September 4, 2022

Dear Prospective Family,

We joined ICP in 2015 when our firstborn was just 15 months old. He started as a Penguin. Our second child also went through ICP, and she just graduated from the Orca class last year. After 7 years with the program, we feel we can confidently speak to the lasting benefits of this cooperative preschool.

Our children both formed strong and loving bonds with Teacher Ellen, the teaching assistants we had, and the many teaching parents over the years.

What we appreciated most from ICP:

• Gradual process of greater independence across the years.

  • At ICP, parents are fully involved in the classroom at the very beginning when the children are very young. Then, as each year progresses, the parent presence stays constant yet evolving, and the children gradually spend increasingly more hours/days without their parent. This gentle, developmental approach was very attractive to us, and worked very well to build both our children’s confidence in a warm and loving manner.

• Strong parent involvement and opportunity for growth as a parent.

  • At ICP, you participate in regular parent education classes/meetings led by Teacher Ellen. You also have the opportunity to connect with other parents in and outside of the classroom, and observe what other challenges and successes those with similar-aged children are having. This is something one most likely will not gain from a traditional preschool or daycare model.

• Value driven approach.

  • ICP infuses many values that we already shared, such as empathy, kindness, health, safety, and many more. This really created an opportunity to reinforce and generalize skills away from the home that are important to us.

• Community.

  • Being a part of ICP meant developing a place of belonging for us and for our children. We felt comfortable and cared about there. There were opportunities to connect in and outside of the classroom, and to support each other as parents in countless ways through life’s challenges and joys.

• Nature/environment focus and learning.

  • Teacher Ellen took the important step to make ICP an Eco school, which means that we went the extra mile to run the school in environmentally sound ways, teach the children the value of caring for the environment, and extending those opportunities out into the community. Both of our children internalized this value, and still show concern and love for the natural world.

• Play focus with natural learning opportunities mixed in.

  • ICP is, at the heart, a place for children to learn through play. There are countless opportunities to explore their interests and creativity in and outside of the school. Teacher Ellen is masterful at tuning into their passions, and incorporating them naturally into projects, activities, and in the context of the children’s play. Early academic skills are gently and naturally folded into these opportunities, rather than overly adult-driven and contrived.

• Preparation for school.

  • Our daughter is entering kindergarten, and we have no doubt she is as prepared as we could have hoped for. Our son, now in third grade, absolutely stood out coming from ICP, particularly in terms of his social and emotional skills, and his love and enthusiasm for learning. We feel that Teacher Ellen and the ICP community played a pivotal role in building that strong foundation. Both of our children speak fondly of Teacher Ellen, and look forward to future opportunities to come back to ICP as alumni Teacher Helpers.

Being a part of ICP is filled with many unique and lasting benefits. It is also truly a parent-teacher/school partnership that takes effort, time, and commitment. It was not always easy to juggle the expectations and responsibilities, but we chose to fully embrace them over a more traditional “drop-off” type of model. As a new parent going into this program, we think it’s important to know that there is work involved, but to also be aware of the bigger picture of what we are trying to accomplish there for the children at such a critical and relatively short time of their development. It really is a once-in-alifetime opportunity.

We were genuinely saddened when our era at ICP with Teacher Ellen came to an end. We take heart in knowing both of our children were gifted a truly valuable early preschool learning experience filled with love and much intention.

Wishing you the best in whatever path you choose. We strongly recommend ICP, and are happy to answer any questions you might have.

Sincerely,
Laurie Seaborne-Borda and Matt Borda