The Parents' Cooperative School was established as a non-profit corporation by several parents in the greater Washington County, Rhode Island area. The school began in 1969 as a nursery school in quarters rented from St. Peter's-by-the-Sea Church in Narragansett. The parents sought to create a school environment less structured than that of the area public schools. They also desired to participate in the educational experiences of their children in a way and to a degree not possible in the public schools.
Teachers were paid five dollars a week and most of the school's equipment was built and/or donated by the parents. The school expanded in 1971 to include a primary school serving children ages five through eight. A full-time primary school teacher was hired and the school moved to larger quarters adjacent to St. Peter's Church. The school received accreditation by the Rhode Island Department of Education at this time. The Parents' Cooperative School continued to grow through the early 1970s, and, in 1974, moved to larger quarters owned by St. Thomas Moore Church in Narragansett. Affectionately known as the "Pink Elephant," due to its pink stucco exterior, the school's new home had formerly been a New England Telephone Company office.
Although the Parents' Cooperative School was regarded as an educational success, it struggled with financial difficulties throughout its existence. The school's funding was generated through tuition and various fund raising events. A number of tuition plan models were tried. In 1977 the school settled upon a sliding-scale-tuition fee based on parents' income. Subsequent financial problems arose when parents were late with or unable to make payment. This financial uncertainty made it difficult for the school to project a budget from year to year. As a result, the school carried an ever-increasing deficit from the mid-1970s forward.
Despite attempts to economize and raise funds from alternate sources, the school was not able to reduce its deficit. Additionally, the building in which the school was housed was sold in the spring of 1980. Faced with the prospect of a continually growing deficit, the difficulty of finding affordable school quarters that would meet stringent Rhode Island fire code requirements, and an apparent waning of cooperative spirit that underlay the school's mission, the Board of Directors voted on May 21, 1980 to dissolve the corporation and liquidate its assets at the conclusion of the school year. The school's equipment and furnishings were sold in a yard sale one month later.
Open for research.
Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Records of the Parents' Cooperative School, Mss. Gr. 77, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contained in this collection are the administrative and financial records of the Parents' Cooperative School, which operated in Narragansett, Rhode Island from 1969-1980.
The papers are arranged into two series:
The collection was donated to the University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections by Alexandra Broches, a former member of the school's board of directors, on August 20, 1989. The records were received in generally good physical condition but lacked an organized internal order.
Prior to their donation to the Special Collections and Archives Unit, the records were held by former board member, Alexandra Broches.
The materials were processed in 1990.
Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Records of individual students were not transferred with this collection.
The Subject Files contain the administrative files of the Parents' Cooperative School, including correspondence, grant applications, mailing lists, class rosters, minutes of meetings, brochures, newsletters, photographs, and a copy of the school's Articles of Association and By-laws. Topics include the school's educational philosophy and practices, fund raising, tuition plans, the hiring of teachers, the policies and practices of other alternative schools in Rhode Island and across the country, fire safety, food service, and state certification of the school by the Rhode Island Department of Education.
The minutes of the Board of Directors meetings provide additional information about the goals of those who began the school and reveal the details of the financial difficulties faced by the Parents' Cooperative School throughout its existence. The untitled newsletters published by the school and the folders of newspaper clippings provide insight into its daily operation and give some sense of the educational philosophy which guided it.
The records are arranged alphabetically by subject or type of record and chronologically within folders.
The Financial Records series contains records relating to the financial activities of the Parents' Cooperative School, including: time sheets, tuition agreement forms, and ledgers. The ledgers provide detailed monthly records of the financial condition of the Parents' Cooperative School, and illuminate the continual financial struggle which the school endured throughout its existence. The records are arranged alphabetically by type of record and chronologically within folders.