My Story

So, why do I want to help form a cooperative preschool in Pensacola?

Well, I have lived in Philadelphia now for almost three years. My husband, two children, and I moved up here from Jacksonville, FL so that Jamie (my husband) could pursue his desire to change careers and attend law school. Now he is in his last semester of law school (thank goodness!) and we have had no luck finding jobs here. He has been offered a great job at a law firm in Pensacola, where his childhood friend practices, so we are on our way back to FL this summer!

While we have been here, with Jamie in full-time law school and working, many things have been difficult. Money has been tight. Time together as a family has been scarce. Being at home with two little ones without much help has been wearing at times.

But, one thing has always been perfectly delightful and wonderful this whole time and has made everything worthwhile: Jude's school. I would be stressed about money, annoyed by bickering kids, and I would enter his school and it would wash that all away. The community there is like a family and the kids are having so much fun while they grow, explore, and learn. It is our second home.

And I am proud to be one of those parents who can truly believe it when I say, "My son's school is the best school on earth." And I really believe that this would not be possible, would not be quite the same, if this school was not a cooperative.

The school Jude is attending the Cooperative Nursery School. It is here in Philadelphia, in a building next to (and owned by) the Unitarian Society of Germantown, a Unitarian Universalist church here. The school is not affiliated with the church and is secular in nature. They simply rent the space from the church. The school has been around since 1967 and is run by the parents. It has a great reputation. Kids who attend the school are actually sought out by several area private schools after graduation.

When I learned that we would be moving to Pensacola, a bit of my heart broke at the idea of Ruby not being able to attend CNS like I had always hoped and planned. So, I began my online and over-the-phone search for preschools down there. I was disappointed to find that there were no cooperative preschools, but I was not surprised. I knew this was a trend up here. There are actually two co-ops just in my area of town and I don't remember ever hearing about co-ops when I was down south.

So, being the ambitious (or some might say crazy) person I am, I thought, "Well, why not start a cooperative school?" Other groups of parents have done it all over the country. A group did it here and created such a magical school. So, why couldn't I, with the help of some other interested parents and educators, create such a school? If people could just hear what a co-op is like, many parents would love the idea.

I knew there was a Unitarian Universalist church in Pensacola (the Unitarian Universalist Church of Pensacola) and thought I would just give them a call first and see if they happened to have space they would be willing to rent for a preschool. I chose the UU church just because it is what I am familiar with, being a UU myself, but also because I knew that most other churches would probably hesitate to support a secular school.

I didn't really expect that this would work out. But, very quickly, I received a call back from the minister, Reverend Julie Kain. She not only said they had the space, but that they would be thrilled to rent it for a preschool. She said this was a hope of hers for a while. She had even offered the space to some area preschools, but nothing had panned out. So, not only was it a possibility, but something she and others at the church were really excited about.

Now, you have to admit that sounds like fate. If you believe in that kind of thing, which I do.

So, now what? Well, first of all, I need help. I need parents looking for a unique and special preschool experience for their child. I need parents who are willing to do a bit of work to make their child's school a success. I need a loving and experienced preschool teacher or two. I need a qualified director (who could possibly also be a teacher at the school). And I need anyone and everyone who is willing to help in any way.

It will be a lot of work, but our children are worth the work. They deserve the best school on earth. Or, at least, in Pensacola.