Roles & Rules

The following sections explain how our co-op is organized and how we'll work together to create enriching co-op days and a close community.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS & OVERSEERS

The day-to-day operations (i.e., deciding which classes will be taught, who will teach them, which students are in which classes, etc.) will be managed by the board of directors. These board members include Jennifer Hesse, Charity Jenkins, Katie Marquardt, and Sarah Rose.

We also have a group of overseers made up of the husbands of the board members. They are not involved in the day-to-day operations but may be on campus occasionally or to teach a class as available. This structure is a huge BLESSING for moms, so that if things ever get "sticky," moms are not directly responsible for difficult decisions that may be very sensitive within our relationships.

PARENT ROLES

RACC is not a drop-off tutorial. In general, each parent will work together to take care of all day-to-day needs of the co-op and pitch in however needed to keep things running smoothly. One parent from each family must be on campus at all times and is responsible to teach, co-teach, or provide support to 2-3 classes each week. Our goal is that each parent will get one hour "off" each day to either rest or fellowship with other parents on campus. If you like to stay active, feel free to look around and find something productive to do! :-) 

PLANNED ABSENCE POLICY

Since co-op cannot function without the dependable participation of all families involved, strive to have no more than 2 planned absences for the semester. These 2 allowed absences do not include absences due to illnesses or emergencies. We trust everyone to not abuse the "emergency" caveat. Continue reading for guidelines around sick days.

* Please notify our Attendance Coordinator (Sarah Rose) as soon as possible if you know you will be taking a planned absence so we can arrange to cover for you.

ILLNESS ABSENCE POLICY

We have some co-op wellness standards to prevent very contagious or troublesome maladies from spreading. Again, illness absences do not count as one of your 2 planned absences.

• If any family member has had vomiting or diarrhea in the last 48 hours prior to co-op, please keep the whole family home that week. We hate for you to miss co-op, but *not* sharing is caring! :-)
• If any family member has lice, the whole family must stay home from co-op until everyone is nit free. If lice is discovered during co-op, the family must go home.

Regarding other ilnesses, an individual should not come to co-op if he/she has had any of the following within the past 24 hours:

• Temperature of 100 degrees or higher

• Green discharge from the nose

• “Pink eye”

• An unidentified rash

• A productive cough with a fever

• A sore throat with a fever

If you (mom) are sick, or a younger kid is sick with one of the bulleted items above, provided the illness is not a stomach bug or lice, any well child who is 6th grade and up may attend without you if you have a designated mom in charge of them for the day. This enables symptom-free older children to keep up with classes that have homework even if somone in their family is sick.

* If you have questions or need to alert us to a sickness absence, again, please call Sarah Rose ASAP if so we can make arrangements to cover your teaching/assisting spot.

VISITORS

If you have family or friends visiting from out of town on a co-op day or need to bring a visitor for any reason, please alert Sarah Rose ahead of time so the board is apprised of your plans. We don't want unknown adults or children on campus without our prior approval. Thank you for understanding.

ON-TIME ATTENDANCE

Please do your best to be on time. Co-op begins at 9am for chapel. All families are expected to be on time for chapel time so they don't miss announcements, prayer, and worship.

ABUSE PREVENTION

We are passionate about making sure our kids are safe at co-op. These guidelines are to protect YOU from any appearance of misconduct, as well as to protect our children from opportunities to be abused! Please feel protected, rather than restricted, by them. To avoid opportunities for or allegations of abuse at co-op, here are a few simple guidelines:

• Adult volunteers should avoid being one-on-one with a non-familial child at any time, or allowing older children to be one-on-one with an unrelated child. Any time there is only one adult in the room, the door should be open.

• Unacceptable expressions of physical affection (outside of family) include tickling, wrestling, horseplay, lap sitting for children older than toddlers, massages, and front or back hugs.

• Acceptable expressions of physical affection include side hugs, pats on the back, and high fives. Hand-holding and lap-sitting is acceptable for younger children.

• Please observe the bathroom safety policy below.

BATHROOM POLICY

• At lunch or when transitioning between classes, children are assumed to be under the direct supervision of their parent, and bathroom policies do not apply.

• For bathroom breaks during classes, an adult should never be alone in a bathroom stall with an unrelated child/children, except for potty training preschoolers.

• If at any time a parent prefers not to have any other parent(s) assist their child with toileting or diapering, the parent should be notified when the child needs assistance.

DRESS CODE

We desire our co-op to follow God’s call to modesty in appearance (1 Tim. 2:9-10), and in doing so, create a safe place for everyone to learn without distraction. We are here for academics and community, so we want to dress in a way that honors God, honors our bodies, and honors our neighbors. Both males and females need to check their hearts and honor God with how they dress and in their relationships with the opposite sex. These guidelines (for both parents and students alike) will give a measurable way to self-regulate our outward appearance.

• In general, be clean and groomed, wearing tidy clothes that cover in a modest manner.

• Make sure that private areas are covered completely and please avoid tight clothing or thin material that might accentuate those areas.

• Shirt and dress necklines, tank top straps, shorts length, and dress/skirt length should be modest.

• Shirts need to be long enough to cover the midsection, both front and back, even when hands are raised. When considering an outfit, ask yourself what you're drawing attention to and make sure you are able to be active (i.e., do jumping jacks or pushups) without showing your stomach, cleavage, or bottom.

• No tight yoga-type pants or leggings unless shirts are long enough to completely cover the bum.

• Dress according to your God-given gender.

Dress Code Violations: Our goal is not to embarrass the student, so we will be as discreet as possible and notify the parent instead of calling out the child. You will need to get a change of clothes from home or a store before student can return to class.

• 1st offense - Change clothes + verbal reminder about proper dress code.
• 2nd offense - Change clothes + schedule a meeting with student, parents, and 2 board members.
• 3rd offense - Student will be dismissed from co-op for the remainder of the semester with no refund of fees. Another meeting with 2 or more board members will be required before student is allowed back into co-op.

DISCIPLINE

If a student is disruptive or violates our co-op policies, the following procedures will take place:

1. 1st offense – The student receives a clear warning from the instructor or assistant. Be loving but firm. 
2. 2nd offense – The student is removed from the class and must remain with his or her parent for the remainder of the class time.
3. 3rd offense – The student and parent(s) will have a meeting with 2 or more board members and the instructor to see if student desires to remain in class by changing behavior. Student will not be allowed to return to that particular class until this meeting occurs.

If the student wishes to return to the class the following week, he/she will be expected to follow the rules and guidelines of the co-op. If there is another infraction, the parent will remove the student from the school for the remainder of the session with no refund of fees.

Generally speaking, the above procedure applies to behavior that happens repeatedly on the same day of co-op. However, if there is a behavior that continues over a period of time, then it will require involvement from the Co-op Board and/or Overseers to discuss how to proceed. This policy copies the Matthew 18:15-17 three-step procedure.

CONFLICT

If there are offenses that occur between two or more students or two or more parents, we expect everyone involved to follow the Matthew 18:15-17 three-step procedure of dealing with conflict. The board is available to be involved in these discussions as needed in order to restore right relationships.

Disrespect - It honors Christ when adults and students show respect to each other and to their peers. Sharpening one another toward godly character must be an important part of our community. To that end, adults will hold each other accountable, and if a child is not respectful to another student or adult, it is up to the adult to immediately encourage the offender to sincerely repent and apologize and the offended to be forgiving. In other words, we are to deal with the matter and move on. The apology needs to be as public as the offense was. However, if the child refuses to repent (change conduct), the parent will be summoned. If the behavior is a consistent problem, without correction in sight, the student will be dismissed from the co-op.

Physical Aggression - In case of aggressive behavior (such as punching, kicking, intentionally causing pain), or physical abuse by one student against another – zero tolerance:

• No warning will be issued. Whichever child is engaged in physical abuse (or both children, if both were engaged) will immediately be removed from the classroom and will remain with parent(s) for at least that class hour, and potentially for the rest of the co-op day (to be discussed by the parent and teacher together).

• Both students will meet separately with their own parents(s), their instructor, and 2 or more board members prior to the next co-op meeting to discuss what happened and to see if they desire to change their behavior in order to remain in co-op.

• If the student wishes to return to the class the following week, he/she will be expected to follow the rules and guidelines of the co-op.

• If there is another infraction, the parent will remove the student from co-op for the remainder of the semester with no refund of fees. Another meeting with 2 or more board members will be required before student is allowed back into co-op.

NOTE: The RACC Board reserves the right to remove a student or family if they are a threat to themselves, others, or do not align with our Statement of Faith.

CELL PHONES

Parents: Please refrain from using cell phones while teaching or assisting in classes. Be considerate of others by leaving your phone on vibrate. Take emergency calls away from the academic classes so as not to disturb students.

Students: Necessary communication between classes from parents or siblings is allowed; however, we have a zero tolerance policy for calls, games, social media, or texting during chapel or class. Teachers may confiscate phones and/or laptops for the duration of class if you do so. Keep devices in your bag, at home, or with parents during classroom time. The only exception during class is if you have an assignment that you forgot to print and need to read it from your phone or tablet. Please get permission from your teacher to use your device for this purpose. 

Everyone: We discourage use of devices during lunch and free times, as this prevents interaction and fostering relationships within co-op.

CLEANUP

• At the end of each class, all parents and students are responsible to restore their room to its original condition.

• Every family will be assigned to a rotating cleaning schedule so we can leave the church clean for the next ministry to use it.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

• The church’s consumable supplies are not for the use of Raising Arrows unless we have express permission from the pastor or his wife. Check with a board member if you're not sure if something is okay to use.

• Children must be in a classroom for the full duration of class or with a parent at all times (unless going to the restroom, during supervised lunch playtime, or while traveling between classes).

• Children not in class are the responsibility of their parents (or another adult appointed by the parent).