Frequently Asked Questions

The name KapKa comes from a Klamath word meaning “young pine.”

We cherish the flexibility and freedom provided by smaller classes. We maintain a 1:8 teacher-to-student ratio, with small classes sizes of 12-16 students. And with additional parent volunteers, children receive even more individual attention.

The KapKa school day starts at 8.25 am and finishes at 3.20 pm. At 8:25 am, students begin arriving at KapKa, and begin to gently get acclimated to their day. It is a time for students to socialize while playing games before they are asked to participate in more structured learning activities. Class officially begins at 8:40 am. A day at KapKa incorporates activities that encourage community building and team work, instruction in essential academic subjects and deeper educational dives through project-based learning. Children have significant time for outdoor play at recess, and visit nearby parks and the zoo as part of science or other lessons. KapKa embraces art, music and physical education. School ends at 3:20 pm, with a 1:20 pm dismissal on Fridays for kindergarten and first grade.

We offer onsite aftercare until 5:30 p.m. with opportunities to play, create, and connect. For those looking for extended learning and enrichment, we also offer a varied schedule of after-school class offerings each quarter, which have included foreign language instruction, yoga, coding, cooking, art, soccer, friendship skills, board games, role-playing games, drama, and more!

As with cooperative preschools, contributing your time helps support operational aspects of the school. As an elementary school, we have found that our cooperative structure creates space where adults can model community responsibility, leadership, and interconnectedness to our students. Students see themselves as part of a larger village that can be hard to create in our city. Students are known by every adult, and adults strive to demonstrate that there can be safety and security in the world. While adults at KapKa are "in charge," there is a unique collaboration that can take place at KapKa, where kids can trust adults to be good listeners, and through this, kids build their confidence to be good listeners and responsible leaders as well. Beyond the programmatic reasons for our co-op, some of the best parts of being a part of our co-op are the lasting connections we make together. From carpools, to social and family events, to camping trips, clubs and meet-ups, parent education evenings, so many playdates, and the list goes on — co-op means community at KapKa.

Every year we set an amount of co-op hours that each family commits to. In conversation with each family, the administration will help you plan your co-op schedule for the year. KapKa also offers the option to make a financial contribution in lieu of some of the cooperative commitments, acknowledging that time given by families is part of what keeps our tuition one of the lowest in the area. Families have found success in fulfilling their co-op commitments through all the different ways that we show up for each other in our community — be it a classroom shift, serving on parent teams, helping with field trips, making food for the teachers, sharing a skill, helping with community service projects, and the list goes on. Classroom shifts are not a requirement, and some families fulfill their commitments without one. Our co-op is made up of families with two working adults, stay-at-home parents, single parents, and the occasional grandparent/aunt/uncle who volunteer as well. We honor and collaborate with each family, value your time, and find the best way for you to co-op each year.

Every member will receive basic training at the beginning of the year, regardless of whether they end up with a regular shift or not. This ensures that everyone with a shift assignment and anyone who volunteers to sub throughout the year has some knowledge about how KapKa works with kids and what we expect from helpers. We try to match skills and interests, along with schedules, when assigning anyone to a daytime shift.
When you're working with staff and students, staff will share expectations and ways of helping, and can provide feedback and assistance if you’re ever unsure of how to support students in learning or in social-emotional situations. Administrators are always available to answer questions and offer support as well. We want every shift to feel successful for everyone involved.

KapKa has an exceptionally large campus for our size, comprising half of a building shared with a local church. While we share the building and often support each other’s philanthropic programs, we are fully independent organizations and KapKa has no religious affiliations. In addition to our classrooms and flexible work spaces, KapKa has a full gymnasium, library, art room, woodworking and project space, outdoor classroom, and a fully-fenced play yard. We make almost daily trips across the street to Woodland Park for outdoor play, and often take advantage of the Woodland Park Zoo, Rose Garden, and the other natural spaces that surround us.

We do not assign homework in kindergarten through third grades and rarely for our fourth- and fifth-grade students. We believe that the days of an elementary school student are already full of meaningful learning. This allows children the space for unstructured play, time with friends and family, or opportunities to pursue personal interests and engage in extracurricular activities of their choosing. Children in fourth and fifth grades occasionally have assignments to work on at home. These may be in support of their project work or to reinforce and extend learning. In both instances, they are building the routines and personal responsibility that will support their transition to middle school.

Our teachers spend a great deal of time getting to know each child's learning style. We strive to create a deep social and emotional base for each child to build an academic career upon with confidence and ownership. Students are given assessments throughout the year to evaluate their progress. Because of our small class size, teachers are constantly tracking how the children are learning and identifying areas where they need more support or greater challenges to keep them engaged. Our educators have a detailed rubric defining specific skills and benchmarks that students are expected to reach. These skills are assessed and observed over days or weeks, often without the children's knowledge. Teachers and parents discuss a student's progress at multiple conferences during the year. There is no standardized testing or grading at KapKa.

KapKa has a literacy specialist to assist children needing more support, and our small class size allows educators to tailor assignments to a student's needs. Part of the instruction occurs in groups that combine grades, so precocious students can work with older children and those needing more work can join younger students.

Students have 45 minutes to an hour each day for recess and 30 minutes for lunch. They also have PE class that is held outside, weather permitting. Kindergarten students spend additional time outside, with one to two hours each day learning and exploring outdoors.

Children must be 5 years old by September 1 to enter Kindergarten.

Yes! We continue to tour families and review applications as space is available. Thanks to our small school and small class sizes, we may have space available in our upper grades, and can often consider applicants to our 1st through 5th grades. Please note that we offer rolling enrollment up until January 1st of the current school year, and after that all applications will be considered for the upcoming school year (rare exceptions may apply). All applicants must be five years old by September 1st of the school year they are applying for.