Program Profile: Sunnyside Child Care Center at Smith in Northampton, Massachusetts

At Sunnyside Child Care Center at Smith, the parent cooperative model helps welcome and nurture parents and facilitates reciprocity between parents and staff.

Program Overview
Sunnyside Child Care Center was founded in 1975 by members of the Smith College community. It is an independent, nonprofit corporation whose members are the parents of the children in the program. Families are important at Sunnyside. When it comes to family participation, Director Sue Beemer says, “This is where Sunnyside shines! Participation in our program is expected, encouraged, and freely given.”

Sunnyside is strongly committed to diversity, and enrolled families represent a variety of backgrounds, ethnicities, languages, family structures, and socioeconomic statuses. One parent says, “No two families look exactly the same or come from the same background, neighborhood, social community, or economic status…. the diversity within the school is enhanced by the school’s climate and practices.” Another parent adds, “I’m excited that my daughter has friends and classmates of different races, ethnicities, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. I am hoping this early foundation will teach her to be accepting of people regardless of differences or, ideally, to be blinded to superficial differences. Social events outside the classroom have also allowed my husband and I to meet a diverse group of people that we might not have met otherwise.”

Family Engagement Program Practices

Reciprocal Relationships
Sunnyside parents share their knowledge and skills through a variety of jobs, activities, and events. For example,

• Parents contribute by participating on formal committees such as the board of directors and in informal activities such as shopping for groceries, cooking in classrooms, reading to children, and repairing equipment.
• Parents participate in three cleaning parties per year. These parties combine hard work with a social, community-building element. “I thought the cleaning was going to be arduous,” says one parent. “Instead, I was surprised to find myself more deeply committed to my daughter’s class, and I loved getting to know some other families.”
• A parent band, Dave and the Sunnysiders, provides music one afternoon a week and at Sunnyside events.
• Family members contribute meaningful articles and essays to the program newsletter. One family wrote an account of their journey through significant hearing issues with their son. An older brother wrote an essay detailing his perspective of Sunnyside.

Director Beemer says, “The parent cooperative piece of our program offers us the opportunity to tap talents of the entire parent community as well as alumni as we work to overcome challenges and grow our program over the years. This truly makes Sunnyside a special place!” A parent confides, “One reason we chose Sunnyside was because of the co-op model. We wanted a place that welcomed, nurtured, and expected reciprocity between parents and staff.” 

Learning Activities at Home and in the Community
Sunnyside staff actively seek to involve children in the community resources near the program. In addition to scheduled field trips, the children frequently take impromptu walks. At the beginning of the year, parents sign a blanket “walking field trip” permission slip listing more than 10 interesting destinations (for example, local parks and campus facilities such as the athletic fields, stables, greenhouse, and art museum). Whenever they go on a walk, teachers post a classroom sign telling parents where the group has gone and the scheduled time of return.

A Comprehensive Program-Level System
Sunnyside institutionalizes its commitment to diversity through its policies. For example, as policy, Sunnyside children with minority status receive enrollment priority. In 2001 the board of directors adopted a sliding-scale tuition structure based on family size and income to support families with low to moderate incomes.

Sunnyside’s board also has a Diversity Committee made up of board members, staff, and parents who take a special interest in diversity. The committee’s mission statement reads:

Sunnyside’s Diversity Committee is dedicated to creating an inclusive and welcoming community grounded in respect and appreciation for individual and family differences. The premise of the Committee is that Sunnyside children, and the center itself, thrive on the vibrancy of our differences, including gender, language, race/ethnicity, religion, social class, family composition, and ability or disability. The Committee strives to support families and teachers by providing resources and trainings to encourage understanding of diversity. The Committee consults with the staff and board as needed regarding the center’s social, fundraising, enrollment, and hiring functions. The Committee supports the Director in maintaining racial diversity in enrollment.

In the past, the committee obtained a grant to expand the Sunnyside library with books representing different cultures and traditions. The committee regularly sponsors parent workshops on how to talk with children about differences. It stays in touch with families through an e-mail suggestion box and the program newsletter.

Developed for NAEYC's Engaging Diverse Families Project through a generous grant from the Picower Foundation.
© National Association for the Education of Young Children.