PATHFINDERS POLICY HANDBOOK
(Updated March 29, 2024)
Welcome to PathFinders Educational Collaborative! We are pleased to participate in your child’s educational journey! Please read this policy handbook carefully as it outlines our expectations for participation in our Academic Enrichment Activities. This policy handbook may be updated from time to time. PathFinders will communicate such updates as they occur.
OPPORTUNITY TO REGISTER FOR CLASSES
You may register your Student for classes when the Ed Share has been made for the Student and the PathFinders Participation Agreement has been executed. The Ed Share helps cover operating costs and is non-refundable.
FACILITY USAGE
• We always want to be a blessing to our facility hosts. All students and families need to gently use the facility and cannot deface property in any way. Students and their families will be held financially responsible for any broken or damaged items.
• Students and families may not bring pets on campus.
• We are to leave the facility as it was when we arrived – including furniture placement and lights. All classroom tools and supplies are to be handled with care for the safety of all. Bathrooms must be used with care. TP belongs in the toilet and paper towels in trash cans, rather than on the floor. Lights must be turned out when leaving a room for the day. There must always be adult supervision when children are inside or outside the building.
• We are not permitted to use the microwaves on campus.
• Elevator use is strictly limited to those with mobility challenges.
• Absolutely no alcohol or smoking is permitted on the premises of any Academic Enrichment Activity.
BEHAVIOR
• Absolutely no running, screaming, or climbing can occur in the hallways, stairways, classrooms, or the trees. The trees, in particular, are very tempting for students, but can be dangerous to climb. They are strictly off limits.
• We cannot disturb the work of the church staff.
• Students and parents need to be respectful of staff, teachers, parents, and one another, so the learning environment for all is not disrupted. Behavior which is inappropriate includes but is not limited to disrespect towards teachers, parents, or fellow classmates, bullying, intimidation, name-calling, excessive talking in the classroom, and threats of and/or actual physical or emotional harm. Students and parents must comply with requests of staff and teachers.
• Students or family members who engage in ‘cyberbullying’, ‘bullying’, threatening, intimidation, or committing physical or emotional harm or disrespect to others or repeatedly not following the rules or requests of staff and teachers can be dismissed from PathFinders immediately without refunds of any kind.
• Any student or family member who is having difficulty controlling his/her behavior and impacting the learning environment for others, may result in disciplinary action including dismissal from PathFinders (please see Section V(A) in the PathFinders Participation Agreement).
ATTIRE
We ask that clothing worn by students and parents be modest and not revealing. Also, please avoid clothing with inappropriate language or logos.
TIME & SCHEDULES
Please make every effort to schedule blocks of class time without gaps between classes. Many potential issues can be avoided simply by keeping students engaged in learning. Parents must sit with students who are not in class. Please have students to class on time to minimize classroom disruption. Chronic tardiness may be grounds for dismissal from PathFinders. Parents of students who are not taken home at the end of their day in a timely manner will be billed late charges at the rate of $1 per child per 1 min. late.
CAMPUS CULTURE
• PathFinders is a parent participation program. It is not a ‘drop-off’ program. Parent/Guardian is responsible at all times for supervising the student(s) during Academic Enrichment Activities.
• We rely on your involvement and volunteering! Parents work together to help coordinate the organization of the campus. Parents voluntarily give at least 2 full days of time, or more if needed, within a semester to this effort; the scheduling of which is to be handled by the parents. Parents may split time into half-day shifts with an equal number of morning and afternoon shifts. If ever there is a shortage of parents to assist in organization, any and all parents can be called upon to help. If required by applicable law or PathFinders’ insurance requirements, parents may be required to undergo a background check and/or fingerprinting before volunteering.
• PathFinders will create a parent and teacher contact list that will be shared amongst our families. The express purpose of this list is to facilitate PathFinders activities and parent/family connectivity. Please do not use this contact list to promote or market personal businesses to PathFinders teachers or families.
ALLERGIES & MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Please be sure to include all medical conditions and allergies on your registration form. We will always do our best to accommodate food allergies in our classrooms. That said, please be aware that PathFinders is not an allergen-free environment!
• PathFinders does not dictate or restrict what families can bring for snacks and lunch. Although we discourage food sharing due to allergy concerns, we are not able to monitor food sharing amongst children/families. We also do not control whether allergens may otherwise exist in our rented space. If your child has a serious food or environmental allergy, it is your responsibility to monitor your child and be in a position to render aid and medication if necessary. For safety purposes, please keep your child’s medication in your possession (please do not send your child to class with medication in his/her backpack).
• With respect to potlucks and class parties, families often bring homemade treats and snacks. We encourage this, and love to see the children celebrate together! To help families who are managing allergies, please bring a notecard with the ingredients included in your potluck items.
Likewise, if your student has a serious medical condition that may result in a medical emergency (e.g., asthma that is not controlled with medication, a seizure disorder that is not controlled with medication, a severe life-threatening food allergy, etc.), please take whatever measures are necessary (e.g., remaining with your child throughout the day) to ensure that you can monitor your child’s health and welfare and administer medication(s) as needed.
ABSENCES
If a child is absent, the parent is to notify the teacher 24 hours in advance of absence. Parents are financially responsible for student absences with their public school charters.
PUBLIC CHARTERS PO’s
If a family is using a public-school charter to pay for classes, it is the parent’s responsibility to place purchase orders with their child’s charter in a timely fashion. Any parent who has not placed a purchase order before classes begin, will be held financially responsible for any classes which have occurred outside of the purchase order. Parents are responsible for ensuring that PO’s are placed successfully. Any financial errors in PO’s are the parents’ responsibility to pay. For example, purchase orders mistakenly processed through Homeschool Coaches when the teacher is a direct vendor of your charter will incur a $50 processing fee.
CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS
If you wish to cancel your registration for an Academic Enrichment Activity (including a class), you must inform both the teacher and Director Mary Anne Cheraz via email. Note that Mrs. Cheraz handles all enrollment and class rosters for PathFinders, so it is imperative that Mrs. Cheraz is notified of any withdrawal from an Academic Enrichment Activity in addition to the applicable teacher. Withdrawals/cancellations will only be effective after notice is given to both the teacher and Mrs. Cheraz. Please consider your teachers and other students who may be waitlisted when canceling a PO or withdrawing from a class. POs pay for a seat in a class for a semester, sometimes preventing a teacher from placing another child in the class. Late cancellations of a PO can place an undue financial burden on a teacher.
• Parent/Guardian shall not cancel a purchase order or withdraw from a class, as applicable: (1) fewer than seven (7) days before the start of classes, if PathFinders has provided confirmation of Student’s enrollment ten (10) or more days before the start of classes; or (2) more than seven (7) days after receiving confirmation of Student’s enrollment in a class, if such confirmation is provided by PathFinders less than ten days before the start of classes (including after classes have begun). Parent/Guardian acknowledges and agrees that untimely cancellations or withdrawals place an undo financial burden on the Vendor and may prevent another student from participating in the class. Parent/Guardian agrees to pay fifty percent (50%) of the remaining semester fees (on a pro rata basis) upon such untimely withdrawal or cancellation; provided, cancellations or withdrawals occurring during the second half of the semester shall be paid in full by Parent/Guardian. For purposes of calculating any refunds or amounts owed, withdrawal from a class shall be effective when notice of such withdrawal is made to both the Vendor and Mary Anne Cheraz, Director.