Southwest Parent-Child Collective

Fantastic school! Come join us for our open house for the 2016 – 2107 school year! The open house is Saturday, February 6^th, 2016 from 1030 am to 1230 pm. No reservation needed. See you there!

If you’ve been looking for a special preschool for your kids, I highly recommend SWPCC (Southwest Parent Child Collective, near Multnomah Village and Hillsdale). They are having an open house on Saturday, February 7^th, 10:30 — 12:30. Address is 6053 SW 55^th Drive, Portland, 97 221.
Here are some of the reasons why we love it:
— Starts as young as 1, up to age 5
–Lots of other «stay at home dad» families
— Don’t need to be potty trained, ever.
— Inexpensive. My boy goes 3 days/​week, 9 – 1. It costs us $ 212/​month.
— Outside time, rain or shine, for a little over an hour (a lot in a 4 hour day that also includes snack and lunch)
— Mixed ages when outside, classrooms by age (1 – 2, 2 – 3, 3.5−5)
— Longer hours for a co-​op (9 – 1)
— Outdoor area is awesome. Lots of exploring in nature (think mini naturescape), climbing structures, loads of bikes, sandboxes, etc.
— Super dedicated teachers. It’s crazy how much they love their job and how long they’ve been there. Teacher Liz (my boy’s teacher) put her kids through this preschool over a decade ago, and has been teaching there for close to a decade. Similar stories for the other teachers. Teacher Liz is also like a toddler ninja. I don’t quite know what she’s doing or how she’s doing it, but issues that could escalate, don’t.
— Crazy good ratios. It’s a co-​op so there are parent volunteers, and the ratio is 4 adults (3 parents +1 teacher) to 9 kids.
— The people are nice. Ever been at other kid friendly places but the parents are kind of to themselves, not interested in chatting? Not here. It’s welcoming but not in your face. I like that.

My son attends SWPCC and we are very happy with it! Wonderful teachers and parents. If you’re looking for a co-​op, SWPCC is a great choice.
Oh, and for those comparing co-​ops, at SWPCC parents work at the school one day a week. That’s my favorite day!
I love being a part of my son’s schooling while well trained, highly skilled teachers form the backbone of his education. My only complaint is that the school days run a little late for us — we don’t usually get out of the school parking lot until 1pm or later, and that can interfere with the oh-​so-​important naptime. I’d rather start earlier and end earlier. But I think for most folks the longer day (nearly four hours) is a plus.

We LOVE this school. It has amazing teachers and a child-​centered philosophy, but the best part in my opinion is the fact that you meet other parents who are like-​minded. Your child meets them, feels comfortable with them, and you get to be a part of the educational process.
An incredible place that’s full of love. The best first school experience I can imagine for my children.

We love this school! My son started here before he was two years old and is now in his final year of preschool. It has four experienced and compassionate teachers, along with a fantastic community of parents. We all work together to provide a nurturing, safe and playful environment for our children. The ratio of adults to children in every classroom is among the best in the city.

This place is the best! The teachers are great, and having parents of children who go there, also be there as «workers» means the relationships you and your child develop are much stronger, and it’s very clear they care a lot about all of the kids. They have all kinds of social events and have a very positive, child-​centered philosophy. I highly recommend it.

A couple of years ago, I was sitting with a group of friends who were trying to talk me into homeschooling my kids. Something about homeschooling just did not feel right. I mean, I am not satisfied with my education level, how could I be held responsible for my kids. The part that was tempting was still being an active part in my childrens educational process.
I started asking around and some friends suggested looking into a cooperative school. This is a school where you work a day a week at the school and the other days your children are at school. The nice part about other parents being involved, is that they all are of the same mind set. They all want to be a part of their children’s education.
Through the last year, we have developed extremely close relationships, whole family relationships. In the process, I have found that I have become a better parent.
I love this school with all of my heart.