Join the Co-op

St. Mammas welcomes Orthodox Christian families who desire to educate their children at home while sharing a common architecture for learning and a weekly life of prayer, conversation, handwork, and fellowship. The co-op provides supplemental educational enrichment through its shared reading framework and Friday gathering; parents remain responsible for their children’s primary education at home.

Joining St. Mammas does not mean enrolling a child in a school or transferring educational responsibility to the co-op. Parents continue to direct their children’s ordinary studies, choose and use the materials needed within their homes, evaluate their progress, and fulfill the responsibilities of homeschooling in Texas.

Participation is open to Orthodox Christian homeschooling families. Families are not required to belong to any particular parish, but they should desire an explicitly Orthodox common life and be willing to support the prayerful rhythm and shared expectations of the co-op.

St. Mammas includes five growth stages:

• Seeds: Early Childhood–Pre-K
• Sprouts: Kindergarten–Grade 3
• Shoots: Grades 4–6
• Vines: Grades 7–9
• Vine Dressers: Grades 10–12

St. Mammas gives individual homeschools a common framework within which they can learn together. Families complete the appointed readings or other preparation at home. The children then bring what they have encountered into the Friday gathering, where it is deepened through discussion, creation study, age-specific exercises, liturgical arts, traditional handwork, prayer, and community life.

The weekly gathering offers educational enrichment that grows out of the work already taking place in the home. It does not attempt to reproduce a complete school week or replace the parent’s responsibility for daily instruction.

Member families are expected to:

• Remain actively responsible for their children’s education at home.
• Complete the appointed readings or other preparation before the weekly gathering.
• Attend the Friday gathering regularly and arrive prepared to participate.
• Support the Orthodox character of the co-op’s prayer, fasting, meals, silence, discussion, and common work.
• Help their children treat other families, shared materials, and the gathering place with care.
• Participate in the cooperative life of St. Mammas rather than approaching it merely as an occasional or drop-in activity.

The co-op coordinates the common framework and weekly gathering; families supply the daily education that makes genuine cooperation possible.

Co-op year: September to mid-June
Weekly gathering: Fridays, 9:00 AM–3:00 PM
Location: Nacogdoches, Texas
Annual inquiry period: July
Annual membership: $800 per child

Annual membership includes participation in the co-op from September to mid-June, including the Friday educational-enrichment gatherings, the shared learning framework, age-specific activities, and the common materials and resources used by the children.

Reduced Membership Fee

St. Mammas does not want economic hardship alone to prevent an Orthodox homeschooling family from joining the co-op. A reduced membership fee may therefore be approved on a case-by-case basis for families experiencing financial hardship, according to need and the resources available to the co-op.

Requests are handled privately and with discretion. Families may indicate their desire to discuss a reduced membership fee on the inquiry form; detailed financial information should not be submitted through the public form. A reduced fee does not alter a family’s place within the co-op or its ordinary responsibilities as a member.

1. Submit an Inquiry

Submit an inquiry below describing your interest in the co-op and the children who may participate.

2. Speak with the Co-op

A conversation will be arranged to answer questions, discuss the needs of your children, and ensure that the cooperative model is a good fit for your family.

3. Review the Expectations

Families invited to join will receive the annual calendar, reading information, participation expectations, and other materials needed to understand the life of the co-op.

4. Complete Membership

Membership is completed by submitting the required registration information and annual participation fee.