GREAT FALLS — Applications are now open for next school year at Great Falls Parent Participation Preschool, but GFPPP is not your ordinary early childhood education establishment.
The Great Falls school was created with two unique missions in mind. First, to provide more affordable preschool options for families in Cascade County. According to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, average preschool costs around the country range from $4,000/year to over $13,000/year. GFPPP Board Member Kelsey Kojetin says that this is because preschools offer education as well as guidance through a vital period of development to growing children.
“Education is important, especially early childhood education,” Kojetin said. “Not only are they learning academic skills, but they’re learning social and emotional skills as well, which is extremely important.”
At Great Falls Parent Participation Preschool, teachers and board members strive to make their options more affordable for families. Two day a week classes cost around $100/month, while three day a week classes cost $145/month.
The second unique thing about this school is in the name, Parent Participation. “This preschool was started by a group of parents that wanted to be involved in their children’s education, and it’s been a really cool experience to see what they do in the classroom and then practice that at home, and build off those skills that they’re learning in the classroom because I’m aware of it, because I’m here,” explained Kojetin. “I’m not here every day, but about once a month, and then as we pick up our children, we all help out with cleaning and different duties like that.”
Many parents can relate to that time when you ask your child what they learned at school today, and their answer is some variation of “nothing” or “I dunno.” I can vividly remember telling my parents something similar, even as an older kid in middle and high school. You can’t really blame kids for it, they spend all day in school for up to five days every week, depending on what grade they’re in. When they get home, of course they want to talk about anything but school.
The idea behind GFPPP is that parents can now graduate from asking “what did you learn at school today” to “do you want to practice those new words or math problems you learned today?” It might seem like a simple variation, but it’s working. “They’re learning some of those really basic soft skills at this early age of three or four,” said Kojetin, who has a young daughter of her own. “Being involved in the classroom as a parent, and building on those skills at home is extremely beneficial, and I’ve just been really impressed about this program.”
If you want to learn more about the school or how to submit an application, the school is having an open house on Wednesday, February 26, and Thursday, February 27, from 10 am to 6 pm on both days. Class will be in session until noon, but Kelsey said that interested families are more than welcome to come before then and experience the classroom environment first hand.
Click here to visit the school website.
