What are the current participation agreements and policies
Choice Educaiton Network, Inc.
Policies and Guidelines
Last Revised 8-18-2019
SECTION I: Overview
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to connect homeschool families with local educational resources, businesses and services to support their goals and needs. In the event local services are not available, or easily accessible, Choice Education Network, Inc. (“CEN, Inc.”) will work to build quality programming in the form of workshops, classes, and special events to help fulfill the educational needs of the homeschool community. We believe that knowledge and skills training are essential to empowering individuals to be their best selves, to be active participants within their community and provide opportunities for professional development and personal enrichment.
TYPES OF SERVICES:
CEN, Inc. offers three types of services: 1) Free Classes and “Meet-Ups”, 2) Club-style classes, and 3) Tuition/Fee-based classes.
Class descriptions will clearly state any applicable fees, supply costs and whether financial aid, multi-student or multi-class discounts apply, and other details regarding curriculum, prerequisites and expectations. Please read all descriptions as we serve a wide variety of needs and interest including "biblical world view" curriculum. Classes offering a specific learning style will be disclosed.
CEN, Inc. does not require a "membership" in the network to participate in clubs, classes or events. While long term commitments are not required, it is expected that families will complete the classes for which they are enrolled and meet any prerequisites for these classes.
Exceptions: Vivace Chorus, Virtuoso Chorus and Drama Production courses meet for the
school year.
Network Days: These courses are offered at deeply disounted FAMILY rates and families may enroll in as many or as few coruses for a flat family semester rate. See our Network Day page for current rates and schedules. Classes offered during Network Days ARE NOT available "a le carte." If a family desires to participate in any of the courses offered on a Network Day schedule, the
full Network Day price structure will be billed, regardless of participation in the full schedule offered. In an effort to keep costs to a minimum,
our Network Day teachers are 100% volunteers.
CLUBS VS CLASSES
Clubs may be offered from time to time according to interest and availability of volunteer teachers/leaders. Clubs are exempt from tuition fees but may have other fees according to the needs of the group. Archery, Film (when meeting at Public Access) and 4H are examples of current club offerings that do not require participants to pay a facility, supply or tuition fee to participate. Fees for club activities are billed "at cost" and "as needed" for offering the services requested. Club members determine when and if fees are needed to accomplish their goals.
Classes are taught on a semester or annual basis and have associated fees. Unlike clubs, classes have a curriculum/goal for the semster/year and may "count" towards academic, elective or extra-curricular subjects on a student's schedule. Our teachers are a combination of volunteers and Network Business Partners offering discounted services to our community.
Field Trips and Meet-Ups. Choice Education Network, Inc. offers free meet-ups, and open invitations to field trips and special events to all families. Where spaces are limited, our active famiies are offered sign ups first before releasing available spots to the general public.
Additional Fees: Some classes may have additional supply costs, travel fees or special project fees. These are billed seperately from tution and the general facility and supply fees. Please read the class description fully for a break down of fees and due dates.
Facility and general supply are non-refundable and are to be paid on or before the first day of class. Additional supply fees are billed seperatly and
MAY qualify for
partial refunds.
** Current classes with known additional fees/costs include: Legacy Concert Choir, Vivace Chorus, Virtuoso Chorus, and Production Drama classes.
SECTION II: Fees and Payments
At this time, online enrollment does not require immediate payment. This process reserves your place on our roster.
All clubs and classes are billed and posted “in full” for the entire session. Families may choose to pay in full or arrange for monthly installments.
Monthly installments: Installments are accepted and must be pre-approved with the Network Director in advance.
All facility and supply fees are due on or before the student’s first scheduled class. Tuition payments are due by the 15th of each month.
Choice Education Network, Inc. reserves the right to charge a $10 late fee on the 16th of each month on accounts that are late. Currently, payments may be made in the parent portal, PayPal, Venmo, or in person with cash or check.
Returned Check / NSF Automatic Payment Alert: All returned checks will incur a $40 service fee. After the second returned check, payment via cash, money order, cashier’s check or credit card to bring their account current is required and a “hot check” alert will be placed on the account. No checks will be accepted on flagged accounts. All flagged accounts reset after 1 year and/or at the discretion of the Network Director. Accounts on automatic payment will have three attempts to draft the amount before the automatic feature is disabled. Alternate forms of payment are required and due on or before the 15th of the month. Altered late fees and due dates may be made at the discretion of the Network Director. Please let administrators know if a later due date is required for your family.
REFUND POLICY:
We work hard to keep our rates affordable to as many families as possible and depend on your fees to cover our facilities/rent, supplies, insurance, administrative supplies, software, site features and more. Please be mindful that at this time, most of our teachers are volunteers. Once classes have begun, 100% tuition refunds are no longer guaranteed. We will work with families wishing to discontinue classes and if we can financially afford to refund, we will always do so.
Registration, supply and facility fees are non-refundable after the enrollment deadline or after the first scheduled class - whichever is later. In the event CEN, Inc. must cancel a class or club, any pre-paid fees will be refunded or credited towards your family's next class.
Open enrollment classes or clubs (allows enrollment at anytime throughout the year) may be able to offer partial refunds and/or pro-rates. This is determined according to current budgets and must be approved by adminsitration.
Closed enrollment classes or clubs (do not allow enrollment throughout the session; have an enrollment deadline) are not eligible for refunds. Except in extenuating circumstances, families are expected to fulfill their tuition obligation for the session.
No refund will be issued for completed/past classes and no credit or refund will be issued for classes missed by the student.
Holidays and inclement weather have been considered in determining the pricing structure. It is expected that classes may cancel from time to time due to conditions beyound our control. Tuition is not prorated for “short months” nor for the occasional closing due to inclement weather or extenuating circumstances. In the event of a closing or class cancellation, every reasonable effort will be made to schedule make-up sessions or extend session dates.
SECTION III: Attendance Policy
Attendance is taken during each class. Generally, clubs and classes do not enforce a participation standard or minimum attendance policy to remain on the roster if accounts are current.
Mandatory attendance:
Choirs, production classes and competitive teams depend on active and steady participation and attendance for the overall success and performance of the program. Students accepted into "team," "cooperative," "competitive" classes such as choir, production classes, film projects, year book, or competitive teams risk losing their place and being transferred to another project or class requiring less commitment.
Students dropped due to attendance/participation may re-enroll at the discretion of the director/teacher/coach after completing a re-entry interview. Please be considerate of your classmates and overall success of the program when choosing to participate in these types of programs.
Automatic "Drop" from classes:
Accounts with no payment activity and a “no-show” at the time of the first scheduled class will result in an automatic “drop” from the roster unless prior arrangements/communication have been made with the administrators.
Some classes have limited space and enrollment deadlines. As a courtesy to those on the waitlist, please contact CEN, Inc. as soon as possible if you will not be able to keep your place in the class.
Note: Families are not able to drop classes from their portal account. An adminstrator must officially "drop" a student. This has been set up in order to check in with families/students requesting the drop.
SECTION IV: Financial Aid, Scholarships, Donations, Sponsorships
In order to make services as widely available as possible, we accept many forms of donations and work with local entities interested in sponsoring CEN, Inc. programs.
Gift Certificates: Gift certificates may be purchased for a specific student or family, but are not considered donations and do not qualify for tax-deductions.
Sponsorships: Sponsorship opportunities are available, please contact our Adminsitrators at ChocieEdNetwork@gmail.com for more information. We are seeking sponsorships for specific programs and happy to discuss our needs with potential sponsors.
Donations: Cash donations to our organization are allocated at the discretion of the board to provide services to our network members and community. Supply donations are always welcome and are given to the program requesting the items. All donations are tax deductible.
Financial Aid / Scholarships: Families requesting aid must contact the Administrators and indicate a need for assistance. All scholarships and financial aid are awarded at the discretion administrators and/or Board of Directors when/if a conflict of interest arises. Aid is awareded based on the needs of individual students and available resources.
SECTION V: Participation Agreements & General Policy
A participant is defined as any individual enrolled into CEN, Inc. programs and any family member/guest on-site during CEN, Inc. activities.
CEN, Inc. strives to build a community of trust and cooperation as we work to include all homeschool families in their efforts to provide quality education programs to their unique homeschooling goals. All participants are expected to abide by "The Golden Rule" to treat others as they wish to be treated.
Acceptance or denial of any applicant to any class, club or event is at the complete discretion of the Network Director and/or the Board of Directors. The following policies and standards apply to each participant:
CEN, Inc. has two basic rules regarding behavior and interaction with one another: Be Kind; Be Safe. Grace, courtesy and respect towards one another is always expected. We do not need to agree on everything in order to cooperate civilly within the classroom setting. Keep yourself, those around you and any property/materials safe. Reckless, destructive, or dangerous behavior is not tolerated.
CEN, Inc. has a ZERO BULLYING policy. This applies to students, parents, staff and volunteers participating in any activity or event. This also applies to interaction on official electronic media controlled by CEN, Inc., including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram and its official website.
By participating in our services, participants and their families agree to refrain from vulgar language and swearing. Help our children and youth build meaningful vocabulary and learn to express their needs with respectful language. Vulgar gestures and innuendos are never acceptable and grounds for immediate dismissal from any activity. A repeat offense will result in removal from our programs without refund.
Participants and their families understand and acknowledge that CEN, Inc.’s Board of Directors reserves the right to regulate the scope of its services and curriculum as it deems appropriate.
CEN, Inc. requires participants to enroll in its programs using the gender indicated on their legal birth certificate. Gender pronoun preferences may be included on the application if desired under “other” on the application. Though students may make their gender preference known, CEN, Inc. does not require staff, volunteers, students or the network community to honor the requests. In the event of a
legal gender change, court documentation and legal birth certificate changes must be presented in order to modify gender identity on applications. It is the responsibility of the individual participant to inform staff and fellow participants of their individual pronoun preference.
Participants are expected to dress according to their legally documented gender where specialty uniforms and dress codes unique to “male” or “female” dress standards exist such as formal concert attire for our choral programs.
CEN, Inc.’s policies comply with applicable Arkansas law. For more information, consult Ark. Code Ann. §§ 20-18-307, 20-18-304, 20-18-305.
Bathroom policy: During class time, students may use restrooms one at a time as to not disrupt the flow and productivity of the classroom. Some facilities used by CEN, Inc’s have segregated “adult” and “student” restrooms. Please be sure to note the locations of both.
Medical concerns: CEN, Inc. will announce when there are families on site with life threating allergies. However, please note that CEN, Inc. uses publicly available space and venues and cannot guarantee an "allergy free" environment at all times and is not responsible for incidents resulting from exposure to said spaces or venues. Please communicate only medical conditions or allergies, not "dietary preferences" in your allergy comments. Only life-threatening allergies will warrant a community wide "ban" on items. Lesser allergies will be noted and communicated to teachers, but with so many allergies, we cannot "ban" all allergies. Please use the “other” area on the application to communicate non-emergency requests, dietary preferences or other information you feel is important for our staff to know.
CEN, Inc. requires each
household (not individual) to be illness/symptom free for at least 72 hours before attending events/classes. Once C19 restrictions lift, we'll resume the 48 hour guideline. If you have questions, first ask if you would want another familyt attending if they were experiencing the same symptoms. Generally, asking what you hope another family would choose to do in the same circumstance answers whether or not you should stay home.
All participants are to adhere to the policies and standards of our
host venues. CEN, Inc. intends to network throughout the region. It is the responsibility of participants to follow all posted and verbal instructions, safety procedures and facility policies. CEN, Inc. is not responsible for injuries resulting from the failure to abide by the policies and standards of these venues. Our staff will do their best to communicate any known “special” venue policies in advance.
Under 501(c)(3) requirements, it is inappropriate for CEN, Inc. to engage in political lobbying and activist activity. CEN, Inc. encourages its members to be active participants in their communities and to stay abreast of current affairs, but does not support/endorse any particular political agenda, candidate, ideology, etc. Any expression of
personal opinions by teachers, staff, volunteers, board members and/or hosts should not be considered an official representation or viewpoint of CEN, Inc.
It is inappropriate for teachers, staff, volunteers or participants to allow topics/subject matter to stray outside the context and purpose of the class or club.
General Behavior: Our teachers, volunteers and hosts reserve the right to manage classrooms or activities as they deem appropriate, and in accordance with CEN, Inc. policies and guidelines.
CEN. Inc. will not tolerate reckless behavior, disrespect toward or behavior that could result in physical harm to others. Anyone exhibiting said behavior may be dismissed from the current activities without refund. The Network Director and host venues reserve the right to remove disruptive individuals from a class/premises without refund.
Parents or responsible parties will be informed if their students are causing disruptions to the classroom. Behavioral plans are managed case by case with the student's parent/guardian.
Parents are always welcome and encouraged to attend any classes or events with their students. Parents of students with
known behavioral needs are asked to remain in class at all times, or until their student has acclimated to their classes.
Participants are asked to clearly and visibly wear their name tag or uniform (as applicable) during events and classes.
During activities, participants are required to remain in areas designated for the activity in which they are participating. Youth are not to be left unattended at any time. Minors participating in drop-off programs must remain with their group at all times. Drop-off services are a privilege at CEN Inc. Students unable to obey guidelines and policies will loose their drop-off privileges.
Participants are asked to check-in and out for each day’s activities for participant safety and to know how many are on campus in the event of an emergency. Children under age 10 must have an older sibling or guardian sign in/out on their behalf. Please advise staff if someone other than the parent or legal guardian will be picking up your child.
Please do not contact host venues directly for questions or concerns regarding activities.
Complaints, concerns and other suggestions should be brought to CEN, Inc.'s Network Administrators. CEN, Inc. will provide anonymous surveys at the conclusion of each event/semester in an effort to improve our participants’ experience. We encourage honest feedback as well as suggestions for improvement, development and club/class offerings.
By submitting an application for enrollment, participants agree to abide by all policies and standards. Participants also understand that policies may be changed/updated at any time.
Additionally, course specific or club policies may be changed at anytime at the discretion of the Network Director. Changes to policies will be communicated via EMAIL. Current policies are viewable on the parent portal and on our website at www.ChoiceEdNetwork.org under FAQ’s. Families may request a digital or hard copy of the latest policies by emailing ChoiceEdNetwork@gmail.com.
SECTION VI: Dress Code
We wish to present our
best self and as such implement a general dress standard while participating in CEN, Inc. activities. Please be advised that some clubs/classes may enforce a different dress code as outlined in their club/class policies and there may be special circumstances where specific attire is required. These instances will be clearly communicated in advance.
In general, the following standards apply:
NO crop tops/bare midriffs.
NO pants/shorts/skirts waistlines below the natural hip (no sagging!)
NO shorts/skirt hemline above mid-thigh when sitting.
NO vulgar saying or graphic pictures on any attire, accessories or other merchandise.
NO "torn" or "grunge" styles.
"Athletic wear" is appropriate for sports, dance and some community service projects.
Our dress standards are in place so our Board of Directors may at anytime invite potential sponsors and guests on site. Film and photography groups are also active onsite throughout the year. We intend to present "our best self" and train up youth that there are times for "lounge wear," "swim wear," "gym wear," etc and times when we must dress according to a "work" standard. This is a
practical life skill to know when certain items are appropriate and when it is not. As a general rule, if you couldn't wear it in a
typical work place, or if you'd be uncomfortable being presented to professionals in our community, don't wear it to CEN, Inc. actitivies.
I acknowledge receipt of these policies and standards and agree to abide by the rules of conduct.
Student Signature: _____________________________________________________________
Parent/Legal Guardian Signature: ____________________________
Date: _______________
SECTION VII: Waiver and Hold Harmless Agreement
This HOLD HARMLESS AGREEMENT (this "Agreement") is made effective at the time of my enrollment at Choice Education Network, Inc. by and between Choice Education Network, Inc. (hereinafter, "CEN, Inc."), and The Legal Parents/Guardians of The Participant(s) (hereinafter, "The Legal Guardian"). CEN, Inc. and Participant and Parents/Guardians of Participant are sometimes individually referred to as "Party" and collectively referred to as the "Parties."
