The Montessori School of the Mahoning Valley, Inc. is a cooperative organization of parents and teachers working together to provide a Montessori educational environment for children at a reasonable cost.

Despite the superior education and care students receive at MSMV and the cost to families of that education, tuition alone is insufficient to fund all expenses aimed at such excellence. Thus additional support--in time and money-- is necessary to offer this quality of education.

When a family enrolls children at MSMV, the parents/guardians become Cooperative Members. Throughout the school year, they are expected to be involved in the functional operation of the school in order to keep tuition at the lowest possible rate.

As part of our cooperative, parents are required to actively volunteer service and participate in every fundraiser each school year. Volunteer tasks may range from class projects to committee work to consultation services. Participation in fund-raising efforts (e.g. Annual Giving, Gala, etc.) and sharing of time, materials and/or talents helps defray our expenses, enrich our resources, support our hard-working teachers, and, most importantly, help teach our children the three R’s--Respect, Responsibility, and Resourcefulness--through your example.

A Cooperative Meeting is held in September each year. Business matters that must be handled by the whole cooperative, i.e. elections, constitutional amendments, etc. are executed at this meeting. Each member of the cooperative is required to attend. In the event a member is unable to attend the annual meeting, the member may appoint in writing any other member to vote on his/her behalf at the meeting.

You may be contacted for help by chairs of specific activities, staff, or Trustees, and you can always initiate involvement by:

• Reading your Volunteer Guidebook and choosing the co-op opportunities in which you would like to participate
• Calling the Board President, committee chair, other provided contact person and letting them know how you are interested in helping.
• Signing up for volunteer service and fundraising participation at the Annual Co-op Meeting in September.
• Watching the school newsletter and the sign board at school for requests for assistance and promptly responding.