To the editor:

As the alumni and friends of the South Whidbey Co-op Preschool prepare for our big scholarship fundraiser on Jan. 30 at Whidbey Children’s Theater, it struck me just what this little school has meant to my family and me. It also struck me that I need to say, “Thank you!”

From the first day we moved to the island over 11 years ago, the co-op preschool has been a part of my life. I have been a parent, a board member, a teacher, and I am now one of the parent educators. It is the place that helped me parent, loved my children, and showed me that my husband and I are not in this lifelong journey of parenting alone.

As a larger co-op family, we have laughed at the joy of seeing our children (and ourselves) grow, helped one another move our homes, swapped babysitting, offered a listening ear, met for countless play dates and delivered meals to those of us who have just had babies. We have also wrapped our arms around each other when we have met unspeakable grief, and there has been much too much of that lately. The co-op is a family, not just for the year or two (or in my case, seven) that our children are in the preschool, but for a lifetime.

In this age of young families living away from their extended families, the co-op has filled a void for so many of us. It has provided 41 years of learning and growing for more than 1,000 families. It has taught us how to parent, how to solve problems with our children, and allowed us the opportunity to be directly involved in our children’s education.

For that, and for the lifelong friendships my children and I have made, I say, “Thank you South Whidbey Co-op Preschool for the work you do on behalf of children and families in this community. I am forever grateful.”

Michele Zisette

Langley