What is a Co-op?

A cooperative nursery school is organized and administered by the parents of the attending preschoolers. Mothers and fathers can serve as executive members, attend co-op meetings, work on committees, fundraise and assist in the classroom on a rotating basis (encouraged, but not required). This offers the parents the chance to be involved in their child’s early education and to have a voice in the daily operation of the school.

Parental assistance also means that fees can be kept low. A Co-operative offers families a chance to make new friends – people who acknowledge the importance of quality early childhood education, and who want to be part of it. Our Co-op works well simply because everyone works together to ensure that the exceptional quality of the school is maintained.

Awesome Beginnings Co-Operative Nursery School offers an exceptional introduction to your child’s first educational experience.

Where We Began…

In 1978, Awesome Beginnings Co-Operative Nursery School was established initially as Strabane Co-operative Nursery School when a group of area mothers discovered that the applications they had sent to another preschool had been lost. By this time the other school was full and there was no other school in the area. The mothers decided to join forces and established the Strabane Co-operative Nursery School. Twenty years later, in September of 1998, the nursery school moved from the basement of the Strabane United Church to its present location at the Carlisle Community Centre on the upper floor. In June 2001 the nursery school officially changed its name to Awesome Beginnings Co-Operative Nursery School.