IDMANN Cooperative Parents' Alliance (CPA)

Trying to combine working from home with home-schooling places unspeakable stress on parents and children alike. IDMANN Academy provides tutorial support for students in middle and high school (6th grade --> 12th grade) through the Cooperative Parents' Alliance (CPA). In the CPA, a group of parents (comprising of no more than 10 students in the same grade) form a 'cooperative alliance'. IDMANN Academy then creates and delivers a specialized online tutorial program to serve those children. Each CPA has a dedicated teacher and dedicated secure online classroom facilities for the children in the CPA. The curriculum (based on the Common Core standard for the grade in question) is customized to meet the specific needs of this small group of students. IDMANN CPA supports students and families in many countries where the language of instruction is English.

Parents may form their own Cooperative Alliance and approach IDMANN Academy, or may sign up at IDMANN Academy to be matched with other parents expressing interest in joining a CPA. Parents form, join and support the CPA voluntarily and of their own accord. The fixed fees of the CPA are shared and paid collectively by the member-parents. The CPA is supported as one cooperative alliance. (Parents seeking support individualized support for their children may enroll in the IDMANN Private Tutor Program (PTP).)

The Cooperative Parents' Alliance may also augment the efforts of parents who seek to home-school their children by providing additional tutorial resources to support the children, where permitted. Parents who wish to home-school their children and deploy a CPA as an ongoing support supportive resource are welcome to form their own cooperative.

The formation and operation of the CPA is based on the following simple guidelines:

1. The CPA is formed voluntarily by the parents; fees and services are shared by the cooperative alliance. Parents have the obligation to partner with other parents of like-mind and disposition so that their collective needs and aspirations are easily realized for their children. The CPA works best when formed by like-minded parents or by friends and associates who have personal, social, cultural, professional, and/or communal ties.
2. Families are expected to live within the same time zone so that classes can start and end at the same time for all students in the CPA.
3. Given the target age-range of the CPA, classes are held with generous breaks between blocks. Classes MAY run five days a week, from Monday to Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Nominally classes start by 9a.m. and end by 3p.m., even though parents in the cooperative may elect a different schedule. Schedules are much more limited IF students attend a regular school. In that case, the cooperative alliance augments their learning in school.
4. Even though classes are held online with a tutor, parents must provide continuous and responsible adult supervision for their children (who participate from home) throughout the sessions. Tutors cannot be expected to "keep an eye" on kids over a video-feed from possibly hundreds of miles away. Parents are responsible for the safety and well-being of their children who remain in their homes at all times. Tutors are there only for the provision of tutorial instruction. Furthermore, students will take breaks between tutorial blocks. Parents are expected to supervise their children during these breaks, and to ensure they return back to the tutorial session at the appointed time.
5. Cooperative Alliances cannot include more than ten (10) students and all students must be in the same grade (1st --> 12th grade) at the time of enrollment. Subjects covered in the CPA derive from the Common Core Standard for the grade in question and typically include the following: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Where there are upcoming state-mandated assessment tests for a particular grade, the requirements of those tests are incorporated gradually into the tutorial process.
6. It is reasonable to expect that students who form the CPA will interact with each other during classes. This supervised interaction during class is part of the benefit of the CPA given that students interact with and learn from their peer group, while in the safety of their homes. However, parents are - as in all circumstances - expected to monitor their children's interactions outside of the controlled environment of tutorial sessions.
7. Given the age of the children in the CPA, parents may be provided a secure "digital access window" that enables them to occasionally "look into the classroom" and observe how their children are doing in class. There will be limits to the frequency of the "drop-ins" but we extend this service to parents to provide added comfort to those that might be anxious about leaving their children for the first time, or worry about their integration into a new learning environment.
8. It is important to point out that tutors cannot play the role of childminders or babysitters. Classes end with a hard stop at the prescribed time. (Instructors are parents too!) Parents should ensure that their domestic arrangements provide for appropriate supervision and suitable engagement of their children at the end of each class.
9. As in any other educational or tutorial endeavor, parents have a critical role to play. Parents are expected to closely monitor and actively support the progress of their children. This includes following up to ensure the completion of homework, assignments, and exercises in a timely manner. At the end of the day, young students NEED the reinforcement of the adults in their lives - at home - to focus and make the most of their educational journey. Parents will be provided confidential updates on their children so as to support this process. 
10. Tutors in the CPA are trained early-childhood educators, and are screened and subject to a background check before being assigned to support our precious children.

In general, the curriculum of the CPA is based on the Common Core Standards for the grade in question. This can be varied or redesigned to meet the needs of parents in the cooperative.  Instructors are trained and experienced early-childhood educators who are dedicated to teaching the students in the CPA cohort. Their focus is on supporting the students to realize their full potential. Tutorial plans are developed and delivered with the goal of supporting the instruction and curriculum followed by the children's home schools. As part of this design, tutorial instructors endeavor to challenge students with material they may encounter in the coming term or academic year. These stretch goals help identify areas where students may need additional support. Instructors also provide ongoing support as students begin to prepare for upcoming standardized tests. 

The following subjects are covered in the standard CPA tutorial plan:

• English Language Arts:
  • This is based on the English Language Arts curriculum defined by the widely adopted Common Core Standard for English Language Arts.
  • Our English language blocks run for one hour, five times a week.
  • The focus is on providing revision and tutorial support for students so that they concretize the concepts learned during the school year, and improve their mastery of the language through reading, writing and grade-appropriate exercises.
  • The goal is to support students to become well equipped to pass their mandated language proficiency tests.
•  Mathematics:
  • This also is based on the mathematics curriculum defined by the widely adopted Common Core Standard for Mathematics.
  • Our mathematics blocks run for one hour, five times a week. 
  • Our focus is on providing revision and tutorial support for students so that they concretize the concepts learned during the school year, and improve their mastery of key mathematical concepts as demonstrated by completion of grade-appropriate exercises.
• Science:
  • This is based on the science curriculum specified by the relevant state educational guidelines. Even though there is a lot of commonality across jurisdictions, every effort is made to ensure that critical concepts and areas of pre-emphasis mandated by a state are reflected in the tutorial experience. This is another reason why it is important for students in CPA to come from the same or similar jurisdictions.
  • Our science blocks run for one hour, five times a week.
•  Social Studies:
  • This is based on the curriculum specified by the relevant state educational guidelines. Even though there is a lot of commonality across jurisdictions, every effort is made to ensure that critical concepts and areas of pre-emphasis mandated by a state are reflected in the tutorial experience. This is another reason why it is important for students in CPA to come from the same or similar jurisdictions.
  • Our social science blocks run for one hour, five times a week.
• Electives:
  • Students may choose from one of our electives to support their intellectual and social development. Electives include consumer science, engineering sciences, digital art, and computer programming. The choice and scheduling of the elective is part of the specialized curriculum design for the cooperative.

For questions about CPA you may send an email to .

Classes are typically held daily starting at 9a.m. and ending at about 3p.m. on weekdays (in the time zone for the given CPA cohort).  They are held in LIVE, interactive online sessions led by highly experienced instructors. A highly simplified timetable for a single CPA cohort (no more than 10 students) is shown below.

To ensure that the online learning experience is devoid of tedium, students have generous breaks after each block. Students are expected to return in a timely manner after each break as the classes are programmed for a hard-stop at the end of the allotted time. Even though blocks are allocated an hour, it is reasonable to expect that younger students (e.g. 1st grade & 2nd grade) will use less than an hour in actual tutorial work, with the rest of the time dedicated to intellectual stimulation and group interaction.

The following scheduling information is helpful for parents seeking to form a cooperative alliance for their children:

• In certain instances, IDMANN Academy permits the formation of a cooperative by parents of children in elementary school. To discuss these exceptional cases, kindly contact our office or send us an email: .
• Parents who wish to form a new cooperative alliance may send an email to indicating their interest and we will endeavor to assist their efforts.
• Students with special needs are welcome to IDMANN CPA. We are happy to provide reasonable accommodations for students with special needs. Parents may send an email to  to discuss their children's special needs and how we might be able to provide the least restrictive learning experience for the child as part of the CPA.

Application & Registration Fees:

• CPA fees are payable for the entire cooperative alliance of 10 students.
• Discounts on the tuition are available for families registering multiple children at the same time. (Email us or contact your Educational Outreach Associate for details.)
• Fees are payable in advance, monthly.