FHL General Guidelines

• FHL Homeschool Co-op is an all-volunteer cooperative. All member families understand that they must do their part to help FHL succeed.
  • Volunteer Requirements
    • Be a parent of a homeschooling family. We consider a family to be homeschooling if the majority of the educational instruction takes place at home, either by or under the direct supervision of the student's parents.
    • Have at least one child who is age 5 or older.
    • Successfully complete a background check every three years.
    • Read and agree to abide by the Statement of Faith, this Membership Handbook, and all other co-op policies listed on the website.
    • Teach 2 out of the 3 periods each week. The third period is a free period unless that parent is on the rotating sub list. For more details please see Teacher Expectations.
    • While optional, parents are strongly encouraged to volunteer at presentation night and our end of the year field day. Volunteer commitments at these events are usually minimal and designed to allow you time with your families. If we all pitch in the load is light.
  • FHL is not a drop-off program. If your children are at co-op you are expected to be present in the classes you teach. 
    • Special Exceptions
      • The board may grant membership to a family whose parent cannot attend on a very rare case by case basis. We reserve the right to approve or deny this request with no additional reasons provided, but the following must be met for us to even consider it:
        • While some of our families are larger, there can be no more than 4 total children under the care of the adult in this situation.
        • It cannot impact our teaching and family ratios.
        • Adding the additional children is based on space available. 
        • Children come with a current FHL family and are under the regular care of the FHL attending adult. This means that the attending adult watches them regularly outside of normal co-op times. 

• Class Registration
  • Students:
    • All students should be registered in one class each period. Class availability is on a first come, first serve basis. If a class is full, please place your student on the waitlist for the desired class before registering for the alternative class. If a space comes available, someone will contact you to determine your student's placement.
    • Class registration is handled through the FHL website. Emails are sent out before registration opens and opens at the same time for all students with a few exceptions. Priority registration details can be found under Step Four of the Class Selection Process.
    • To help with security and continuity, all students are expected to attend every class they are registered in for the entire semester.
  • Teachers: Parents are expected to teach two classes each week. Details can be found under Teacher Expectations. This section defines how parents select the classes they teach and happens in the following order:
    1. When a parent suggests a class, that parent agrees to teach the class. When the schedule is created, those classes are automatically assigned.
    2. Any parent with a child ages 1 through 4 is assigned to teach a minimum of one period within this age group unless two of their suggested classes are on the schedule for the older students.
    3. At class suggestion time, parents can also request their co-teacher. If the schedule allows, that co-teacher is assigned to be in the requested class.
    4. The board picks their classes to teach unless they have already been assigned two classes.
    5. Any parent who is not automatically assigned into two classes will need to sign up for classes during open teacher registration. Open teacher registration is first come/first serve and chosen at the time the deposit for the following semester is paid. The treasurer and/or class coordinator will send out emails communicating deposit payment and open teacher registration dates. A draft of the schedule will be released on the website at least one (1) day before open teacher registration.

• Membership Dues
  • These pay for our operating expenses, including but not limited to rent, insurance, some supplies, and special events. We run a very lean budget to keep our dues as low as possible. 
  • Payment of dues and/or payment arrangements with the treasurer guarantees your spot in FHL. Current rates can be found on the website under the "About Us" section on the page titled "Membership and Dues."
  • Any dues and/or deposits collected are fully refundable up to 14 days prior to the semester starting. If it is less than 14 days prior to the start of the semester, no refunds will be given.

• Cancelation of a meeting day
  • We make every attempt to have co-op for all our scheduled meeting days. In the event that co-op is canceled due to illness, bad weather, or a conflict at our host facility, no refunds or credits will be given.
  • Co-op will be canceled if more than 50% of our members have requested substitutes, whether for illness or other reasons.
  • Co-op will be canceled if only one board member is present regardless of the number of other families able to attend.
  • Co-op may be canceled in the case of bad weather. We will determine this based on the amount of snow received and/or expected overnight, expected road conditions, and the state of the church's parking lot. We will also consider what the surrounding school districts are doing.
  • If we have more than 50% of our families attending but are unable to find substitutes for all of the classes, we will have a modified game day.

• General Expectations
  • Parents and students must do their best to be on time for classes and group events. Please note: co-op starts promptly at 9:30 AM.
  • If a volunteering adult is unable to fulfill a commitment, please refer to the substitute policy. If it is not a normal co-op day, please inform the appropriate coordinator (Special Events Coordinator, Director, or other appropriate volunteer).
  • Cheating, stealing, bullying, drug use, profanity, obscenity, sexual immorality, dishonor to the Word of God, disrespect to other members, or continued disobedience to the established standards of this group will not be tolerated and could result in dismissal from the co-op at the board's discretion.
  • Please dress for co-op in an appropriate and modest way, ensuring that chest, midriff, buttocks, and all underwear are completely covered with solid (not see-through) fabric. Please don't wear any clothing that suggests violence, alcohol, drugs, tobacco products, sex, racism, gangs, or curse words. Heelys or any other shoes with wheels are also not allowed. If you have any questions or concerns about these guidelines, please speak with a board member.

• Snacks and Food during Co-Op
  • FHL is completely nut free. Please do not bring any nuts or nut-containing products with you, including items made from nut flour. This applies to co-op and all co-op related events, including field trips, park days, parties, and lunch in the park.
  • Snacks will be offered one time during the 2nd period for our students ages 1 through 4.
  • For all other age groups, no food is allowed during co-op.
    • This excludes classes that are specifically designed around food.
    • If you would like to include food as a part of your class or lesson, please double check with leadership at least one week in advance.
    • Sometimes our classes are centered around food or occasionally have food during a lesson. Except for nut products, we do not expect teachers, parents, or anyone else to provide for each child's allergies, sensitives, preferences, or other dietary needs. If there are needs beyond that, the child's parent is responsible for communicating with the co-teachers and providing their own acceptable alternative if desired.
  • We will not be providing coffee or tea but you are welcome to bring your own.
  • Water bottles are highly encouraged for children.

• Communication
  • We primarily communicate via email.
  • During the co-op year we send out an email almost every Monday morning with weekly announcements, updates, and other important information. 
  • We also send out additional emails periodically, especially during class suggestions, voting, and registration. 
  • Please check and read your emails. If you find you are not receiving emails please check your spam and/or promotions folders. If they are not there please let someone on the board know so we can look into it from our end. 
  • On occasion someone from the board will need to communicate with you outside of co-op.
    • It is your responsibility to ensure that your email and phone number are kept up to date in your account
      • We will attempt to contact you at least 3 times using email and/or text.
      • Depending on the situation and after 3 attempts the board will meet and determine what happens on a case by case basis. This could be anything from talking to you in person to removal from FHL.