Northpoint Co-Op Preschool

"Northpoint Cooperative provides a very special place for young children to thrive in a safe environment surrounded by the community member they will grow up along side. If you're looking for community involvement and an affordable, high quality educational foundation for your infant-5 year old, this is the place to try. Really great if you're new to the area!"

"When I think about Northpoint Co-op Preschool, I think about the energy the beautiful historic building generates with teachers that brings kindness, love, laughter & patience. The continued evolving education involvement with Amy Mackey as our Bates Child Studies Instructor keeps our teachers and families informed. The programs are great resource. We have enjoyed our experience this year in Ms. Melissa's 2.5/3 yr. old class. We have valued our experience in acknowledging the importance of Big Play and realizing that kids need to learn to listen to instruction so as not to impinge others or the teacher. I would learn from hindsight that holding your child back a year makes it more positive, moving toward the future. We love Ms. Melissa!"

"Northpoint Coop was my son's first experience with school at 2.5 years old. We were initially encouraged by Ms. Melissa's bright affect and eagerness, but quickly realized that we had made a mistake because of how she treated our son. But we don't quit easily, so we kept giving the school chances hoping that perhaps we were just overreacting. Our interactions with Ms. Melissa were the most hurtful experiences we have had with any school. You never imagine your child to be with a teacher who clearly disliked him, didn't even try to hide it and basically ignored him all year, including us as parents. He cried in the beginning of the year because it was his first time being away from me, this is normal as I have learned from other schools. However, Ms. Melissa was clearly annoyed and said on multiple occasions in front of other parents that she had never had a child cry so much. The only reason my son eventually adjusted was because the Bates Educational supervisor visited the classroom and took him under her wing. One day (two hours really) with her and he was able to stop crying. I look back and ask myself why we stayed so long. I was a naive, new mother who didn't know that there was clearly something very wrong with this school. There were no other people of color and diversity in learning styles were also not welcomed. She kept repeatedly telling my 2.5 year old to "use your words" when I had told her that he doesn't like to talk much because he is an introverted kid until he gets to know you. She said it must be because I spoke another language to him at home, which is NOT EVEN TRUE. I only speak English and even after I told her this she continued to insist that this must be why. The other parents were kind of nice, mostly cliquey and kept to themselves. The building is beautiful and I loved the classroom itself. I left the best for last. Ms. Melissa insisted that I get my son evaluated by the Tacoma School District's Child Find Program for any developmental or learning disabilities. I was confused and asked for what reason because my son was not hyperactive, had no behavioral issues, got along as much as little ones do with other kids at that age with side-by-side play, never hit or yelled or ran around. I asked for specific observations she had made and genuinely wanted to hear any feedback about him from her. She was unable to give me anything concrete or specific. However, she insisted that I go and educate myself as a parent too. As a new mother, of course I listened to whatever the teacher says and take it to heart. I scheduled an evaluation with the Child Find program and the test results were that they found NO deficits in any category. I remember asking the woman if this was true even in the language category and she said he scored normal and they had no concerns at all. The woman working with us actually took us aside and asked who referred us to their program and wrote down the school name and Ms. Melissa's name. This woman said that they were highly concerned that the school gave us the impression that there was something developmentally delayed with my son because he scored above average marks in almost all the categories. She said that it was inappropriate for the school to refer him and was concerned about Ms. Melissa's judgment and actually asked me if I knew her educational background. On the last day of school, we went up to her to say goodbye outside and she didn't even acknowledge him. Its like we were invisible. I was so appalled and hurt for my son. I am not sure why she got into this field, perhaps she is burnt out and has had enough of her career? I have no idea. I asked her for feedback on a regular basis and she never gave me any. The Brown's Point neighborhood is amazing and there are really great people living out here. Our community is also something I am proud of and was very disappointed that this school would be everything a parent has nightmares about when enrolling their child."

"A longtime community treasure! Great little preschool with programs for birth-5 years. Runs from September to May. Teachers are top notch and the parent involvement component is a great way to build your village."