Parent Involvement - A Child's Place School

A Child’s Place is a community which includes children, teachers, and family. We believe parents should be partners — a close cooperative relationship between parents and staff is essential. It is also important for each student to feel their parents are interested in their school. Therefore we provide many opportunities during the school year for parents to be involved, and we keep parents informed each week through newsletters, updates and scrapbooks. Some of the activities involving parents are as follows:

Alumni and Family Day

A Child’s Place hosts an alumni day each spring where many children come back every year to sign our guest book, see a former teacher, or relive a part of their early childhood experiences at our school. Current and former families are welcome to attend, and revisit their favorite activity tables or take a stroll in our yard.

Family Social

Held in the fall, this evening of games and activities is a chance for ACP families to get to know one another. Siblings welcome!

Foyer Parties/ Coffee with Zach

These gatherings are held in the foyer of ACP periodically during the school year as a gathering place for parents right after drop-off. We provide the coffee and snacks and the parents provide the conversation!

Fundraising Events for the ACP Scholarship Fund

The ACP Scholarship Fund holds various fundraising events throughout the year to give parents an opportunity to work together. The annual Book Sale takes place in the spring and the Dinner/Silent Auction in December. The ACP Scholarship board is always looking for parent volunteers with organizational skills, selling and marketing experience, graphic arts experience, and ideas.

Mystery Readers

Each class invites parents and family members to sign up to be a Mystery Reader during the year. As implied by the name, the children (including the child of the family member coming to read!) do not know who the Mystery Reader will be until they step into the classroom! A favorite story from home is shared with the class.

Parent Library

The school maintains a reference library for parents. Its resources cover a variety of topics ranging from child development to parenting issues and educational methods and practices. The library is available during roundtable meetings, but parents may also come into the office to find what they need and check out materials. You may ask the teachers to suggest some titles and the books will be sent home with your child.

Parent Roundtables

Parent roundtables were started by our founder, Alba DiBello, and continue today. Several evening meetings are offered to parents as an opportunity to discuss parenting topics and childhood concerns. Some previous topics have been “TV and Computer Time”, “How to Talk to Children About Death”, “Time Management for the Busy Parent”, “Food Issues with Young Children”, “Sibling Rivalry”, “Discipline” and “Ages and Stages – How Children Develop”.

We also offer one Friday afternoon meeting in the school year where parents are invited to experience one of the children’s forms of expression by working with materials.

The Parent Show

An annual tradition since 1990, the Parent Show is a play written, directed and acted out by parent volunteers from the various classes. Parents write and produce an original work which they present to the teachers and children of the school, complete with stage sets and costumes. No professional experience is required, just hard work and fun!

The School Garden

The garden has always played a significant role in the children’s lives at ACP. Since the planting of the first vegetable in Luigi’s Garden in 1974 (named after the founder’s father) the garden has been part of many of our outdoor classroom learning experiences. We ask for parent volunteers to take ownership of the garden in planning, preparing, and maintenance year round.

Winter Solstice Celebration

Each year A Child’s Place celebrates the winter solstice by planting a tree in our yard on the last day of school before winter break. The entire family is invited to participate outdoors (weather permitting) with singing, dancing, food and candles.