Parent-Cooperative Model

Provides financial assistance to low-income families to afford private K-12 education, specifically offering K-8 scholarships with awards up to $3,000 per student annually, distributed directly to partner schools twice a year in November and March. The program uses a lottery system with an annual March 31st application deadline and has supported over 45,000 children since 1995.

Provides high school scholarship awards capped at $4,500 per student to former BISON K-8 scholars, awarded exclusively through a lottery to current 8th graders. The fund has expanded high school support since 2019, including special named scholarships such as the Judy Carr Beecher ’58 Memorial Scholarship and the Heather Ann Williams Memorial Scholarship.

Awards targeted post-secondary scholarships to BISON alumni, including a full-tuition, last-dollar scholarship annually to the top alumnus attending Villa Maria College, a $2,500 scholarship for BISON alumni enrolling at Villa Maria College, and the Pathways to Prosperity Scholarship—a two-year program providing $1,000 per year to BISON alumni at Erie Community College to cover tuition, books, and supplies.

Publishes annual academic calendars for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years and conducts open enrollment starting January 10, 2026, for the following school year. Charges annual tuition ranging from $2,875 to $5,250 based on class attendance frequency.

Organizes year-round fundraisers to subsidize operational costs, including teacher salaries, classroom supplies, field trips, and enrichment activities.

Implements a play-based, thematic curriculum aligned with the Creative Curriculum and New York State Pre-K Learning Standards, organizing lessons around specific topics or questions and integrating learning across content areas. Classroom environments include rotating interest areas to support exploration and peer interaction.

Maintains a peanut-free and tree nut-free environment, provides annual EpiPen training for all teachers, and conducts state-recommended evacuation and shelter-in-place drills for all classes to ensure student safety.

Provides regular access to outdoor play through a fenced-in on-site yard and utilizes the nearby Delmar Reformed Church playground. Organizes walking field trips to local community sites during warmer months.

Ensures a student-to-teacher ratio of 7:1 for three-year-old classes and 8:1 for four-year-old classes by employing two teachers per class and incorporating parent volunteers, reducing ratios to near or below 5:1 on most days.

Offers nursery school classes for three- and four-year-old children in Delmar, NY, with multiple enrollment options based on age and attendance frequency (2-day, 3-day, and 5-day weekly programs). The program maintains capped class sizes of 14 students for three-year-olds and 16 for four-year-olds, supported by a teaching model that includes a lead teacher, assistant teacher, and parent helpers.

Provides Music and Movement instruction, incorporates yoga into the curriculum, and organizes walking field trips to local community sites such as the library and police station during warmer months to support holistic development.

Supports individualized learning by collaborating with families and school districts, coordinating CPSE screenings, and allowing external therapists to provide services in the classroom when needed.

Offers a limited number of income-based scholarships for early childhood programs, with eligibility determined using Federal Lunch Program and Child Health Plus NY guidelines.

Provides pre-Kindergarten education for 4-year-olds through a partnership with the Ithaca City School District Universal Pre-K (ICSD UPK) program, admitting students via lottery followed by first-come, first-served enrollment.

Operates an early childhood facility in the lower level of a church in Ithaca, NY, featuring a fenced outdoor playground with a sandbox, climbing structures, swings, mud kitchen, and play tools, as well as an indoor gross motor space ("bike room") equipped with trampolines, mats, bikes, and scooters for use during inclement weather.

Provides optional supplemental programming including Early Drop-off (8:30–9am), Lunch Bunch (noon–1pm), and Extended Day (1–3pm) for enrolled families. Also offers enrichment activities in yoga, art, soccer, and Spanish during the school year to support holistic development.

Provides a ten-month, play-based nursery school program for children ages 2 to 5 from September to June, aligned with the Ithaca City School District calendar. The program emphasizes child-directed play, exploration, and development in areas such as art, math, literacy, movement, and music, with daily activities including story time, outdoor play, open-ended art, science experiments, and dance.

Offers structured early childhood education in three age-specific classrooms for children who turn 2, 3, or 4 before December 1st. Programming includes full-day (9am–noon) options for 3- and 4-year-olds and part-week sessions (Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday or Thursday/Friday) for 2-year-olds, with groupings designed to support developmental transitions.