Student and Family Policy and Procedure Handbook and Code of Conduct

Introduction

Welcome to Florida Driftwood Schoolers, Inc. We hope this Handbook will guide you and answer any questions you may have about how our organization functions daily.

About Us

Florida Driftwood Schoolers, Inc. is a non-profit organization. FDS was formed out of a need for a quality homeschool cooperative in the greater Jacksonville area that is open and accepting to all. We do not discriminate based on race, religion (or lack thereof), gender, sexual orientation, identity, educational philosophy, political views, etc. We welcome all and ask that talks of political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and expression be kept personal and private to your family. We also ask that you be open and accepting of others whose opinions and beliefs differ from yours.

Most Tuesdays, we meet at Heavenly Heights Baptist Church, 6680 Dunn Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32218. Our year is divided into three semesters: fall (Sept-Jan), spring (Feb-May), and summer (June-Aug). Additional meetup days are filled with optional field trips and events. The day begins with setup/check-in at 10:15-10:25 am. Please check in at the admin table at the front door. All families must sign in to the attendance roster. Adults must also sign in to all minors in attendance. Name tags must be worn at all times for safety reasons (both for adults and children). You may obtain a temporary name tag from the admin desk if you do not have one. Your name tag is included with registration. All replacement name tags will cost $3. Our first session begins at 10:30 am, and our last session ends at 2:50 pm.

Session times are as follows:
Session 1 10:30-11:15
Session 2 11:17-12:03
Announcements and Lunch 12:05-12:45
Session 3 12:47-1:32
Session 4 1:37-2:32
Clean Up 2:35-2:50
All adult members and children are expected to help with clean-up during, between, and after classes.

Jurisdiction of Directors

This Handbook and its referenced policies and procedures are in force at all times on all FDS campuses and properties, as well as such times and places, including but not necessarily limited to co-op-sponsored events, field trips, and other activities where co-op directors have jurisdiction over students. Please note lunch after co-op hours is NOT an FDS-sponsored event. Jurisdictional control over the student may extend to the immediate vicinity of the co-op when the student’s conduct is deemed detrimental to the co-op's health, safety, or welfare. Concerning bullying and Harassment behavior, the jurisdiction of the directors extends to data or computer software accessed at a non-co-op related location, activity, function, or program or to technology or an electronic device that is not owned, leased, or used by the Florida Driftwood Schoolers. Our primary role as Florida Driftwood Schoolers directors is to ensure the safety of all co-op members and guests and to craft policies that reflect the spirit of our community while also considering the future of our most precious asset – the kids. This Handbook is just one of those guides that help to make our co-op great. We are honored to be given this opportunity and look forward to the collaboration and partnership that makes Florida Driftwood Schoolers a truly special and unique cooperative.

Philosophy

Our Mission

Our mission is to be a true cooperative where every member has a voice. We believe that education works best when it is child-led. We want to increase student achievement by providing students with learning opportunities that are rigorous, relevant, and transcend beyond the boundaries of the traditional school walls. We will ensure a working and learning environment built upon honesty, integrity, and respect.

Our Vision

We want to work with families to prepare lifelong learners for success in a global and competitive workplace and for acquiring applicable life skills.

Our Values

At Florida Driftwood Schoolers, we strive to nurture an environment where everyone can be included and respected. FDS prides itself on providing educational opportunities regardless of income or social standing and our ability to be transparent to all of its members.

Fees

We strive to keep all costs to a minimum. Beginning in the Fall 2024 semester, a yearly family fee of $250 will be assessed. This fee will cover access to our GroupMe group, the homeschool life website, and event invitations. Additional fees may be required (background checks, class supplies, events, field trips, etc.) A $2.50 handling fee will apply to all credit card and P2P payment networks. We are a true cooperative and ask that all members participate fully in the co-op. Please provide class supplies and volunteer within the co-op as soon as possible. Every participant/member is required to participate in the co-op. Failure to fulfill volunteer duties will result in expulsion from the co-op.

Executive Board

Current Board of Directors

Amy Parker
Lorrie Morgenstern

Executive Officers

Treasurer: Janet Novick

GroupMe

We use a private GroupMe group for picture sharing, chatting with teachers, speaking with members, etc. If you are a participant or member of FDS, have one of the directors add you to the group.

Social Media Photography Policy

We welcome social media use at FDS. When posting to social media, we ask users not to share photographs of individuals under 18 on social media without explicit verbal or written permission from a parent or guardian.

Health Policy

Illness

To minimize the spread of illness among the members of our group, we ask that all families adhere to our illness policy. If you or your child(ren) have had a fever (100.4°F), diarrhea, vomiting, colored discharge from the nose, ears, or eyes, cough, rash, virus, or any other illness that is questionable as being contagious after 8 pm on Sunday, please keep your entire family home from co-op and feel better. If there has been known exposure to illnesses deemed contagious, i.e.(strep-throat, chicken pox, COVID-19), seek medical care and consult as needed for treatment. Return from these illnesses after completion of antibiotics/treatment or fever-free for at least 48 hours without using an antipyretic medication, such as Motrin or Tylenol. Please remember unimmunized/unvaccinated individuals who are exposed may develop illness up to 21 days after initial exposure, so please consider the entire family before returning to the co-op.

Lice

Head lice prevention is also a community issue. Please check the heads of every family member thoroughly and frequently. If anyone in your family has been exposed, please keep everyone home from the co-op that week and treat the family accordingly. We need everyone to report when they find lice to ensure they do their part to prevent the outbreak from spreading. Please get in touch with the directors so a community notice, and please know that this information will be kept private and confidential.

Allergy Policy

Several children and adults have food allergies, so we ask that all members be aware and courteous. If you bring any items with nuts, peanut butter, trail mix, granola bars, baked goods, etc., please wash or wipe your hands and the area afterward. Please do not bring fresh onions into the facility as we have a severely allergic member. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact our directors.

Absentee/Late Policy

If you are going to be absent, please email our health coordinator or post to GroupMe. If you are late, please do not enter in the middle of a class session. Please check in at the admin table; a volunteer will assist you.

Participant/Member Responsibilities

FDS is a cooperative effort. Everyone’s help and participation are required to make it a success. This document intends to help participants and members understand that individual responsibilities and rights must be viewed concerning the health, safety, and welfare of the entire FDS community. The directors shall assume administrative responsibility according to this policy, procedures, and bylaws. Remind your children of the importance of good citizenship and classroom etiquette. Children ranging in age from birth to 18 attend the co-op. We ask that the older children be mindful of this and model behavior and appropriate activities for younger children. We welcome all homeschooling families, so our classes do not include religious instruction, shared prayer, or faith-based content. Please be respectful of others’ religious or political views and beliefs.
Parents/guardians are responsible for their children at all times.

Student Responsibilities

Name tags must be worn and visible at all times
Shirts, pants, and shoes must be worn at all times
No vulgar language
Learn and be prepared for your classes
Respect teachers and follow directions
Raise your hand and wait your turn to speak
Don’t distract others
Be kind, friendly and use manners
Listen when others are speaking
Think before you speak
Apologize when needed
Keep arms, hands, feet, legs, and the rest of your body and personal belongings to yourself.
Respect others’ belongings
Walk between classes–no running outside the classroom areas
DO NOT climb any trees
Be mindful of outdoor areas, trails, and playgrounds that require adult supervision. If you need help, find an adult.

Additional Teen Student Responsibilities

Adolescents interested in dating must respect students’ settings and age ranges. Kissing, cuddling, etc., are not allowed–handholding is permitted.
The use of alcohol, tobacco products, or illegal substances is never allowed at the co-op.
Cell phones are to be silenced and put away during class periods.
Again, due to the co-op's expansive age range, we ask that you consider the dress code. Please refrain from wearing inappropriate or overly revealing clothing, slogans, graphics, or pictures that may be offensive to others. Shoes must be worn at all times.
No roaming during class sessions; you must always be in a class or with a guardian/teacher.

Parent Responsibilities

Fulfill at least two volunteer positions. Our co-op is only as vital as our members and their involvement.
Be on time. Coming into classes late is disruptive. If you teach or assist, we depend on you to be on time and prepared for your classes.
Take care of the facilities.
Ensure that supplies are returned to their proper places and that we leave the facilities in better order than we find them.
If you have a young child, please assist them in the bathroom.
Please do not leave your child (ren) unattended at the co-op. Co-op is not meant to be a drop-off activity unless arrangements have been made with the directors.
Please wipe up crumbs and throw away all trash and mess your child(ren) creates.
Complete accident and incident reports for all accidents and incidents under your watch as soon as possible.
Follow the policies and procedures and any other rules within the co-op.

Behavioral Considerations

The directors are available to provide support for anyone who needs help working with a child's behavior or class. This includes behavioral problems, but it also includes setting positive expectations to prevent problems. Please feel free to contact the directors if:

You are the parent of a child who sometimes has problems or “gets in trouble” in class or at the co-op.
You are a teacher and nervous about classroom management.
You notice a problem at the co-op (for example, rough play, bullying, or kids in off-limits areas), including behavior in class, between classes, or on the playground—any place or time during the co-op day.
You are a teacher struggling with one or more students who are disruptive in class.

Generally, the earlier you contact the directors and executive officers regarding a problem or potential problem, the better. All behavioral considerations will be shared with your student’s teachers to provide the best learning environment for your student. It is much easier to prevent issues and support kids succeeding than to address a problem afterward. Our philosophy on problematic behavior is that it indicates that a person is not getting their needs met in some way. Teaching new skills to the people involved (adults and kids) and making simple environmental changes can improve the situation, often dramatically. Many times, it is just a matter of interpreting the problem correctly. You can always reach out to the directors.

Safety

Discrimination is treating a person of a particular group differently based on their protected class characteristic.

Harassment is defined as verbal, written, or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of the person’s protected status and has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s educational performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive education environment. Harassing conduct includes epithets, slurs, or negative stereotyping; threatening, intimidating, or hostile acts; denigrating jokes; and written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group that is placed on walls or elsewhere on FDS premises or circulated by email, phone (including voice messages), text messages, social networking sites, or other means. Harassment does not include verbal expressions or written material relevant and appropriately related to the course subject matter or curriculum.

Sexual Harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual Harassment may include a range of subtle and not-so-subtle behaviors and may involve individuals of the same or different gender. Depending on the circumstances, these behaviors may consist of unwanted sexual advances or requests for sexual favors; sexual jokes and innuendo; verbal abuse of a sexual nature; commentary about an individual’s body, sexual prowess, or sexual deficiencies; leering, whistling, or touching; insulting or obscene comments or gestures; display of sexually suggestive objects or pictures; and other physical, verbal, or visual conduct of a sexual nature in the workplace. Sexual Harassment can take two forms: 1) a hostile environment and 2) “quid pro quo,” which means “you do something for me, and I’ll do something for you” in a sexual context.

Bullying is defined as any written or verbal expression, physical or electronic act or gesture, or a pattern intended to coerce, intimidate, or cause any physical, mental, or emotional harm to any student or would be reasonably assumed to cause damage. Bullying is prohibited against any student for any reason, including but not limited to any such behavior directed toward a student based on academic performance or against whom federal and state laws prohibit discrimination. To guide the investigation of alleged bullying, three key elements must be present to fall into the Substantiated Bullying category. This includes behaviors that are repeated or could be reasonably repeated, intentional, and reflect a power imbalance between the individual engaged in bullying behavior and the one being bullied. Bullying includes making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, or purposely excluding someone from a group. Cyberbullying is a specific form of bullying using technology to hurt, harm, or humiliate another individual or group.

Tobacco, Drugs, & Alcohol

FDS is committed to promoting our community’s health, welfare, and well-being. Consequently, our policy is that no student shall be permitted to use, be under the influence of, possess, distribute, gift, purchase, exchange, or sell any tobacco product, alcohol, or illegal drug while on FDS property or at FDS-sanctioned activities or events. As used in this policy, “illegal drugs” are all substances defined under either federal statutes as “drugs” or “controlled substances” or state statutes as a controlled substance, including marijuana or marijuana concentrate, as well as counterfeit or synthetic illegal drugs and substances, falsely represented as being drugs. As used in this policy, “drugs” also are legal and illicit drugs not possessed correctly in state or federal law. An exception to this policy will be made for the administration of medical marijuana by state law.

Weapons

Any person’s possession and use of a weapon are detrimental to the welfare and safety of all students and families within the co-op. Carrying, bringing, using, or possessing a weapon in any FDS building, on FDS grounds, or at any FDS-sponsored activity without the authorization of at least two Florida Driftwood Schoolers Directors is prohibited.

Physical Altercations

A physical altercation is generally a confrontation, skirmish, or physical aggression that may or may not result in injury. Physical altercations are distinguished from verbal altercations by using physical force or contact.
***The Directors of Florida Driftwood Schoolers reserve the right to temporarily or permanently remove any student and family from the co-op if they are found guilty of discrimination, Harassment, sexual harassment, bullying, brandishing a weapon, or physical altercations.

Discipline

Accident Reports

An accident report is expected to be completed by any adult who has witnessed any medical, accident, or injury to a student or adult during an FDS event. This report must be filed on behalf of the injured party immediately. Once an accident report has been completed, please notify a director immediately. Parents will be notified of the situation. Failure to complete an accident report by the end of the class session in which the accident occurred or by the end of the FDS-sanctioned event will result in an automatically written warning to the offending adult.

Incident Reports

An incident report is expected to be completed by the following:

Any adult witness to any incident during any FDS school day, event, or activity. This may be overhearing a student call another student a name, being out of class without permission, a student having a bad day and being disrespectful to the teacher, safety violations occurring, adult issues with other adults, etc. Teachers, co-teachers, assistants, monitors, and other Adults on behalf of a valid student complaint

If there is an issue with the building, please complete an incident report. Once an Incident Report has been completed, please notify a director immediately. All incident reports will be turned in to the Admin table by the end of the co-op day. Any information for a safety violation should be turned in to a director immediately. Parents will be notified and asked to sign acknowledging that they have been advised of the situation. Failure to complete an incident report within 24 hours of the incident will result in an automatically written warning to the offending adult. Please note that an Incident report serves as a way to report all incidents within Florida Driftwood Schoolers. All incident reports are reviewed by at least two (2) FDS Directors within 48 hours of the incident being reported to the directors. Safety violations will be viewed immediately. Suppose an incident reported is deemed worthy by the directors of an investigation. In that case, one will be held by at least three (3) directors within 24 hours of viewing the initial incident report. If the investigation is deemed valid by at least three (3) directors, the following action will be taken:

Written Reports

First offense – The student receives a written warning from the co-op directors. This warning MUST be signed by the student’s guardian(s) and returned the following co-op school day. No student will be allowed to return to class or participate in any FDS function until it is signed.
Second offense – The student will receive a second written warning, and their guardian(s) must meet with the directors and teacher to discuss offenses. If it is during the co-op day, the student is removed from class, and the student’s guardian will be located or contacted. The student will be expected to change this behavior promptly. This warning MUST be signed by the student’s guardian(s) and returned the following co-op school day. No student will be allowed to return to class or participate in any FDS function until it is signed.
Third offense – Parents will voluntarily remove the student from the co-op for the remainder of the semester/year. Failure to voluntarily remove a student will result in removal by directors.

If an adult chooses not to respect the people around them, the following steps will be taken.

First offense – The adult receives a written warning from one of the co-op directors. This warning MUST be signed by the adult and returned the following co-op school day. The adult and all students in the family will not be allowed to return to class until it is signed.
Second offense –The adult will receive a second written warning that must be signed before any family member can return to a co-op class or field trip day. The adult must meet with two (2) directors to discuss issues before moving forward.
Third offense – Adults will voluntarily remove their family from the co-op for the remainder of the semester/year. Failure to voluntarily remove a family will result in removal by directors. If the three (3) directors are unavailable to discuss the incident report due to a conflict of interest, the acting chair and vice chair may serve as the third unbiased party. All decisions made by the directions of Florida Driftwood Schoolers are final.

For your convenience, all forms are located at the Admin table. If you need to complete an incident report on behalf of your student and it is after co-op hours, you may find an online version of the form here.

Zero Tolerance

The law requires that expulsion be recommended for any student at FDS or at an FDS-related function determined to have had possession of a firearm or weapon or any student making a threat or false report. Simulating a firearm or weapon while playing or wearing clothing or accessories that depict a firearm or weapon or express an opinion regarding a right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is NOT grounds for disciplinary action or referral to the criminal justice or juvenile justice system under Chapter 790 or s.1006.13. Simulating a firearm or weapon while playing includes, but is not limited to, Brandishing a partially consumed pastry or another food item to simulate a firearm or weapon. Possess a toy firearm or weapon 2 inches or less in overall length. They possess a toy firearm or weapon made of plastic snap-together building blocks, use a finger or hand to simulate a firearm or weapon, vocalize an imaginary firearm or weapon, draw a picture, or possess an image of a gun or weapon and use a pencil, pen, or other writing or drawing utensil to simulate a firearm or weapon. **A student may be subject to disciplinary action if acting a firearm or weapon while playing that substantially disrupts student learning, causes bodily harm to another person, or places another person in reasonable fear of physical harm. The severity of consequences imposed upon a student, including referral to the criminal justice or juvenile system, must be proportionate to the severity of the infraction and consistent with FDS policies for similar offenses.
The following are prohibited on any FDS property (including parking areas), events, field trips, etc.:

Any weapon that will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive.
Any explosive, incendiary, poison gas, bomb, grenade, or rocket with a propellant charge of more than four ounces, a missile with an explosive or flammable charge of more than one-quarter ounce, mine, or similar device.
Any Firearm.

Child Abuse Reporting

Florida Statute 1006.061 authorizes and mandates all FDS agents to report all actual or suspected cases of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect to the Department of Children and Families, Central Abuse Hotline (1-800-962-2873), and provide them with the necessary information to pursue such complaints. FDS directors, executive officers, and parent-teachers have immunity from liability if they report such cases in good faith.

Conflict of Interest Policy

In case of actual or apparent conflict of interest or dualities of interest, directors, executive officers, or teachers must disclose said interest and remove themselves from the decision-making process whenever an issue arises. This may include being related to one or more parties, business ties, or financially vested interests.

Conflict Resolution Policy

In the event a conflict arises that can not be amicably resolved through communication alone, the following procedure will be followed:

Stay on one topic
Don’t dredge up the past
Decide what the issue is to be discussed
Use “I” statements
Decide what you can agree on
Brainstorm together for possible resolutions
Attempt to compromise and come up with a plan of action
If a solution is not possible, walk away

Military Clause

When dues are charged, and at the discretion of the board, Active Duty Military, Reservist, and National Guard families who have received orders to PCS or receive a change in duty station that significantly impacts the families’ ability to attend cooperative functions may receive a refund of dues. This shall be decided case-by-case at the board of directors’ discretion.

Refund Policy

The cooperative may decide on general refunds on a case-by-case basis at the board of directors’ discretion. Field trips and other events that require full payment on our part before the event happens will not be eligible for a refund.

Update Policy

The phrasing of the Policies and Procedures for Florida Driftwood Schoolers, Inc. may be updated at the directors’ discretion as needed.