Lighthouse Elementary Cooperative

• For every student in the program, there is a weekly volunteer commitment.
• Support can be provided to teachers in and out of the classroom, as determined by the teacher.
• This volunteer requirement is for the duration of the school year. 

Students participate in hands-on, developmentally appropriate, community-based learning that helps them meet learning standards while preserving the academic integrity of the program. It takes our time and effort to build structure into these areas of our program.

We are better when working together.

• Each family will participate in one classroom committee for each student in the Lighthouse program. 
• Committees are determined at the beginning of each school year.
• Serving on the Lighthouse Board fulfills this committee requirement. 

Committees include:

• Excursions - Work with local businesses and teachers to identify and maintain a database of curriculum-appropriate excursions for the school-year. Support teachers by coordinating transportation and collaborating within the Committee for cross-grade participation. 
• Art - Prepare materials for in-class projects. Will require planning, possible collaboration, and shopping. Also supports the Fundraising Committee for the class art project. 
• Fundraising - Support collecting procurements from families and items for classroom basket. Provide your class with information and materials necessary to participate in the annual auction. Support Fundraising Chair as needed leading up to the annual auction. 
• Socials and Service - Plan and execute community building by hosting social and service events throughout the school year. Events may include the broader JFE community especially ahead of enrollment. 
• Cooking - Responsible for arranging 2-3 cooking activities per month. Will require planning, collaboration, and shopping. 
• Celebrations - Arrange class parties/celebrations. Each class gets to have 3/year and will vary among the teachers. 
• Explorations - Work with teachers and parent community to identify curriculum-appropriate explorations for the school-year that enrich learning through STEM. 
• Futures and PR - Assure continuity of the program by maintaining organization policies, Community Handbook and Bylaws, providing Marketing and PR support to the PR Chair as needed by creating content for social media pages, scheduling content, outreach to local preschools for Info Night, etc.
• Foreign Language - Do you speak a second (or third!) language? Consider planning lessons and sharing your language within the classroom. 
• Task Masters - Support teachers needs by utilizing the JFE workroom to make copies, prepare materials, etc., cleaning classrooms at teachers’ requests, other tasks as requested by teachers. 
• Memory and Archive - Take photos in class and at Lighthouse events, maintain records, all media types, and organize and maintain an archive of Lighthouse photos, per grade and as a whole. 
• Science - Help to support our district science kits by organizing, inventorying and potentially facilitating in the classroom. Support teachers as needed. 

• Monthly community meetings are held during the school year that bring together the adult Lighthouse Community.
• Community meetings consist of a general meeting and a classroom meeting.
• Childcare is typically provided during these meetings by program volunteers. 

• Each family must chaperone two (2) excursions per school year for each student in the program.
• Lighthouse classes participate in many off-site excursions that provide unique learning opportunities for our students.
• Community volunteers make these field trips possible. 
• Examples of previous excursion locations include:
  • SoundTransit
  • Woodlant Park Zoo
  • Imagine Children's Museum
  • MoPOP (Museum of Pop Culture)
  • Seattle Awuarium
  • Northwest Trek
• Learning
  • Students who experience learning outside the classroom benefit from increased self-esteem and become more engaged in their education.
  • All Excursions have a tie-in to education and the current curriculum being studied; providing real-world context can expose students to a range of future career opportunities.
  • Evidence suggests learning outside the classroom can help raise achievement, improve classroom behavior and increase student engagement. 
• Culture
  • Providing diverse educational opportunities outside the classroom helps teachers create enthusiasm for the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.
  • When learning directly from people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures present in the classroom, students gain a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. 
• Fun
  • Innovation meets education!
  • Students are encouraged to explore use of a broader range of soft skills such as teamwork, leadership and compromise in their learning environment, all while having fun!
  • When opportunities are provided that are engaging and fun, students are more willing to participate and take risks.
  • Having fun while learning also helps students retain information better because the process is enjoyable and memorable. 

• Explorations are educational activities planned by Lighthouse Community Members for students.
• Activities are led by families and taught to small groups of students often include science experiments, engineering projects, technology and other STEM-based activities.
• The low student-to-volunteer ratio means students have the opportunity to connect in a higher quality learning environment.
• Each family is required to lead one exploration per student per school year. 

Lighthouse is an Everett Public Schools choice program open to students throughout the district.

Classes include standard district curriculum, teaching, and assessment, plus high levels of parent involvement conducted via in-classroom volunteering and other unique enrichment opportunities. 

Lighthouse Teachers are Washington State certified Everett Public School Employees. 

Lighthouse teachers use the same curriculum put forth by Everett Public Schools. Volunteers and community collaboration provide additional learning opportunities.

Volunteers in the program must be approved Extended Support Volunteers within the Everett School District. Each Lighthouse family must arrange for an approved volunteer to fulfill this requirement, but that person does not need to be a parent or relative of the student.

Volunteer times vary by teacher, grade and family. On average, our volunteers spend 3 hours per week per student providing support to the teacher and Lighthouse program.

Lighthouse enrichment is funded solely by the generous donations of our community members. Our only fundraiser is a live auction. Families are required to procure one $75 item for auction per student.