Group Policies
Below you’ll find important information about Charity Homeschool, including our guidelines for membership, field trips, and class registration. If you have any additional questions or need further clarification, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Membership Information
When you join Charity Homeschool, you’ll be added to our weekly newsletter and, if you’d like, our private Facebook group. The newsletter is a great way to stay connected, with updates on upcoming events, activities, and everything happening in our community.
If at any point you decide the group isn’t the right fit for your family, you’re welcome to unsubscribe from the email list. Please note that membership fees are non-refundable.
Charity Homeschool is a true co-op community where families come together to create opportunities for our children to learn, grow, and have fun. All members are an important part of what makes this community so special. If you have an idea for a field trip or event, we’d love to help you bring it to life. We can assist you in picking a date, shaping the activities, or sharing it with other families so they can join in.
Class Information
Charity Homeschool group classes are available to members only and are not a drop-off program. Children are expected to remain with a teacher or parent at all times. A fellowship hall is available for families to use between classes, offering a space to relax, visit with others, or complete any work or activities they bring along.
Because our co-op is family-run, each family is asked to commit to helping during each semester before signing up for classes. Helping opportunities are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, and include roles such as setup, cleanup, classroom helpers, hallway monitors, and nursery monitors. If you are unable to attend a scheduled helping time, you are responsible for arranging coverage.
Class offerings vary each semester in content and fees. Parents are responsible for selecting classes that are the best fit for their children. Class information and registration details are shared exclusively with members through our newsletter near the end of June for the fall semester and the end of January for the spring semester.
Enrollment in all class periods is not guaranteed. If a class is full, families may choose to join the waitlist or select another available class. To keep the process fair for all families, we ask that you do not contact teachers directly for placement overrides, as waitlists are honored in order. Once registration closes, no changes, additions, or refunds can be made.
A small fee is charged for each class to help cover the cost of using the church facility. We are grateful for the space provided and strive to be good stewards by treating it with care and leaving it clean and welcoming for others.
Teaching Information
No one is required to teach to participate in co-op classes. Any member of Charity Homeschool can teach a class for our co-op sessions. A nice benefit of teaching is early registration of your kids in classes.
Teacher sign-ups for class creation are on June 1st and Jan 1st (you must be a member to sign up to teach). Information will be sent out before signing up, including all the info you will need to submit to create your class. We only collect a supply fee per student per class, 100% of our teachers volunteer their time and efforts.
There are a limited number of classrooms and time slots. We'll optimize the schedule to use space efficiently and offer the best selection for all ages, based on the teachers' class submissions.
Any member age 13-17 can teach a class, but is required to have an adult in the class with them the first semester, for the entire 8 weeks, and can teach any age (with the adult present). After that semester, they are permitted to teach on their own, but need to keep the ages of the class students under their own age (i.e., if they are 13, they can only teach kids up to 12 years old).
Safety Policies
Charity Homeschool is dedicated to providing a safe educational and social experience to its members while honoring and enhancing family relationships. There are many policies we have in effect currently, and others we are working towards implementing. However, please remember that the co-op, field trips, and events are not drop-off. You are still the one responsible for your child’s safety. Our policies are in effect to further that protection.
During co-op classes, there will be a manned check-in/check-out station. All adult members are expected to sign their family in upon arrival and sign out when they leave. The adult manning the table will also prevent children from going out the front door unattended.
There will also be a hall monitor whose responsibility is to keep an eye on who is in the halls, making sure children get back to class if they are in the hall, man the bathroom, etc.
All the younger classes and nursery have two adults in each classroom, and many of the older classes as well.
Beginning in the 2024-25 membership year, we will require a background check for every adult present at co-op classes for more than 2 weeks. The membership fee will cover one adult per family. Renewed background checks will be required every three years.
Anyone known to be on the Sex Offender Registry will not be allowed to participate in, nor be in the church building during, the Monday co-op. Any restrictions placed on individuals by law will be strictly enforced. Please let the leadership know if there are any custody or restraining orders so we can be aware of and act on the situation.
Field Trip Information
We attempt to secure as many field trips and events as possible; all confirmed trips and events are listed on Charity Homeschool's calendar. Any member can also coordinate a field trip, and we will help select a date and publish it to the group.
Each field trip will be announced in the weekly newsletter, providing details and sign-up instructions at least a week or two in advance. It will also indicate if you need to send payment ahead of time or just pay when you arrive.
Most events and field trips are for members only; if a minimum number is needed, we may open them to the greater Rochester homeschooling community.
Please be considerate of the work and planning that goes into planning events and field trips, and let the coordinator know if you signed up but cannot make it. Many tours or programs have a specific start time, so arrive early.
For events that require advance payment, your spot will only be secured by payment before the deadline posted. If you prepay and don’t show up for the event, you will not be refunded.
Field trips and events may be canceled or rescheduled based on lack of interest or situations out of our control. If such a change happens, we will make every effort possible to reschedule and refund payments if the new date doesn’t work for you.
Charity Homeschool provides fun, educational, and engaging events throughout the year to benefit homeschooled students and their families. As a member-run organization, we partner with local organizations for a wide variety of opportunities.
The family unit is very important to us as part of a good foundation for the homeschool experience. Many of our events are open to the whole family and extended family members; any family member is welcome unless legally restricted from attending.