Minimum Student Number

Please consider your minimum number carefully. This is not your ideal number of students but the smallest number for whom you are willing to teach this course.

The most common minimum number is 4 students.

Maximum Student Number

The most common maximum number is 15 students.

Most of our classrooms won’t comfortably seat more than 15 students plus an instructor, and our smallest classroom will comfortably seat only about 8 people. The Fellowship Hall is reserved for courses needing space for significant student movement, such as fencing, dance, and theater.

Minimum Student Date

If you do not specify a Minimum Student Date, your deadline will be assumed to be 2 weeks prior to the start of classes.

We create our course schedule based on the interests indicated by our current members, but sometimes, for a variety of reasons, that interest doesn’t translate into actual class registrations. To allow both students and instructors time to make alternative plans, courses that have not enrolled their Minimum Student Number by their Minimum Student Date will be canceled. Cancelation is automatic. If your course does not reach its minimum registration number before midnight on your Minimum Student Date, all enrolled students will be automatically unenrolled.

Instructors are encouraged to monitor their registration numbers as any requests to adjust minimum enrollment numbers must be made before their Minimum Student Date. If it appears that your course will not meet your Minimum Student Number by your deadline:

1. You may opt to lower your Minimum Student Number, but you are also then committing to teaching the course with that lower number.

2. You may opt to extend your Minimum Student Date but you are then also extending both “the last day that those registered for the course may ask to cancel their registration and be guaranteed a full refund” and your “Payment Due Date.”

3. You may opt to adjust your age range, if applicable, within the PHS age range of 10-year-old middle school students through 19-year-old high school students.

4. You may accept that the course is quite likely going to be cancelled due to low enrollment (but may still be saved by last-minute enrollments).

5. You may not ask to cancel a course prematurely as co-op volunteers will have been spreading the word about your course to the local homeschool community, including your Minimum Student Date, and interested families may be depending on being able to time their decisions based on that information.

Requests for changes must be emailed to our co-op’s Lead Volunteers before your Minimum Student Date.

PHS Registration Historical Data

• 33% of registrations happened the day registration opens

• registrations dribbled in at a fairly steady rate after that

• 75% of registrations were completed by 4 weeks prior to the start of classes

• 80% of registrations were completed by 3 weeks prior

• 85% of registrations were completed by 2 weeks prior

• 90% of registrations were completed by 1 week prior

• 10% of registrations happened during the week immediately before classes begin

• a small number of registrations happen the week (or two) after classes have begun

Payment Due Date

Tuition and supply fee payments will be due the day after your Minimum Student Date. This policy helps instructors avoid paying fees on tuition refunds.

Class Registration Deadline

Instructors also set the last day that students can register for each of their courses. If you do not specify a Class Registration Deadline, it will be set to the day prior to the second class session (meaning that late-registering students may miss the first day of class but no others).

Students may continue to register for (non-canceled) courses after the course’s Minimum Student Date until the course reaches either its Maximum Student Number or its Class Registration Deadline.

Pro-Rata Tuition

Instructors set their own policies for adjustments to tuition for any late registrations made after the first day of class. Because one of our co-op’s Lead Volunteers will need to make any adjustments to automatically-created invoices manually, instructors are responsible for informing our co-op’s Lead Volunteers of any invoices needing adjustment.

A note about displayed registration dates

Since instructors who are not also PHS members do not register for courses, your website account will be assigned to a non-registering section. That means that you may see “Signup for this class will open on 12/31/2999 at 12:00 AM CST." Rest assured that class registration will open on time for co-op members. (It is a long-standing feature request with Homeschool-Life for the non-registering sections to instead display no date.)

Refund Policy for Late Cancellation Requests

Instructors set their own refund policies for cancellations that do not drop the course below its Minimum Student Number after the course’s Minimum Student Date.

You can offer no refunds, partial refunds, or even full refunds. You can refund the supply fee but not the tuition or the tuition but not the supply fee. You can offer to refund only if a replacement is found. Etc.

Tuition

Tuition is typically between $8 to $12 per student per hour.

Tuition should reflect the instructor’s educational qualifications, expertise in the subject matter, and experience with teaching.

When setting your tuition and supplies fee, also keep in mind the economic reality that homeschool families tend to be single-income families with limited budgets.

PayPal’s fee structure is subject to change. It is each instructor’s responsibility to check PayPal to determine whether or not the above numbers are still accurate.

Tuition adjustments

Should you ever have a reason to offer a student an adjustment to their tuition or a supply fee credit, you have two options:

1. Request that a replacement invoice be generated to reflect that change if the student fees have not yet been paid.

2. Request that an adjustment be made to the student’s account if the student fees have already been paid.

   • Refunds are not issued automatically; instructors must log in to their PayPal accounts and manually issue refunds!
     Refunds are not recorded automatically; instructors must notify our co-op’s Lead Volunteers of any refunds issued. Please provide the date of the refund, the amount, and the PayPal transaction number.

The most common reasons for tuition adjustments are to waive tuition for the instructor's own children, to offer reduced or waived tuition to students acting as classroom assistants (such discounts are not required as leadership opportunities can be part of the educational experience), and to adjust the supplies fees for students who paid for some or all of the supplies during a prior semester.

Supplies

Instructors may charge a separate supplies fee in addition to tuition. Supplies fees will be invoiced with tuition when a student enrolls in the course.

Supplies fees must reflect the actual value of the items to be supplied to students (incidental expenses are covered by tuition). Instructors must include information about what supplies are included in the fee and how supplies will be distributed.

Don’t forget to take into account PayPal fee deductions when setting your supplies fee.

How are instructors paid?

Instructors at Planet Homeschool are paid (1) directly by the individual families whose students enroll in their courses (2) via PayPal (3) through a Homeschool-Life-generated invoice. *

Payments must be made through the Homeschool-Life invoicing system to be automatically recorded. Instructors are expected to email our co-op’s Lead Volunteers to promptly notify them if they receive any payments outside of that system.

Payments cannot be classified as “Friends and Family” transactions and PayPal fees will be deducted, so those deductions should be taken into account when setting your tuition and supplies fee.

PayPal currently takes 3.49% +49¢ per transaction, but that information is subject to change and should be confirmed with PayPal. You can use a PayPal Fee Calculator to determine how much you’ll receive.

You do not need an invoicing system, just an account at PayPal. PHS needs to know the email address you use for that account. Invoicing is then handled by our website host, Homeschool-Life.

Co-op-Wide Cancellations

Should weather conditions make travel to or from our co-op inadvisable or make conditions at Faith UMC unsafe, our co-op’s Lead Volunteers will strive to make a decision about whether or not to hold in-person classes by 8:00 AM. Please read our full inclement weather policy.

While Faith UMC strives to not interrupt our schedule, they may ask us to cancel classes to accommodate a funeral or other important community gathering. This is very rare, but it has happened. It is also conceivable that physical conditions at Faith UMC, such as a heating or plumbing failure, may make meeting unsafe. In those unlikely circumstances, our co-op’s Lead Volunteers will first strive to find an alternative meeting location before making the decision to cancel classes.

In the case of a co-op-wide cancellation, instructors are not expected to issue partial refunds to cover the missed day but are encouraged to provide alternative ways to keep students on track such as providing students with a plan for independent work to cover the material for the week or hosting an online class meeting if students are willing and available.

Scheduled Inclement-Weather Makeup Day

Our co-op has a scheduled inclement-weather makeup day at the end of the spring semester for spring semester co-op-wide cancellations due to inclement weather. Spring semester instructors should plan to be available to teach on that date.

We are not able to schedule an inclement-weather makeup day for fall semester classes.

Class Cancellations by the Instructor

If you, the instructor, need to cancel classes due to illness, family emergency, transportation failures, or other planned or unforeseeable circumstances, you are free to set your own policies for how you wish to handle this. Keep in mind that your students will still be at PHS even though you are not.

Some options to consider:

1. Finding a substitute instructor, if possible. In the past, instructors have had colleagues, advanced students, former students (graduates), or an experienced parent, guardian, or caregiver step in to facilitate a class.

2. Providing students with a plan for independent work to cover the material for the week. You’ll want an adult volunteer to monitor the kids in the classroom.

3. Holding a makeup day on an alternate day, either online or in-person at an alternate location, if you can schedule one that works for all your students.

   • PHS's leased space is not available for use outside of our co-op’s scheduled days and times.

4. Issuing a partial refund for the missed day.

Instructors are responsible for communicating class cancellations to:

1. their students

2. their students’ parents, guardians, and caregivers

3. our co-op‘s Onsite Volunteers for the day

4. our co-op’s Lead Volunteers

The easiest way to communicate with your class is to post an Announcement on your Class Home Page and then click the icon to email that announcement to all your students plus their parents, guardians, and caregivers.

The easiest way to communicate with both Onsite Volunteers and Lead Volunteers is to post to our co-op forum.

(To clarify: If the co-op cancels all classes, then our co-op’s Lead Volunteers are the ones responsible for communicating the cancellation. In that circumstance, you only need to follow up with any plans you have for keeping students on track.

Feature

Room 116

~23x20'

Room 119

~13x20'

Room 115

~24x20'

Room 114

~24x20'

Room 121

~14x16'

Fellowship Hall

~65x33'

Kitchen

outside windows

yes

yes

yes

—

yes

yes

yes

whiteboard

yes

yes

yes

yes

yes

yes

portable

piano

yes

—

—

—

yes

yes

—

room for significant student movement

—

—

limited

—

—

yes

—

sink

—

—

—

yes

yes

—

yes

electric stovetop and oven

—

—

—

yes

—

—

—

gas stovetop and oven

—

—

—

—

—

—

yes

refrigerator

—

—

—

—

—

—

yes

Hobart dishwasher

—

—

—

—

—

—

yes

floor

carpet

linoleum

carpet

carpet

linoleum

linoleum

linoleum

Onsite Storage

Instructors should expect to transport the bulk of their materials and equipment to and from PHS weekly.

Onsite storage is limited. If equipment or supplies need to be stored onsite, email our co-op’s Lead Volunteers a detailed description of what needs to be stored and how much space will be needed so that they can determine if adequate space can be made available.

Entrance to the Building

Instructors, students, volunteers, and visitors should enter Faith UMC using the south door at the back of the building. This door leads directly into the ground-floor classroom hallway, so it is also the most convenient door to use.

An exception is made for instructors bringing in and removing supplies for classes in the fellowship hall and kitchen, who may make use of the closer east door for loading and unloading purposes only. However, supplies must then be carried down a half-flight of stairs, so you may find it easier to use the south door and roll your supplies down the hallway.

The east door may also be used as an accessible entrance for those with disabilities. There is an elevator to the classroom level, which may only be used by those who need that accommodation.

A co-op volunteer unlocks the doors at 8:45 AM and another volunteer makes sure the doors are locked again at 3:20 PM — or as soon as cleanup is done.

Room setup

Students are responsible for setting up the classrooms according to instructor preferences. setup for the day begins at 9:00 AM. Students will set up classrooms for their first class but also make sure that any additional tables and chairs needed for the second, third, or fourth periods are in the room (folded up and tucked out of the way).

To facilitate setup, room layouts are provided in each room’s cleanup kit that shows how tables and chairs are to be placed for the first class in the room and what needs to be stowed in the room for subsequent classes. Instructors are expected to work with our co-op’s Lead Volunteers to ensure they have the information they need to create these layouts and to email them about any necessary revisions.

In general, preschool-sized furnishings are moved to the side and stacked to free up floor space. Then standard-height 6-foot x 2½-foot folding tables and standard folding chairs are brought from the storage closet in the back of the Fellowship Hall and set up according to instructor preference.

Any additional tables and chairs needed for subsequent classes are also brought to the room during the setup period. They are stowed folded up and out of the way. This is done so that will be no need to disrupt classes in the Fellowship Hall to obtain them later.

Click for some sample room layouts.

Room Cleanup

Students are also responsible for cleaning up the space between classes and at the end of the co-op day.

While an Onsite Volunteer will be on hand to direct cleanup, instructors are encouraged to remind students of this responsibility at the end of fourth period.

Students will wash whiteboards, wipe down tables and chairs, return folding tables and chairs to the closet in the Fellowship Hall, vacuum carpets, sweep floors, return church furniture to the church’s preferred setup, and empty waste bins. Cleaning supplies are provided.

Accessibility

All classrooms are located on the ground floor. The Fellowship Hall and kitchen are a third-floor lower than the classrooms but there is a ramp between the two levels.

Doors are not automatic or power-assisted and door handles are old-fashioned knobs rather than levers.

There is one single-occupancy restroom (plus one single-occupancy restroom with preschool-sized fixtures). Another restroom offers two stalls and two sinks. A third offers one stall, one urinal, and one sink.

Pronouns

Planet Homeschool serves many transgender, gender-fluid, and gender non-binary students, and we are committed to creating a safe and respectful space that makes them feel seen, included, and cherished. If you misgender someone (that is, if you use the wrong pronoun or noun when referring to someone), offer a very short apology, correct yourself, and move on. For example, “If you stand there and she stands, excuse me, if he stands there, then we can ….” Similarly if you are corrected after misgendering someone, offer a short apology, correct yourself, and move on. For example: “Is she still in the hallway?” “They.” “I’m sorry. Are they still in the hallway?”

We encourage you to let your students know what pronouns you use for yourself and to ask your students what pronouns they use for themselves, but we understand that not everyone wants to announce their pronouns. You are in control of how and when you share this information. You may also change your pronouns at any time.

Communicating with Families

Instructors are expected to provide students and their parents, guardians, and caregivers with an email address where they can be reliably reached. This email address will be included on member-only portions of our website (login required to view) and will also be provided to prospective members if they have questions about your course that they would like to have answered before deciding whether or not to sign up.

Providing a phone number for students and their parents, guardians, and caregivers is optional but encouraged.

Co-Instructors

Each instructor will have their own instructor profile with their own contact information, photo, and bio.

Co-Instructors and Shared Website Accounts

If you are teaching with a co-instructor(s), you may share a website account. If you wish to create separate website accounts, there is a single $10 annual fee for each additional account (this is a per-account fee, it is not per course and not per semester).

If you choose to share your website account, it may take some fiddling to get your names to display nicely because Homeschool-Life assumes that each account is associated with two adults sharing the same last name. The best option is to use this format:

  First adult’s last name: Your business name

  First adult’s first name: Your full name (First1 Last1)

  Second adult’s last name: [blank]

  Second adult’s first name: Your co-instructors full name (First2 Last2)

This will get formatted on various parts of the website as either

  “Business Name, First Instructor & Second Instructor” and as

  “First Instructor & Second Instructor Business Name.”

If you have three co-instructors sharing an account, use this format:

  First adult’s last name: Business Name

  First adult’s first name: First1 Last1, First2 Last2

  Second adult’s last name: [blank]

  Second adult’s first name: First3 Last3