March 19, 2011

This is an update blog about Anna Mae Cossick.

Anna Mae fell and broke her femur on Monday, March 14. She was hospitalized and had a rod put in late Wed. afternoon. After the surgery, which went well, she wasn't able to breathe without support. She was on the ventilator Thurs. and Fri. This morning the ventilator and feeding tube were removed. She was able to breathe well enough on her own. She is suppose to start clear liquids this afternoon.

Do schools today kill creativity? (Ken Robinson, TEDTalks)

A funny, wise, must-see video for today's parents:

One Dad's take on being a Lunch Helper:

"I did not know what I was in for when I walked into the OCC lunchroom. Two separate lunch groups; two waves of energetic Montessori kids to supervise and help.

About halfway though the lunch hour I began to see and understand my daughter's life in a new light (even though she was not participating in lunch that day). I walked away not only with a new view of what other parents send with their kids for lunch, but I now feel like I saw childhood in its wide splendor.

Watching and helping both groups of kids made me realize that I was up to this point, only seeing a small portion of my daughter's (and a child's) life. The whirlwind of the lunch hour and my experience with all of the wonderful OCC girls and boys opened up my field of view in childhood behavior, and helped explain some of the mysteries of what's left (or added) to Marah's lunchbox at the end of the day.

I also was surprised at the reaction to having a "dad" as lunch helper. I was received very favorably and the young boys were very curious about my presence--and I was "webbed" several times by several young men aspiring to be Spider Man. Overall, this was a great experience and I will try and do this again very soon. Thanks for the great opportunity, OCC!"

Submitted by Paul Johnston, 2nd year OCC parent

Hi OCC families,

This is one parent's view of what it is like helping out with lunch. Please feel free to comment on your experiences as a lunch helper. Why not consider trying it out in November if you haven't been a lunch helper yet? I'm lucky to be able to enjoy the lunchtime with your children every day. I love watching them grow and develop over time as well as watch them hone and refine eating, cleaning and social skills. It is truly an amazing experience.

Thanks, Tricia

You Can't Do It All, so Make Good Choices

October is a busy time at Our Children's Center with many exciting and fun events. Please don't be overwhelmed! Just remember to pick and choose the events that appeal to you and enhance your family's together time.

I am excited by the tremendous amount of energy shown by a great number of our families. We have more than 65 families involved with our school, we plan to offer many social events, service projects and fund raising opportunities so that all will have a chance to become involved. You can't do them all, so make good choices.

Please read the information that arrives in your OCC mailbox. Many enthusiastic parents are coming up with unique ways to raise funds for the school as well as fun ideas to create community. Pizza night, holiday pictures in Oct., and a parenting workshop are just a few of the upcoming October events.

All of these events will be fun,
all will raise funds for the school,
and all will fulfill a part of our school's mission.

Your job as a parent is be intentional about how your family's free time is spent. Don't allow guilt or "shoulds" to dictate how you become involved. Remember this is supposed to be fun. Join us in the ways that you chose. Do it on your terms and you'll enjoy your time here at OCC.

The Big 3

Last Wednesday (October 3, 2007) the Charter School group met again. It wasn’t a calm meeting – we had 12 different ideas from 6 different people. But then three issues started to emerge, three parts of one big picture that left us all feeling quite excited. We ended the meeting with a much clearer picture of where Our Children's Center may want to head, and the school needs people – perhaps you – who will help with one of three specific actions items.

1, The first task, very much on the mind of Tricia Cossick, OCC's director, is to increase our fundraising for OCC Kindergarten scholarships. The scholarships are crucial NOW, so that many of our students can fulfill the full 3 year cycle prescribed by Montessori philosophy of education. (We would love to offer as many partial and full scholarships to as many families as we can.) Montessori described how having several grades together enables the older students to grow in leadership and solidify their knowledge, even as the younger students gain the benefits of the K students’ experience and knowledge. It is mutually beneficial.

We won’t know the precise amount needed until next Fall 2008, but it will be in the neighborhood of $25-40,000. Part of this money must be raised by January 2008, when parents start to make decisions about their children’s education for the following year.

ACTION ITEM: If you have expertise or experience in raising funds (in addition to those fundraising events we already have), or have fundraising ideas, will you join us to raise those scholarship funds for next year’s K students? If you are interested in this, please contact Stephanie Velegol at svelegol@comcast.net. Many hands will likely be needed.

2. There is a program in Pennsylvania called “Pre-K Counts”. The purpose of this state program is to provide funds for preschool families so that their child can attend Pre-K Counts school. The program is meant for those who make less than $64,000 per year, or for students who have English as a second language, or who have special needs. The funds are designated for schools who can work with these pre-K students, and that includes OCC. But we must apply in order to be a Pre-K Counts program. Not only will being a Pre-K Counts program ease the financial burden for current families, but it could draw new students into our program, increasing our diversity and strength. And as far as we can tell, while there would be some extra paperwork and regulations, we would not have to sacrifice Montessori principles or our OCC community one bit. This proposal is due in May.

We are also interested in making OCC a Charter school, starting just for Kindergarten and possibly extending into elementary school. The charter application is due in November and we will not write a charter for this year but possibly next year.

ACTION ITEM: Will you join the writing group for the Pre-K Counts proposal (and eventually the charter)? We think it is best to finish the PreK Counts application around December 31, 2007 (less than 3 months). Heidi Watson has agreed to coordinate this writing process and the first official meeting on this will be this Wednesday evening at 6:30 at Heidi’s home. If you have a talent for writing proposals or understanding regulations, please contact Tricia Cossick at occmontessori@gmail.com.

3 Over the past 30 years – and especially over the past 2 years – OCC has grown and moved locations and has experienced positive and powerful changes. The easy thing would be to rest for a while. But there is one more item that we are strongly considering for our children: an elementary program for grades 1 to 3 (6 to 9 years old) that could constitute a charter Montessori school. We are still not certain that we can charter without sacrificing our Montessori principles or OCC community, but we think that there is a strong possibility that we can do it. This third item is still in its infancy and we feel it is important to deal with the first 2 items now, but we know there are many OCC parents who are interested in moving with us on this idea.

ACTION ITEM: Would you like to meet to discuss the possibility of extending OCC to include higher grades? This would involve brainstorming, research into other Montessori schools and discussion of feasibility, among other things. If you are interested in this, contact Darrell Velegol at Velegol@psu.edu.

Keep Kindergarten Private?

Twice in two weeks, a few parents and Director Tricia Cossick have met to ponder an important question: Should Our Children's Center Montessori apply for a kindergarten "charter school"?

Now first off, what is a charter school? Pennsylvania and many other states have supported school choice by providing tuition dollars to schools -- called "charter schools" -- whose methods and operations are different from the public school at large. In our case, OCC Montessori kindergarten is certainly different from the State College kindergarten, and so we could apply to be a "charter school".

The advantage is clear: the tuition dollars walk with the student, meaning that OCC kindergarten would have no tuition. That also provides extra stability for the school. But of course, nothing is free. Not only is the application a fair bit of work, but when the school district provides money, they also add regulations and paperwork. Special types of teaching certificates, additional building codes, and other regulations would enter OCC doors.

Where do the conversations stand now? First off, the discussions have been very firm on one point: There will be no change to who we are as a Montessori community, and the Montessori teaching principles will not be sacrificed one bit.

Right now some big questions before us are these: 1) Will the regulations enable us to continue providing a Montessori education in the OCC community? If not, a charter is the wrong path. 2) When we charter, we become a "public school". How are admissions to the school handled? That will be a subject of a soon-to-come blog. 3) Should we apply for a K-only charter, or K-3 or even K-6? 4) For teachers who have changed the entire building just over a year ago, how much change is possible or good? 5) When to apply? The deadline is in November, and so this year is out. But we could apply for next year.

We hope that you'll participate in the conversation, perhaps in future meetings and perhaps by commenting on this blog. If you can help -- perhaps you know regulations or people or examples -- let Tricia know and she will pass it on, or come to a meeting. There are of course many concerns and complexities, and we'll continue to discuss those as a community and put them online.

Together as parents, we will make the best decision for the key participants -- our children. We will be moving our meeting times to the evenings to include more parents and staff and will let you know when the next meeting is, as soon as we know.

Darrell Velegol (Lauren's Dad)
Associate Professor (Charter Team Member)
Department of Chemical Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University (OCC)

Why do we do what we do at OCC?

I would like to say everything we do at Our Children's Center is thoughtful and intentional but as you know a certain amount of unpredictability comes with working with children.

As a non-profit, Our Children's Center has a mission statement that includes building community among our families. One of the events we use to begin building that special school community is the Ice Cream Social.

Why do we have an Ice Cream Social?

Its original intent was to provide a kid-friendly opportunity for new and returning families to get to know one another and chat with the teachers. We hoped this early social contact would encourage families to get involved sooner rather than later in the school community.

Each year, several board members volunteer to coordinate the event. I am involved in the planning and the office staff provides support. What did I forget to mention to the event planners? Treats for children with special dietary needs. Several of our children have dairy allergies, and we didn't acknowledge that in the early stages of the planning. The announcement was distributed listing only ice cream and no other non-dairy alternatives.

Upon hearing that several families were not coming because there would be nothing for their child to eat, adjustments were made and Italian Ice and ice pops were included on the menu. School events must be safe and fun for all children to attend.

The Board of Directors invites families, new and returning, to this event to build the OCC community. Excluding families for any reason, tears away at community. We need to apply the same inclusive lens we use for the classrooms and the lunchroom to our out-of-school events. No matter how busy and unpredictable life becomes, we must always make time to thoughtfully plan and advertise our events so all families feel safe and welcome.

Thank you for your willingness to become a part of this special place. Please be sure to remind us when we miss the boat or the point. We are always learning especially from our mistakes. (I'm thinking we may want to rename this event?)

Take care,
Tricia