Welcome to Stars & Stripes Cooperative!
We are a patriotic group that uses open and go history and philosophy units based on the founding principles of this country. Through the education modes of Creative Writing, Arts & Crafts, History, and Music our children will explore American foundational truths together. More specifically, as a co-op we dive into the 28 Principles of Liberty outlined by Cleon Skousen in his book The 5000 Year Leap. Our mission is to raise up America's youth in the founding truths planted by our forefathers long ago. We believe our children are the hope of America, and we aim to inspire America's future leaders here in our co-op!
Schedule
Our co-op meets every Friday with the exception of holidays, as we follow the Alpine School District schedule. Classes run from 930am-1230pm in American Fork at the Calvary Mountainview Church.
Ages
Ages for the co-op are 5-18, but a pre-school class is provided for younger siblings. Mothers with infants or toddlers in diapers will need to change their own child's diapers. All mothers who have infants must keep their babies with them during co-op, and mothers of toddlers are encouraged to be in the pre-school room with their child when not teaching another class's lesson.
Parent Roles
Every parent is an educator in our cooperative, meaning every parent will join with 2 or more parents in instructing one of the classes in our 3 hour program. Parents will rotate weeks that they teach, so you will not be instructing back to back weeks. If you have a preference of which age group or subject you would like to teach, we will certainly work with you! This arrangment has proven to be highly effective for a team building mentality in the co-op. Along with a teaching assignment, every parent will be given a role in the administrative side of the co-op such as 'presentation planner', 'field trip planner', 'recess mom', 'hall-monitor 1st hour', etc. These will be divvied out at our orientation meeting soon to come. Additionally, one parent must be in attendance while their child(ren) are being instructed during co-op hours.
Extra-curriculars
Stars and Stripes Co-op takes several steps to provide group bonding opportunities throughout the year. For example, we have monthly field trips at local venues for co-op families to build memories as a group. Additionally, mothers who join the co-op are invited to monthly "mom night" gatherings where we get to bond in a more one on one environment. On top of that, holiday parties, a talent show, and Market Day are a few other exciting events we all look forward to during the year.
Curriculum
Our curriculum and 28 weekly lessons are all age-based and pre-planned. You can download a free lesson via our website at StarsandStripesHistory.com under the curriculum tab. The cost for our curriculum is $70 for the year for each family which includes a weekly presentation on the principle of liberty/ lesson topic for the week, video links, your pre-written lesson, printable worksheets, and your craft instructions. This is the open-and-go material we will teach from for the 2024-2025 school year. Returning co-op families from last year do not need to repurchase the curriculum, but may choose to purchase the new history pack available via StarsandStripesHistory.com for second hour history lessons.
Cost (Tuition $ Insurance)
The cost of tuition is $25 per student per month including Pre-K students. However, there is a large family discount/ monthly payment capped at $65 per family. Tuition payments will be made at the beginning of each semester (4 month term) via a seperate form on our website starsandstripescoop.com. These payments cover rent of the building, arts and crafts materials, co-op party reimbursements, and the hard costs of covering the operations of the co-op. Tuition payments are due by the end of August.
Each family joining the co-op is committing to 2 full terms at Stars & Stripes (September 2024-April 2025). A registration fee of $60 paid via this Jotform will act as your deposit for joining the cooperative and will be applied to the group insurance rate for the year.
Acceptance
After (1) you have signed the Involvement Pledge later on this form, (2) the $60 insurance deposit has been made at the end of this form, (3) your curriculum has been purchased via starsandstripeshistory.com, (4) the first semester payment has been made in August, and (5) you have attended the parent orientation meeting in August, your family's spot will be secured as part of the Stars and Stripes Cooperative for the 24-25 scholastic year. *Our application period runs through the summer or until filled.*
Please visit this link to see an overview of our co-op: Here.
Looking forward to seeing your family on the weekly to strengthen our youth in Constitutional footings. We are raising the next leaders of America and the calling is on us. Lead. Inspire. Educate!