications for the grants available through PCPI. This role is perfect for anyone who only has a little time to give but wants to be inspired by the amazing projects happening within cooperative schools. Curious to learn more? Contact us!
| | We are so thankful for our sponsors and their ongoing collaboration with PCPI. The work we do to support cooperative preschools could not happen without you! | | Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact PCPI to learn more! | | Tauxemont Cooperative Preschool is located in Alexandria, Virginia. Learn more here! If you are interested, please send your resume to Jessica Meyer at 1stVP@tauxemont.org. | |
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!
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