On Friday, April 4th from 4:30-6:30 PM Alki Cooperative Preschool is hosting a celebration at
the preschool (corner of 62nd and Hinds SW). All alumni families and educators, current
families and educators and any who want to support cooperative education are invited to join in
the fun. Light refreshments and adult and child activities will be provided. A raffle will help raise
funds for the school’s moving costs and there will be an educator toast at 6:00 PM. Follow thislink for more information and to RSVP.

For over seven decades, Alki Cooperative Preschool (Alki Co-op), one of the five neighborhood
locations of the South Seattle College Cooperative Preschools (SSCCP) program, has been a
cornerstone of the West Seattle community, providing generations of families with high-quality,
play-based early childhood and parent/caregiver education at a reasonable price. Alki Co-op
has been a lifeline for so many families here, providing both affordability and a much-needed
sense of community for caregivers.

For those not familiar with the unique Cooperative Preschool Program through South Seattle
College (SSC), as children are enrolled in preschool, parents/caregivers are concurrently
enrolled as students in the SSC Parent Education Program. Adult students work in the
classroom labs, lead preschool operations, attend monthly evening classes and attend quarterly
parent/caregiver education seminars. This preschool format is shared by cooperative
preschools statewide and is overseen by the Organization of Parenting Education Programs
(OPEP). This unique model offers adults professional development for the essential job of
caring for and raising children while their children attend preschool. Adults working alongside
teachers in the lab classroom build skills in working intentionally and effectively with children,
keep tuition costs low, and build strong community bonds that extend well beyond the preschool
years.

In April of 2024, Alki Co-op unexpectedly learned that its longtime home had been leased to
another preschool, forcing it to find a new location for the 2025-26 school year. The church’s
decision to not renew the lease came as a huge shock. The preschool board learned of the
change after the deal was already finalized and had no advance warning that its lease was in
jeopardy. In a letter to the UCC Council, Alki Co-op Board Member Bonnie Sullivan, herself an
alumnus, expressed the deep pain and confusion felt by the preschool, writing, “Our community
is hurt by this blindside, and we’re left questioning how this could happen.” As for the decades-
long partnership between preschool and congregation, Sullivan wrote that she and the rest of
the preschool community were “deeply disappointed … we would have loved to stay in the
space we considered our home.” The UCC acknowledged they had assumed the preschool
would not have been able to afford a very large increase in rent and apologized that such an
assumption had “prevented [the UCC] from offering [the preschool] the opportunity to discuss
the possibility of remaining in the building.”

Due to support from South Seattle College for parent education tuition fees and parent/caregiver
classroom work, Alki Co-op’s yearly tuition ranged from $819 to $3,267 for the 2024-25 school
year. Conversely, other non-cooperative preschools in the West Seattle area advertise tuition
ranging from $5,000 to $12,000 annually for similar part-day programs. It’s the cooperative
element, says parent educator Jen Schill, that helps keep Co-op Preschools affordable places
for parents/caregivers and children to learn and grow: “One of the most fulfilling aspects of our
program is that parent/caregiver voices are such a robust part of the model. Adults serve not
just in classroom leadership positions but also in preschool board leadership positions, making
sure that the decisions co-op makes are really in its families’ best interest.”

As cities grow and property values rise, cooperative preschools and other community-focused
programs are increasingly vulnerable to displacement. “If we don’t take action, we risk losing
programs that have helped shape communities for generations, leaving families with fewer
options and widening the gap between people who can afford non-cooperative preschool and
those who can’t”, explains Jen Giomi, faculty coordinator for the SSCCP program.

Despite the shock and heartbreak, Alki Co-op has found a new home at Youngstown Cultural
Arts Center. Alki Co-op Board President, Alisa Zemke, expressed that she believes the new
venue will align with values and the contribution Co-op makes to West Seattle, writing, “We
believe that Alki Co-op Preschool and the leadership at Youngstown share a common goal of
building community that will be the foundation of a successful new partnership and will help our
school thrive for many years to come.” While the move brings exciting opportunities, the
transition is costly and has required fundraising efforts. “We’re grateful for every bit of support
we receive,” Zemke says.

As cooperative preschools and other affordable early childhood education programs across the
country face increasing challenges—rising costs, shrinking resources, and limited funding—the
need to preserve these vital spaces becomes ever more urgent. The fight to keep programs like
Alki Cooperative Preschool alive is not just about saving one preschool; it’s about ensuring that
affordable, inclusive education remains accessible to everyone, no matter their income.