Co-op Preschools are now enrolling for the 2022-2023 school year!
Co-op Preschools are now enrolling for the 2022-2023 school year!
Melissa Ranck , Meridian Hills Cooperative Nursery School & Kindergarten
This is Melissa's second year on the ICPC Board. Last year she served as secretary and graciously stepped up to serve as president when Nicole's four year term ended this year. As President, Melissa's primary goal is for the ICPC Board to continue to support the teachers and parent leaders at ICPC schools so they can do the work of providing high quality early education and parent education to the families they serve. On a personal level, she hopes to be approachable and wants everyone to feel free to reach out with questions or input to share! Previously, Melissa has served on the ICPC By-Laws Committee and the Affiliates Committee, which were created to update and improve the clarity of the by-laws and affiliate Standards. At Meridian Hills, she served as President when they updated Meridian Hill's by-laws. She also has served as Membership Chair, and on Membership and Social committees for Meridian Hills.
Samantha Ooley
This is Samantha’s fourth year serving as the ICPC Director. In the position, she has worked with Board members to revise and update Classroom Participation Training, revise and update Standards, and bring talented and dedicated members to the growing ICPC Board. She has worked to create stronger and more positive relationships between the organization and member schools, and created and maintained professional relationships with the Indiana Cooperative Development Center, Ivy Tech Community College, Early Learning Alliance, and more. In the absence of a fundraising chair, Samantha has also successfully completed fundraising efforts. Currently, Samantha is working with a committee to revise and update ICPC Bylaws and Affiliate Standards. Samantha has a master’s degree in Philosophy and has completed focused studies in educational theory and educational philosophy. As a co-op parent, she has served as Class Rep and President at Edgewood Cooperative Preschool and on a fundraising committee at Maple Seeds Preschool Cooperative.
Emily Adamson, Maple Seeds Preschool Cooperative
This is Emily's first year on the ICPC Board. She is a Lead Data Analyst with a bachelor degrees in statistics and actuarial science as well as a masters degree in business administration. Both her education and job require organization and restraint awareness, skills she plans to use in her new role as Standards Chair. During her time at Maple Seeds Cooperative Preschool, Emily served as a class liaison, head liaison and Membership Chair where she was able to continue to streamline the collection processes through online forms and applications. Although Emily's kids will be moving on from co-op, she wasn't ready to leave and is looking forward to helping to simplify and streamline Standards processes however she can for ICPC.
Nicole Hester, Cooperative Play Academy
This is Nicole's first year serving as Standards Chair. She just finished a four year term as President of ICPC and is hoping to continue to support ICPC member schools through this new position. Nicole has served on the Parent Cooperative Preschools International (PCPI) board for over two years and has fulfilled many positions at Cooperative Play Academy including teacher, president, fundraising, newsletter, and director since starting the school in 2018. Nicole loves co-op and is looking forward to giving feedback and advice when needed in her Standards role.
Jenell Baker, Nature's Pointe Cooperative Preschool
This is Jenell's first year serving on the ICPC Board. She has a degree in Finance from Ball State and is the current President of Nature's Pointe. She also has served as the Marketing Chair at the the preschool. Her goal in the ICPC treasurer position is to assistant in the continued financial stability of the organization.
Mary Rose Simons, Alumni
Mary Rose served four years as treasurer of ICPC. She will step down this year, but will stay on as a consultant. In previous years, she implemented responsible budgeting practices and streamlined the financial processes so that transactions like grant applications and billings can now be completed online. Mary Rose also helped guide ICPC financially through an unprecedented year. She learned accounting from her mother who is an accounting professor and CFO. She has served on the school boards of three cooperative preschools: Edgewood Preschool Cooperative, Meridian Hills Cooperative Nursery School & Kindergarten, and Carmel Cooperative Preschool.
Jasmine Rau, Maple Seeds Preschool Cooperative
This is Jasmine's first year serving on the ICPC Board. She is the 3/4s teacher at Maple Seeds and when her children attended the preschool she served as President during a time when the school was going through a name change and rebranding. She also served as Vice President, Membership Chair, Publicity Chair, and Social Chair at Maple Seeds. She currently serves as Secretary for the PTO of her children's school. She has a degree in Sociology with a focus on non-profits. Jasmine is looking forward to benefiting the ICPC team anyway she can.
Teresa Hinkle, Nature’s Pointe Cooperative Preschool
This is Teresa’s ninth year serving as the New Teacher Trainer for ICPC. Teresa has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Purdue University and an infant-toddler certification from the Programs for Infants & Toddlers/West Ed. She has worked in the field of Early Childhood for over 30 years and has served as a board member for the Indianapolis Association for the Education of Young Children. Currently, Teresa is the 4/5s teacher at Nature’s Pointe; prior to that she served as the stay and play and 2/3s teacher. As a co-op parent, she served as Class Rep and Parent Ed Chair. In her job as ICPC New Teacher Trainer, Teresa has outlined training material for the program and recently created virtual materials that will allow hybrid (virtual and in-person) learning for new teachers. Teresa has also helped rewrite the ICPC Classroom Participation Training curriculum, working to make the program virtual, as well. In the 2020-2021 school year, Teresa hopes to continue to work with the ICPC Board to put together training modules for parent education.
Liz Lawson, Maple Seeds Preschool Cooperative
This is Liz’s second year serving as an ICPC New Teacher Trainer. She’s been a co-op preschool teacher for 20 years, currently serving as the 2/3s teachers at Maple Seeds. As a co-op parent, Liz served as Membership Chair, Classroom Participation Training Chair and Co-President. She has also held numerous positions on the ICPC Board over the last 27 years and has worked as an ICPC Classroom Participation Trainer, helping to update the program. Over the summer, she worked with the CPT team to transition the program online. In the 2020-2021 school year, Liz hopes to lead new teachers in an understanding of play-based preschool and give them the tools they need to be successful co-op teachers.
Mindy Dant Gordon, Downey Cooperative Preschool & Kindergarten
This is Mindy’s second year serving on the ICPC Board. She previously served as Standards Chair and has moved into the Teacher Support Chair for the new year. At Downey, Mindy has served as Class Rep, President and Co-President, and Co-Treasurer. During her two-year term as president, Downey’s executive team grew the membership by opening two 2/3 classes and adding a parent and child class. Now, Mindy teaches the 4/5 class at Downey. She has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. Mindy is excited to make a difference in her new role on the ICPC Board.
Linda Foley, Meridian Hills Cooperative Nursery School & Kindergarten
Linda has served on the ICPC Board many times during the course of her 21 years as teacher at Meridian Hills. In the role of Teacher Support Chair last year, Linda was able to support teachers during one of the most unique times in their lives and careers. She helped teachers stay connected in a disconnected world. This year, she's looking forward to combining some of the news ways of connecting with more traditional forms through a hybrid approach of virtual and in person support. Linda has a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education with a Special Education minor and a Kindergarten endorsement. She is also a Nature Explore Certified Teacher and a Handwriting Without Tears Certified Teacher. She has taught preschool for 26 years, 21 of those years at a co-op where she has also served as Assistant Director for seven years. As a co-op parent, Linda served as Secretary, Parent Ed Chair, and on the Membership Committee. She recently won two international teaching awards from PCPI. Linda also holds the heartwarming distinction of being a graduate of the preschool where she now teaches.
Jamie Schroll, Nature’s Pointe Cooperative Preschool
This is Jamie’s second year on the ICPC Board. Last summer, she helped the Classroom Participation Training team transition the sessions to an online format. She also helped organize the 2020-2021 Parent Palooza (an annual ICPC event that includes speakers who address parents, teachers and community members on topics associated with early childhood) which was held virtually for the first time and was considered a huge success with over 100 members in attendance at three separate sessions. She also organized other virtual Parent Ed events throughout the year. Jamie has a Master of Education degree in Early Childhood Education. She taught Kindergarten in Lawrence Township for eight years. Currently, she is a co-op parent at Nature’s Pointe where she has served as Parent Ed Chair, Secretary and President.
Gina Kelly, Alumni
This is Gina’s first year serving as Communications Chair for ICPC. She previously served our cooperative community as Marketing Chair for Meridian Hills Cooperative Nursery School & Kindergarten and Publicity Chair for Northeast Cooperative Preschool & Kindergarten. Gina provided content creation and graphic design services in these board positions and increased each school’s social media presence. Gina’s primary goals as Communications Chair are to increase community awareness about ICPC’s support services and improve communication within our organization. Gina has an associate degree in Human Services – Social Work and is currently pursuing a degree in Psychology.
HELP WANTED! ICPC is currently seeking a Fundraising Chairperson who can help with efforts to draw attention to our organization in the greater community and raise funds that will go towards fee reductions, grants, and more, to the benefit of our member preschools and the parent organization. The ICPC Board could only be improved with the addition of another creative and dedicated person, especially from a school not already represented on the current board. Please reach out to ICPC Director, Samantha Ooley, if you have an interest in the position.