It's back to preschool for Roseville parents

When it comes time for Shanna Arroyo to take her 2-year-old daughter Julia to preschool, she doesn't just drop her off. She comes with her, and she's joined by a parent of each of Julia's classmates.Arroyo is part of the Roseville Parent Cooperative Preschool, a program of the Roseville Adult School, which focuses on improving parenting skills while contributing to a child's educational and developmental success.The school, housed at the Church of Christ on Cirby Way, includes a toddler lab for parents of children 18 months to 3 years, and two preschool labs for those of children ages 3-4. All sections are led by fully credentialed teachers. "Parents are the students, and their children are the lab," said RPCP teacher Myra Todrank.Parents who enroll become active participants in their child's education by participating in the classroom and taking on various duties to keep the school running smoothly. They also attend monthly adults-only classes and complete textbook-driven coursework."It's getting children ready for school, but also getting parents used to the transition to primary school," said Joyce Lude, director of RAS. "At schools nowadays, the connection with parents is so much stronger. When your child goes to school, your involvement is so important for your success."While parent participation may be on the upswing, preschools emphasizing the involvement are nothing new.The Roseville Parent Cooperative Preschool has been around since 1978. But the first parent participation nursery school can be traced to 1915, when faculty wives at the University of Chicago opted to start one as a way to share experiences and provide social opportunities for their children, according to the California Council of Parent Participation Nursery Schools, a statewide umbrella group.Arroyo said she was originally attracted by a place where she could spend time with her son, who is now 6. Now, she's returned with her second child."Basically, we're the students," she said last week, as daughter Julia and a friend explored the possibilities of a light table and some clear plastic shapes. "We've been taught a lot about positive discovery and child-centered play."Play is big at the school, which, in addition to an outside playground, boasts separate rooms for children to explore movement, art and literacy. There's also a "big room" with easy-to-clean surfaces where more messy creative activities are sanctioned."Play is the foundation that supports higher learning," said Todrank, who leads the Friday toddler class as well as one of two preschool labs, which meets Monday through Thursday. "So much now is about academics, but if you don't develop that foundation, when you get to school you can have problems."Activities are overseen by parents but not structured in a traditional sense. On a recent day in the toddler lab, children were free to roam the facility and take part in any number of pursuits in the themed rooms.The activities are sandwiched between "circle time," in which parents and their children convene in a ring to sing songs and read stories."It's child-directed play, instead of parent directed play - which for me was a new thing," Kathy Ursic, parent of 23-month-old Grace Wendering, said during the toddler class last week.For the toddler lab, parents attend each Friday class and stay with their children. Clean-up duties at the end of the 2½-hour session are required.For the preschool lab, which meets multiple times per week, a rotating group of about six parents attend each day; each parent ends up attending once a week.Because parent involvement eliminates the need for much of a staff, fees are relatively inexpensive - $40 to $80 per month, depending on the age group and number of days the class meets.And, while children enjoy their time spent at the school, they're not the only ones having fun."It's a developmental program and ... I think it's rekindling childhood for the parents, too," Todrank said.More information on the Roseville Parent Cooperative Preschool is available online at ras.rjuhsd.us or by calling 782-3952.