Parent Participation Preschools (PPP)

At a parent participation preschool (PPP), parents and teachers work together to create and to foster a positive, supportive and enriched educational environment for children. For parents, this is a rare moment in their child’s life where they can observe them in a school setting and see how they interact and learn. Parents participate actively in the administration of the preschool, they are able to make decisions about their child’s first educational experience, and they are also able to act as assistants in the classroom once or twice a month.

Preschool years are special to both parent and child, since this is the first time most children get to interact with other children on a regular basis and to communicate and problem-solve effectively among themselves and with other adult figures.

One of the great advantages of PPP is the ratio of adults to children - one adult for every five children for the three-year-old class and one adult to every six children for the four-year-old class - a far superior ratio to most school environments. By working together with the teachers, parents create a positive, supportive and enriched educational environment.

While children explore play-based learning, parents become better-informed caretakers through monthly parent-education meetings. Recent topics for DMPPP parents include building self-esteem in children, anger management, maintaining healthy marriages while raising children and first aid.

Based on personal preference, experience and special interest, each parent holds a special job within the preschool that doesn’t necessarily take a lot of time and it enriches both the preschool and the parent’s experience.

Special considerations:

• All parents and caregivers in our PPP are required to attend 10 hours of orientation in order to qualify as duty parents.
• All parents in a PPP are encouraged to attend the monthly parent-education meetings as part of their active participation with the preschool.
• Duty parents in PPP are providing and preparing healthy snacks for the children on the assigned duty day.
• In a PPP, the duty parents and teachers share the practical running of the school, but it is the teacher who directs all children’s activities.
• While the duty days in a PPP are assigned in advance, there is a lot of flexibility for rescheduling and understanding of emergency situations.
• PPPs are wonderful communities where children, teachers and parents come together and learn about sharing responsibilities, building great relationships with each other, and most importantly, helping each other and the community.

DMPPP is a member of the Council of Parent Participation Preschools, an umbrella organization which has supported member parent participation preschools throughout mainland British Columbia for over 55 years.