McGee's Farm

We continually strive to create a multicultural community where all types of family backgrounds are embraced and explored.

Our small size (adult/child ratio is 1:6) makes it possible for each child to receive individual attention while facilitating the formation of lasting friendships.

Because we are a cooperative preschool, both teachers and parents are influential in the school as a whole.  We believe this holistic approach creates a true community – one in which the children fundamentally benefit and belong.

McGee’s Farm’s morning program runs from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm.  The afternoon program running from 12:30 pm to 5:30 pm will be reinstated once enough parents require it.

The McGee’s Farm staff is made up of teachers trained in early child development. Each of our well rounded teachers offers something unique to the children.  Each is committed to their role as teacher and friend. Over the years our staff has successfully helped children struggling with the fear of separation.

We use a theme based child centered curriculum and allow the children to choose among a number of activities including art, music & movement, science, cooking, circle time, and outdoor activities (both free play and organized activities).

We also draw on resources in the community, arranging special presentations and events.

We focus, in particular, on teaching and encouraging positive, effective interactions among the children.  We believe helping children strengthen their sense of self is vital in their development.

Fees are calculated monthly based on the number of slots per week. Each AM or PM a child attends per week = 1 “slot”.  Example: A child attends Monday, Wednesday, Friday morning program and Monday and Friday afternoon program, for a total of five slots (three morning plus two afternoon slots).  Multiply the number of slots by the slot fee to get monthly tuition.

Fee per slot is $75 with a base fee of $75 per family.
Slot fee includes insurance and membership in the East Bay Council of Co-op Nursery Schools (EBC).

Drop in rate per slot is $20.

Lunch/flex time drop in rate is $5.

McGee’s is a joyful, strong community of people interested in creating a safe, creative place for each child to explore and grow. In order to keep the school healthy, each family needs to be active. Each family participates at McGee’s in the following ways:

• A member of each family attends a monthly meeting to discuss the operation and business of the school.

• A member of each family selects a job from the open positions at McGee’s. Some jobs (like President or Secretary) are quite time consuming.  Others (like Snacks or Emergency Coordinator) require less time and effort.

• We need parents to participate in the classroom in order to meet our adult/child ratio of 6 children to 1 adult.  We ask each family to contribute 8 hours a month of classroom time.  If the family is unable to do 8 hours a month, they may buy out of up to 6 of the hours (at $10.00 per hour) enabling us to hire an aid for the time they cannot make it.
 

• Each family is put on a rotating schedule to clean the school on the weekend.  Cleaning the school is one of the ways each family can directly impact the quality of the care their child receives, as keeping the school clean also keeps our children healthier.

• Every 3 or 4 months there is a work day at McGee’s held on a weekend.  Parents come to paint, repair, organize and generally take care of the school and the play area outside.

In summary, each family participates at McGee’s Farm by:

Director
Recruiting
President