East Plains Co-operative Preschool is a non-profit, non-denominational early learning environment. Our school has been running for over 35 years in the Aldershot community of Burlington, Ontario. Our staff are qualified educators and are supported by dedicated parents who offer a wealth of knowledge and diverse experiences.
We are a non-profit group co-owned by the parents/ guardians of the children attending the school.
We are funded by:
- monthly tuition fees
- fundraising events
- government grants
To help keep tuition fees down, we rely on our members and the general public to participate in fundraising events. Fundraising dollars cover a significant portion of our operating costs. Some fundraising events we often hold include:
- Scholastic Book Club
- Pre-Christmas Preschool Auction (our biggest fundraiser open to parents, friends, family and members of the general public)
- Mabel's Labels
- Garage Sale in Spring
- Mom to moms Sale
License Requirements: East Plains Co-operative Preschool School is licensed by the Ontario Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services and adheres to the regulations set out by the Day Nurseries Act. Licensing addresses the issues of staff qualifications, programming, child/adult ratios, behavior management, nutrition, sanitary practices, space requirements, and emergency procedures.
East Plains Cooperative Preschool Provides:
- Low child to teacher ratio
- A registered Early Childhood Education teacher
- Social and emotional development
- An active learning environment to help prepare children for Kindergarten
- A focus on developing fine and gross motor skills
- Safe, spacious, bright and airy classroom and gym
- The opportunity to develop friendships with children in the same community
- Integrated to provide care for children with special needs
- A convenient location - close to elementary schools, parks and shopping
"I attended East Plains Co-op when I was a toddler and now my children are attending. We are very lucky to have a school like this in our community"
"Welcoming atmosphere and learning is made fun"
"Well established community school. Children move on together to Kindergarten and this makes the transition 100% easier!"
"Very comfortable, friendly, positive and encouraging atmosphere"
"Parent involvement is very important"
"Great location! Easy to drop-off and pick-up siblings at neighbouring schools and shopping"
"With my child heading to a full day kindergarten program, I am so happy that he had a preschool experience. I feel like he is ready for kindergarten now"
Quotes taken from parent survey
East Plains Co-op Preschool was established in 1969 by Aldershot parents interested in developing an educational program that would help prepare their children for elementary school. At that time, junior kindergarten programs did not exist in the public and Catholic school boards. Thanks to the assistance of the East Plains United Church, the preschool was able to set itself up in their kindergarten room, which was not being used during the week. Through the hard work of parent volunteers over the years, the preschool thrived. These parent volunteers invested their time for projects such as cubby shelves for children to hang up their winter coats, and fund raiser events to raise money for new equipment and field trips.
During the early decades, there were morning and afternoon preschool classes to accommodate the high numbers of children in need of a preschool program. Later, as the school boards established a junior kindergarten program into their curriculum, the East Plains Preschool opened its doors to younger children in need of a school like program, providing opportunities for socialization and free play. This newer program, originally called the junior preschool, is now known as the toddler program. An after-school program for older preschoolers & kindergarten students was also established, to provide students with an extended academic program.
