PLEASE, write to support Parent Education programs in Washington state…
State Board for Community and Technical Colleges:
wbelden@sbctc.edu
mbruin@sbctc.edu
State Senator, 43rd district
jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov
or—
Find your own rep here:
https://leg.wa.gov/legislators/
My emails (feel free to use any part of these)
I'm writing with urgency and hope that a program that has been dearly beloved by Seattle families for decades will not be discarded, exactly when it is most needed and necessary.
I have been a part of Parent Education programs through Seattle Central College and North Seattle College for over 16 years. I was a student in these programs with my own young children and have since gone on to teach as a parent educator employed by North Seattle College working at several cooperative preschools in our community.
These programs are essential for multiple reasons:
1. They lead to workforce instructions outcomes. Many parents take time out of the traditional workforce when they are raising young children. These programs give parents valuable skills in running a non-profit organization as well as in teaching children. Many of my students have gone on to teach in local preschools and elementary schools after completing our program. Others have used our program to provide work and volunteer experience on their resumes to avoid the dreaded "resume gap" that many parents experience when they take time off to raise their kids.
2. They help to provide community leaders and community connections. As a current PTSA board member at Lincoln High School, I can tell you unequivocally that PTSAs all over Seattle are full of former cooperative preschool members. This is because these programs teach parents how to advocate for their kids and their communities. In a city where so many folks have come from other places to raise their families, these programs provide community and support for countless families. This means that our citizens are better able to cope with the stresses of raising families in our modern world and more likely to raise healthy, happy children.
3. They provide affordable and quality early childhood education. Most of the families who participate in our program have been priced out of private preschools and may not qualify for low-cost preschool programs. We provide a developmentally appropriate classroom experience that prepares kids for future classroom success through a play-based curriculum.
Now, perhaps more than ever before, our city and state have pledged to value early childhood learning. I am aghast that in this climate a vital resource will be lost forever.
Please advocate for our children, families, schools and communities.
I promise you that the absolute treasure of cooperative preschools and parent education is invaluable. It is time to put our money behind our values. We deserve nothing less.
Thank you for your consideration,
Erin Bernau, MSW, LICSW
Parent Education instructor at Little Wildflowers (formerly Crown Hill Explorers) and Northleaf Campus Cooperative Preschools, North Seattle College
The parent education program provided me with a direct workforce instruction outcome, as it has countless other Seattle caregivers. When I enrolled in cooperative preschool, I not only found early education and family support as the parent of a young child, I was also lucky enough to find my professional calling. I have now been working as a parent educator through Seattle Central and North Seattle Colleges for the past sixteen years, supporting parents as they find their footing in a pivotal time of enormous life changes. I have seen many of the caregivers who were enrolled in my classes go on to work in education and community support programs themselves.
Parent Education, provided through cooperative preschools, and taught by instructors through North Seattle College, provides invaluable community support and resources. At a time when parents and families are struggling to provide quality education for their very young children, the fact that these programs are under threat of immediate closure is simply unconscionable.
Please use your voice to help us keep this valuable community resource. Parent Education supports families, individuals and communities. We shouldn't have to do this alone. It takes a village to raise a child!