As a part of the North Seattle College Cooperative Preschool Network, each of our classes is assigned a Parent Education Instructor by the NSC Child + Family Education Division to advise teachers and help parents build parenting skills.

Our parent educators:

  • Provide formal parent education for at least one hour each month at the monthly parent meeting.
  • Attend All-School Board meetings and the business portion of the parent meetings, serving as a resource to the group regarding business and organizational concerns.
  • Participate in the classroom, working with children and parents as well as assisting the teacher.
  • Consult with and advise the teacher on classroom organization and curriculum.
  • Serve as a resource to individual parents regarding particular concerns.
  • Act as a liaison between parents, teacher, and NSC.
  • Assist on a teacher evaluation committee.

Meet our Parent Educators

Frances Coppa, Toddlers
Frances has been working in the field of children and families for 20+ years.  She taught kindergarten/1st grade, was a special education teacher, and then a school principal. She discovered the magic of cooperative preschool as a parent, finding community and learning alongside her kids. When they headed off to kindergarten, she became a parent educator at North Seattle College and has worked with many age groups, at Mary’s Place shelter and child care sites. Frances is also an ADHD/Executive Function coach for children, teens and parents of uniquely wired kids. Frances loves working with young children for their curiosity, energy and freedom to be who they are.  With kids and families, she focuses on relationship-building, being relevant and relatable, and providing concrete tools to support families. Frances prioritizes inclusivity and weaves social justice and anti-bias education into her teaching and interactions. In addition to being a mom of 2 kiddos – Lily (6th grade) and Wren (4th grade), Frances is a dabbler in all things active – biking, hiking, playing volleyball, coaching ultimate frisbee and open water swimming.  She is also a certified yoga instructor.
Kristin Church, Pre-3’s

Hi! I’m Kristin and I share my home with three kiddos (Freshman at Shorecrest, 6th and 2nd grader at school in Shoreline), a hardworking husband, and a 3-legged cat. This is my 7th year supporting 4 co-op classes: 3 at the Phinney Neighborhood Association (ranging from infants to Pre-K), and Victory Heights Pre-3s. In the pandemic school year of 2020-21, I was co-teacher for a Pre-3s program all year. I also spent many years supported the Kindergarten program and Woodland Park Co-op in Fremont.

I have 20 years of experience in the early childhood field, and I specialize in early childhood Special Education. For 12 years before becoming a parent education, I coordinated classroom accommodations for children with disabilities and supported outreach for parent groups to underserved populations with a local Head Start here in Seattle. I worked facilitating play groups through the Seattle Public Library for 7 years as well.

I am a potter, a fitness instructor at the Y, and recently became more of a runner than I’ve ever been. Other hobbies include house construction (especially after 10 PM), and working outside in my way-too-big yard.

A longtime NE Seattle resident, I moved to Lake Forest Park in 2019.

I look forward to spending the year getting to know your children and families.

Betty Williams, 3 to 5’s
Betty has a BA in Psychology from Vanderbilt University and an MSW (with an emphasis in working with children and families) from the University of Washington. She worked in the child care field for many years as an infant, toddler and preschool teacher, program supervisor, and center director. She taught classes in Early Childhood Education and Parent Education Classes as a part-time instructor at Seattle Central and Edmonds Community Colleges. Since 2004, she has been working as a full-time instructor in Parent Education at North Seattle College and serves as the Parent Ed Program Coordinator. Her vision for Parent Education is to provide a balance of opportunities for parents/caregivers to share concerns, discuss challenges and strategies, and receive information from the field of early childhood education. The vision of our parent education program is to build supportive, diverse, equitable, and inclusive community in which children grow, learn, and thrive.