Lighthouse Requirements

The basis of our parent-teacher cooperative school is that the families in our program join together to help form a community to better support and educate our children through unique experiences in and out of our classrooms. When you join Lighthouse Cooperative you are agreeing to fulfill the following mandatory requirements.

  • Each child in the program will have a parent or other district approved adult volunteer in the classroom, once a week, for up to three hours, around the end of September through the end of the school year.
  • Every family will have at least one person in attendance at the mandatory parent meeting held once a month in the evening, September through May. Each parent meeting consists of a general meeting and a classroom meeting. Your attendance is required at both parts of the meeting. Childcare is generally provided during these meetings by our amazing program of volunteers. If you cannot make a meeting you must find a substitute. A single person cannot represent more than one family (ie you cannot have your friend sign in for themselves and you at the meeting).
  • Each family commits to participate on one committee per child's classroom. (For example: Field Trip Coordinator, Cooking Committee, Art Committee, etc). Serving on the Lighthouse Board fulfills this committee requirement.
  • Lighthouse classes typically go on four to five field trips a year. Each family is expected to chaperone two field trips per school year for each child in the program.
  • Five times a year, our school participates in an activity called Explorations. Explorations consist of an adult leading a forty minute educational activity for 6 - 8 children twice in a row. Each family is required to lead one exploration per child per school year. Typical activities include science experiments, engineering projects, art lessons, etc. It is encouraged that new members assist in a veteran parent's exploration to see how they work. If you have any questions you can always email explorations@lighthousecoop.org.
  • Every year we have a fundraising auction. Each family is required to procure one item of at least $50 value per child in the program. If you do not want to find an item to be donated you can buy out for $75.00 per child. Auction attendance is not required, but it is a lot of fun.

Lighthouse Expectations

The following are parts of our program that are very important and while participating in these things is not strictly required, the program will not succeed if its members do not fulfill these obligations.

  • As part of this program it is requested that each family donate $25 per child / per month ($250/year). These donations help fund field trips, explorations, and extra classroom technology and curriculum, and allow us to have the auction be our only fundraiser.
  • In addition to the required auction procurement each class chooses a theme and puts together a basket that is raffled off at the auction. It is asked that each family donate cash or procure/buy an item ($10 - $20) for the themed basket.
  • If a member uses the childcare option during the parent meetings, it is requested that they volunteer to do childcare during one of the parent meetings. Volunteering in childcare fulfills attendance requirements for the general meeting.

More Ways to Be Involved

  • Become a board member! There are twenty-two board positions that keep our program running smoothly and make decisions on how things will be done. Board members are required to attend monthly board meeting in addition to the parent meeting. Board members are still expected to fulfill their classroom volunteer requirements. It is highly encouraged that everyone consider participating in a board position for at least one year while your child attends Lighthouse.
  • PTA: Being a member of Lighthouse means you get to be a member of two terrific communities, Lighthouse and Jefferson Elementary! Most Lighthouse members are also members of Jefferson PTA. Lighthouse and Jefferson PTA frequently work together to plan activities and provide additional resources for the whole school, thus there are also plenty of PTA volunteer opportunities.