The mission of SCP is to provide a positive first school experience, and a high quality, affordable child care option for the children of Starksboro and the surrounding communities. We wish to instill a love of learning through play and exploration, and to prepare children to enter kindergarten ready and able to succeed to their best ability.

The Starksboro Cooperative Preschool is governed by a Board of Directors which devotes many hours of volunteer time and expertise.  Board meetings are held monthly, and parents are encouraged to attend.  We host four social events each year as well, and occasional parent information nights.  We employ two paid teachers who share teaching responsibilities with parents on a daily basis.

Our Philosophy:

We believe that HOW children learn is as important as WHAT they learn, and that the greatest learning occurs through social interaction.  We wish to promote the following qualities: caring, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control. 

Our Curriculum:

Our play-based curriculum offers a variety of activities in the fields of art, music, science, pre-math and pre-literacy.  Our goal is to produce invested, self-motivated learners.  By reinforcing social and academic skills, we build a sense of community and a positive climate for learning into our curriculum.  We incorporate both small and large group activities  each day.  Along with two circle times, we meet in learning groups daily.  Each learning group is led by an adult, is comprised of 3-4 children, and focuses on a specific area of learning.  We also have free play, a group story,  snack, and outside time each day. 

Because we are a cooperative, there is a different parent in the classroom each day.  This benefits both the parents and the teachers, but is especially enriching to the children.  We all benefit by sharing our unique cultural experiences and perspectives.