Dear Menlo Park City Council and City Staff,
My name is Hillary Sinnott and I am reaching out in support of the Menlo-Atherton Cooperative Nursery School. I was raised in Menlo Park and in addition to attending the Menlo-Atherton Cooperative Nursery School myself, I attended Oak Knoll, Hillview and M-A. I am the granddaughter of Shirley Jorgenson, one of the founding members of this Co-op. I am now a Marriage and Family Therapist and I lease an office in downtown Menlo Park. My 4-year-old son now attends the M-A Co-op alongside my sister Katie Sinnott and her 4-year-old son.
I am writing to emphasize the unique value of the M-A Co-op. The sense of community that the Co-op fosters is unmatched. Having parents work together in the classroom and attend educational meetings about child development and parenting allows for the formation of real bonds. In volunteering together in the school, parents get to know one another and each other’s children. This environment fosters genuine depth of relationships. One of my bridesmaids was my best friend who I met in 1990 at the M-A Coop. I ran into her mother at Trader Joes in downtown Menlo Park last week • These relationships have brought me back to this school. I want to provide my children the opportunity to develop this kind of community and to see me being an active, engaged part of their early learning experiences.
I also want to emphasize that the Co-op is distinctly different from the vast majority of early childhood programs in the area. The days that my son does not attend the Co-op, he attends another preschool program. While our other school is good too, it is different – it is a childcare program. Our other school does not provide parent education or much parent involvement and as a result we as a family feel less connected and less invested in the school. In contrast, I trust that when my son attends the Co-op, he will be surrounded by familiar faces and invested parents that are choosing to be there, ready to connect with him. We also have the luxury of starting the Co-op program at an early age and continuing with the same children and families over the course of 4 years – creating true relationship foundations.
This school is one of a kind and serves as a hub of activity, education and connection. It primes parents from the first year of their child’s life to be present and involved in their child’s socioemotional development and education. And the play-based, emotionally focused curriculum contributes to the development of confident, self-directed, joyful, and communicative children. Personally and professionally, I believe in everything this school stands for and I sincerely hope you, the Menlo Park City Council and City Staff support the affordable extension of the school’s lease to keep this magical school alive.
Thank you so much for your consideration,
Hillary Sinnott
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Hillary Sinnott, LMFT94689
1150 University Drive, Suite 106
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 308-4593
www.hillarysinnottmft.com
