Group Policies
Below are Charity's rules and information regarding membership, field trips, and class sign-up. For additional information, or for any questions not addressed here, feel free to contact us.
Membership Information
When you sign up for membership to Charity Homeschool you will be added to the weekly newsletter and, if you indicate it, the private Facebook page. The newsletter will contain all of the upcoming events and activities available to you. If at any time you no longer want to participate in the group, you are welcome to unsubscribe from the email but a refund for your membership will not be given.
Our group is a true co-operative environment where everyone works together to the best of their abilities to provide opportunities for our kids. This means that parents/members are part of the process, if you have an idea for an event or field trip we will help you choose the date and activities that others would like to participate in and help publicize your event for others to join you.
Class Information
Charity Homeschool group classes are strictly for members only. Our classes are not drop-off and your child should be with a teacher or yourself at all times. We have a fellowship hall for anyone to use while they are not in class and for parents and kids to socialize or do any work you may bring along.
A commitment to helping spots must be made before you sign up for classes each semester, these spots are first come, first served so if you know you cannot help a certain date you will need to plan for that. We have Setup, cleanup slots as well as class helpers, hall monitors and nursery helpers. When everyone does their part we can be the caring community we strive to be. If you can't make it to the time you have signed up to help you must switch with someone!
Classes vary in content, structure, requirements, time, fees, etc. It is the parents' responsibility to select classes which would be most appropriate for their children. Class offerings are different each semester. Class information and signup instructions goes out in the newsletter to members only near the end of June for fall semester and the end of January for spring semester.
Sign up is on a first come, first served basis. You are not guaranteed to have your child enrolled in all 5 periods of classes. If a class is full, you may put your name on a waiting list OR choose another class, not both. Please do not contact the teacher to have them fit you in, there may be other students already on the wait list that are ahead of your child. Once classes are closed there will be no changes, additions or refunds.
A small fee is assessed for each class enrolled that goes into a donation to the church for the use of their space. We also make every effort to leave the church cleaner than we found it as good stewards of what God provides.
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 prior to sign up with all the info on what 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. The schedule will be optimized for the best use of space and to offer the best selection for all ages depending on the teacher 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 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.
We are working towards all teachers doing a background check prior to teaching. This will hopefully be financially feasible for the 2023-2024 school year.
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 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 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 to 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 to attend.
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