Co-op plans to start kindergarten in fall

The Kings Beach Parent’s Co-op serves a variety of functions — it is a preschool, kindergarten preparation school and a school for parents of little ones, too.
This fall, the private school will add another function as it opens a kindergarten at its Kings Beach facility.
The school, of which one-half is students from Incline Village, was formed two years ago when parents looking for involvement in a preschool took an interest having a facility.
Co-founder Sabrina Albrecht said the school’s status as a co-operative was appealing to some parents.
“Parents get to come in and work at the school one day a week, which is nice because it keeps us involved in our kid’s education,” Albrecht said. She has a 4-year-old son, Otto, in the program.
The school currently has a credentialed preschool teacher in director Lorelei van Pebourgh, who coordinates activities and lessons for the preschoolers and for the kindergarten readiness program.
“It’s been found that children with no preschool experience come to kindergarten underprepared,” van Pebourgh said. “Kindergarten readiness gives them a head start, it teaches them fine motor skills and how to take care of themselves, like pulling on jackets and tying shoes.”
She said the kindergarten readiness program teaches the students very basic skills in literacy as well, so they are ahead of the game once they start kindergarten.
The school is already interviewing kindergarten teachers for next fall, and Albrecht said she is hoping to have a teacher in place by early June.
She said the school decided to start the kindergarten because parents weren’t ready to have their children stop going to the school.
“The growth of our school has mirrored the growth of our kids,” Albrecht, a former Washoe County School District teacher, said. “A lot of our parents weren’t ready to move on from here, so we thought we’d start a kindergarten program.”
She said the kindergarten will focus on a place-based curriculum, using the scenery of Lake Tahoe to teach the students language arts, math and science. The school is fully accredited, Albrecht said, and matches California state curriculum requirements.
Bob McNelly and Andrew Stager are two Incline fathers who have sons in the program, and each spends one day a week helping out at the co-op.
“We love the style of the program,” McNelly, father of 4-year-old Jamie, said. “It helps us parents see the environment our kids are learning in and be a part of that.”
McNelly said one appealing part of the co-op is education classes offered for young parents. He said the dialogue between the parents helps them learn tips for reacting to situations with their little ones.
Stager, father of 4-year-old Dakota, said parent involvement was one of his main reasons for enrolling his son in the co-op.
“The families connect really well here, it’s really a family environment,” Stager said. “The kids are a great networking source, and it helps to talk to the parents because we are all going through the same sort of things.”
Albrecht said the parenting classes are helpful because it teaches the parents to respond to situations in a uniform way, using the same language and consequences to respond to their children in disciplinary situations.
The kindergarten is not yet full, Albrecht said. There will be a meeting for parents interested in signing their children up for the 10-student class. The meeting will be 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at 8082 Steelhead Ave. in Kings Beach. For information, visit the Web site at www.kingsbeachparentscoop.org.