SECTION ONE: WHO WE ARE

Our vision is to cooperatively offer classes that enrich a family’s choice of home study, provide a safe place for children to meet and learn with other homeschooled families, and give parents a place to encourage and fellowship with one another on a weekly basis. We want to provide an economical means for home-educating parents to enrich their children’s educational experience.

We exist in the middle and lower grades to enhance any curriculum that is being completed at home. Our co-op in these grades is strictly non-academic which means that parents are not required to continue any study that is being done at the co-op, nor will our classes form the basis for the work at home. Our classes will rotate each session and will typically not build on any previous session. Therefore, no student should feel lost or out of place if he or she attends only one session per year. The classes are age-appropriate and usually try to cover several, if not all, of the learning styles. Therefore, our classes are “academic” in nature, but they do not require much work on the parent’s part, hence the title “non-academic.” In addition, the BCHE co-op utilizes the knowledge and energy of our parents to provide a parent-led co-op.

We are not a “drop-off” co-op – parents are required to stay on the premises and serve in an assigned capacity.

SECTION TWO: IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE YOU MUST:

• Be a Bradley County Home Educators member
• Be able to have excellent attendance each semester you participate
• Serve in some capacity during the hours of co-op. A parent or a designated guardian must be present on campus at all times while your child(ren) are on campus. Please do not send your children with another co-op family. If you have to send someone else to accompany your child(ren), that person will be responsible for the duties of your assigned area.
• Require your child(ren) to attend all hours of co-op
• Attend a mandatory orientation before the first day of classes.

SECTION THREE: POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Class size - In elementary and under, we try to limit the class size to 10. In middle school grades, we try to limit the class size to 14. We offer a nursery/classes for all ages through middle school.

Priority Registration - Teacher are able to register their children before families that are not interested in teaching. It is very common for most classes to be completely full after teacher registration. Please keep this in consideration when planning your participation in BCHE Enrichment Co-op.

Babies- Other children who will be with you at Co-op (children your family fosters, or will adopt) should be registered. This should include any babies who aren’t born yet, but will be to the above stage for the fall and/or spring semester. All babies who are old enough to be active and interactive during Co-op should be registered to be cared for in the nursery.

Potty Training Issues--If you are in another area, we will discretely come get you so that you can assist your child when this is necessary. If your preschooler is not fully potty trained, however, please request to be a volunteer in his or her class for more than one hour, if possible. – We would like all children who participate in the 3’s class to be potty trained.

Student Supply Box-- Each student must have a supply box/container with the following supplies and bring it with him/her to class each week: two pencils, sharpener, pen, eraser, age –appropriate scissors, glue stick, bottle glue, markers, colored pencils and/or crayons.

Snack and Water—Please remember to pack a peanut and tree nut free snack and water bottle for your student(s).

Dress code – In order to encourage modest dress and to give the best-possible representation of our faith, we have chosen to add the following “dress code” for all group functions and field trips:

1. No stomach or underwear should be visible.
2. Shirts should have conservative necklines and should not be revealing when you bend over.
3. Skirts and shorts should not be excessively short. The length should come to at least the bottom of your thumb when you stand.
4. No wording across the back of the shorts or pants.
5. No offensive or vulgar graphics on t-shirts or hats.

If disagreements arises on this area, leadership will make a decision with the wellbeing of our community in mind.

Code of Conduct / Discipline Policy - Discipline is each parent’s responsibility. In order to maintain a positive learning environment, we agree on the following guidelines concerning discipline:

1. If a child is being overly disruptive, offensive, harmful, or destructive, and does not respond to the admonishment of the teacher, the teacher or teacher's assistant will explain the offense to the parent of the child.
2. The parent is expected to eliminate the problem by removing the child from the class/activity or taking the appropriate action necessary to prevent the problem from continuing or recurring.
3. If the problem continues or recurs, the parent and the child will be asked to leave the activity.

Attendance Policies--By registering for the BCHE Co-op, the parent is committing to serve on a weekly basis in the enrichment co-op, so excellent attendance and punctuality is vital. If the parent anticipates being late or unavailable (appointments, vacations, etc.), he/she must inform Tara Cory, the Co-op Director, at [email protected] or 423-584-222, or the On-site Coordinator of the lateness or unavailability for that day of co-op so another volunteer can be placed into the classroom to fill you spot of the day. If sickness or unexpected absence arises on the day of co-op, please contact Tara Cory as soon as possible at 423-584-2222.

However, if the absences seem to be of a more chronic and/or voluntary nature, the Co-op Committee can decide that the following Co-op year the family will sit out one semester, thus placing it on the lowest level for registration, and that the option of a teacher position will not be available to the parent. Since excellent attendance is essential to the health and fairness of our co-op, if a family misses more than two classes in a semester, the Co-op Committee will review its situation; we understand that sometimes emergencies arise.

If you or one of your children are sick, but you want your other child(ren) to attend Co-op, they must be accompanied by a substitute who will take your volunteer duties.

In addition to your family's attendance, only children that are enrolled in Enrichment Co-op are allowed to be present in the areas used by BCHE Enrichment Co-op at the time Co-op is taking place.

Email Communication – Please remember to check and read your emails regularly so that you do not miss important Co-op information.

Flexibility – The co-op strictly runs on parent volunteers. As needs and situations arise, the co-op committee may need to move volunteers at any point—such as your free hour-- to fill a need in another area. Please be flexible and willingly helpful when this situation occurs.

Weather Policy- We will follow the Bradley County policy for school cancellations due to weather. If in doubt, please check your email or refer to the website for updates.

Sickness – Please do not attend co-op if you or your child has experienced any of the following symptoms within the past 24 hours: fever, diarrhea, or vomiting. Please be courteous of others if there is any question about the health of your child. This is especially important for nursery children.

Food and Drinks – We are a peanut/tree nut – free zone!! Please do not bring anything with peanuts, peanut butter, or tree nuts to co-op. We have several children with very serious allergies. Children are not allowed to have hot drinks or juice boxes in the building. Parents may bring a hot drink with a lid as long as it is kept in the “parent room” only. Water bottles, thermoses, or sippy cups filled with water (nursery babies may have whatever is necessary) are allowed in the classrooms. All students age 3 through 8th grade will have a designated snack time during the 2nd hour class. All nursery children need to come prepared with a snack and drink from home. Please label snacks and drinks accordingly. It is the parent’s responsibility to send a snack with each child. At times, a teacher may desire to bring in food in conjunction with a particular lesson. Please see the appropriate teacher, if your child has food related allergies.

Phones and Electronic Devices - Students are not to bring any electronics with them to class including phones, electronic games, mp3 players, etc. Parents, please keep phones on vibrate and do not use them in the classrooms.

SECTION FOUR: POLICIES FOR TEACHERS

Statement of Faith – BCHE encourages members of all faiths to attend our co-op. However, in order to stay faithful to our mission as a Christian organization, each main teacher and/or co-teacher at the co-op is required to sign and have on file the BCHE Statement of Faith. This is signed on the Class Proposal iform and must be completed before submission.

Class Proposal I-Form -- We encourage our teachers to teach topics that they are passionate about. We give them the freedom to make choices with the understanding that we want to offer a well-balanced selection of classes. We ask that teachers fill out a Class Proposal I-Form, which is sent directly to the Co-op Administrator for approval, before planning for a class. We strongly encourage teachers to teach their class to both paths when this is applicable.

Mandatory Orientation—Teachers must attend a Teacher Orientation in the Fall. If you cannot attend, you must notify the Co-op Director.

Teachers – If you have an unexplained or last-minute absence, like sickness, and cannot make these arrangements, please feel free to contact the Co-op Director to let her know your situation. You can use the BCHE directory to contact her. – If you will not be able to attend co-op, you are responsible for finding your own substitute teacher (usually this will be one of your helpers).

Supply Money and Additional Class Fees – Each Enrichment teacher has a $3.00/child amount for class supplies; middle school teachers have $3.50/child. If the teacher feels that more money per child will be necessary, she can request that a supply fee be associated with her class. Since we make every effort to keep costs low for our families, this fee should be kept as low as possible, should not be considered a “slush fund,” and should not exceed $10.00.

Reimbursements – These will be issued for items purchased for BCHE co-op classes up to the allowable amount as determined by the Co-op Director. These requests must be accompanied by the original receipt or a legible copy and a completed BCHE Co-op reimbursement form. This form will be posted online. Forms and receipts must be submitted to the treasurer within two (2) weeks of the final co-op day for the applicable session or otherwise approved by the Steering Team.

Classroom Maintenance—Please seek to leave the facility cleaner than you found it. Classroom helpers and teachers should be cleaning/tidying their classroom each hour. Special attention should be given to tables (glue, markers, crumbs) and the floor--especially after snack, or projects with little bits of anything.

Use of copy machine – Teachers are allowed to use the copy machine at the facility during the co-op hours. Copies are to be used for the co-op classes and not for personal home use. Please record the number of copies printed each week on the sheet provided in the copy room. In addition, please be respectful of others and the property of the facility by planning ahead and limiting your time at the copy machine.

Curriculum – In the middle school and lower grades, we try to offer any of the following classes based on the choices made by our volunteer parent-teachers: Math, Science, Technology, History, Geography, Language Arts, Art, Physical Education, Other Electives. We ask that teachers pick curriculum that will fall into one of these categories, so as to avoid any overlap each semester. In general, Bible and theology-related classes will not be offered.

Supply Closet and Library -- We also have a lending library located on site at the host facility for the use in teaching co-op classes. This library may be accessed by all BCHE members during co-op days/hours. A special shelf is reserved in the lending library for those who are wanting to donate and/or check out material specifically for teaching a co-op class.

SECTION FIVE: CO-OP FEES AND DEADLINES

Fees—These are based on the number of weeks due to the facility rental charges. It is a flat fee per child for the entire session no matter how many classes a student takes or how many children are in a family. There will be no discounts.

Additional Fees/Supplies – Some classes may have an additional fee for supplies or request that the parent bring supplies from home. Please include these additional fees, if necessary, at the time of registration.

Payment Due at Registration—It is required that you pay for all Co-op fees for the full year at the time of registration. Registration is only complete when payment is received by BCHE. To streamline our accounting process, the use of the Paypal function on the BCHE website is strongly encouraged. If payment is made by check, a print-out of the family’s registration page should accompany it. If the Co-op Treasurer has not received the check within two business days, the registration will be cancelled. Parents paying by check will receive an email confirmation from the treasurer upon receipt of check.

Canceled Registration Refund Policy – Refunds for canceled registrations will not be issued.

Returned Checks – If a check is returned by the BCHE financial institution as being “non-payable,” the member will be responsible for all bank and returned check fees. The member will then be expected to pay with cash for registration to be accepted.

SECTION SIX: POLICIES FOR CO-OP FACILITY

Food is not allowed in the hallways. Please keep food and snacks in the classroom and discard appropriately.

No peanuts and/or tree nuts allowed.

Children are to be accompanied by a parent or other adult at all times.

When children are not in class, they are to be attended by a parent at all times – ALL AGES, NO EXCEPTIONS, before and after co-op.

As stated in the attendance policy section, only children that are enrolled in Enrichment Co-op are allowed to be present in the areas used by BCHE Enrichment Co-op at the time Co-op is taking place.

Edited by Co-op Director 11/3/2022