Parent participation is a huge part of what makes Open Gate tick. Through it, we grow as parents, develop community, support one another, and build a school that nurtures us all.
Classroom Participation
Typically, parents participate in their child’s classroom one day each week. You rotate through different areas such as the game room, the art room, the kitchen, etc. In the classroom, we observe our own children and their peers, develop skills and strategies we can take home with us, and have a terrific time making fun messes and exploring our world.
Is weekly participation too much? That’s okay, we’ve got part-time options!
For parents that need or prefer something less frequent, Open Gate also offers part-time participation with the following monthly tuition adjustments:
- Working in classroom 3 times per month: +$40 tuition increase
- Working in classroom 2 times per month: +$80 tuition increase
- Working in classroom 1 times per month: +$120 tuition increase
Parent Education
Parents attend one evening parenting class each month, generally at Open Gate from 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Your child’s teacher leads your parent education, and together with your classmates you’ll learn about child development, parenting strategies, and educational approaches, looking to the children in the class to provide real-world examples and help you learn. Plus, you’ll laugh a lot, get support for the challenges of parenting young children, and make friends for life! Learn more.
Service to the School
Open Gate is parent-powered! We each have a job for the year that lets us contribute to building and sustaining our supportive community. Jobs, organized into teams, range from animal caretaker to purchaser to treasurer — there’s something for everyone. We also:
- Participate in our annual All School Cleaning.
- Perform a maintenance task such as sterilizing toys or repairing costumes (one a year, flexible schedule)
- Contribute an hour of service at both the Auction and Holiday Fundraising events.
Fundraising Commitment
We ask each family to contribute at least $250 each year to Open Gate through fundraising. But don’t worry, you won’t be selling wrapping paper to your friends! We have a variety of fun activities that build community while we fundraise.