What is the Family Team?

The Family Team is YOU! When you enrolled your child in Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center, you joined a diverse community that aims to expand the potential of all children. This requires a partnership between school staff, family members, and the broader community.

Most schools have a group of dedicated people that works with the school to support its mission by raising funds, hosting events, and supporting extracurricular activities. These groups are often called Parent-Teacher Organizations. At GRCDC, this group is known as the Family Team, and it includes all GRCDC families. The Family Team provides the organizing structure for parent and guardian involvement at the school. Your membership in the Family Team is automatic.

The Family Team needs your participation.

GRCDC’s charter school status creates a solid foundation for its Reggio Emilia-inspired approach to learning. That status gives GRCDC incredible flexibility and freedom and also creates additional responsibilities for staff and family alike! That means your participation in the Family Team is critical. Not only is family participation essential to meeting the unique challenges that charter schools face; it’s also an integral part of the Reggio philosophy. The school values the role of the Family Team and depends on us to support the school’s mission.

Ways to help

There are many ways to be involved with the Family Team. Your time commitment can be big or small. You can help at school or from home. We need people, amateur or professional, who are artists, designers, tech enthusiasts, numbers people, cleaners, decorators, gardeners, organizers, handy people, photographers, writers, and bakers. We need volunteer coordinators, fundraisers, and event planners. We need people who can come to meetings and share ideas or show up to events and lend a hand.