About Us

Parent Enriched Academy of Cooperative Education is a small community of dedicated families that work together to offer classes and other learning opportunities to homeschooling children and teens in southern Indiana. We welcome families of all faiths, work together to build a positive community, and do what we can to be as Earth-friendly as possible (more nature play, less worksheets, recycle/reuse as much as possible, etc). As a secular group, we do not require children attending our co-op to memorize religious verses and stories or follow any spiritual guidelines. We just want the kids to learn, have fun, and make some friends along the way. 

Our co-op meets at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus​. Though we rent the facility and a few parents are members of the congregation, the co-op operates separately and is not organised by the congregation itself. The location may seem like an odd choice for a non-religious co-op, but the fact is, this is no ordinary church. Like our co-op, the UU congregation welcomes people from all walks of life and spiritual backgrounds. Buddhist, Muslim, Pagan, Christian, Atheist, and all other spiritual paths are welcome to celebrate life and fellowship in the church, and that seemed like a wonderfully inclusive place to lay the foundations of our little educational community.

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Most importantly, it is a cooperative effort that is shared by all the parents involved. Everyone is encouraged to contribute to the best of their abilities to make this an amazing experience for all children involved. Along with an enrollment fee for each semester (to cover the costs of rent and other facility expenses), each parent is encouraged to volunteer in some way to provide educational activities for the children or to help the co-op run smoothly. This can be anything from teaching a class, donating school supplies, or supervising kids during lunch. 

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If this sounds like a program that you and your kids would enjoy, we would love to hear from you! You can contact our administrators by clicking the link below. We would be happy to answer any questions that you have and give you more information on upcoming events and our next semester of classes. Thank you!