• Section One: Policies and Procedures
• Section Two: Teacher Policiies
• Section Three: Co-op Fees and Deadlines
• Section Four: Co-op Facility Policies
• Section Five: Nursery Policies

SECTION ONE: POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

• Class size - In preschool and elementary classes, we try to limit the class size to 10. In middle school grades, we try to limit the class size to 14. 
• Priority Registration - Teachers can register their children for classes first. It is very common for most classes to be completely full after teacher registration. Please keep this in consideration when planning your participation in BCHE Enrichment Co-op.
• Babies - All babies who are old enough to be active and interactive during Co-op should be registered to be cared for in the nursery. This includes babies who may not be born yet, but will be born during the co-op year. 
• Potty Training Issues - All children who participate in the 3’s and 4´s class are required to be potty trained. If your preschooler is not fully potty trained, however, please request to be a volunteer in his or her class.
• Student Supply Box - Each student must have a supply box/container with the following supplies: two pencils, sharpener, pen, eraser, age–appropriate scissors, glue stick, bottle glue, markers, colored pencils and/or crayons. They need to bring it each week to class.
• Food and Drinks - All classes age 3 through 8th grade will have a designated snack time. Please remember to pack a snack for your child. We are a peanut/tree nut – free zone!! Please do not bring anything with peanuts, peanut butter, or tree nuts to co-op. Water is the only drink allowed for students. Parents, on the other hand, may bring a hot drink with a lid. Occasionally, a teacher may desire to bring in food in conjunction with a particular lesson. Please make sure to list any food-related allergies on your child´s profile under medical alerts to help assist teachers and helpers in your child´s class.
• Dress code – In order to encourage modest dress and to give the best-possible representation of our faith, we have chosen to add the following “dress code” for all group functions and field trips:
  • No stomach or underwear should be visible.
  • Shirts should have conservative necklines and should not be revealing when you bend over.
  • Skirts and shorts should not be excessively short. The length should come to at least the bottom of your thumb when you stand.
  • No wording across the back of the shorts or pants.
  • No offensive or vulgar graphics on t-shirts or hats.
  • If disagreements arises on this area, leadership will make a decision with the wellbeing of our community in mind.
• Code of Conduct / Discipline Policy - Discipline is each parent’s responsibility. In order to maintain a positive learning environment, we agree on the following guidelines concerning discipline:
  • If a child is being overly disruptive, offensive, harmful, or destructive, and does not respond to the admonishment of the teacher, the teacher or teacher's assistant will explain the offense to the parent of the child.
  • The parent is expected to eliminate the problem by removing the child from the class/activity or taking the appropriate action necessary to prevent the problem from continuing or recurring.
  • If the problem continues or recurs, the parent and the child will be asked to leave the activity.
• Attendance Policies - By registering for the BCHE Co-op, the parent and children are committing to participate in weekly basis in the enrichment co-op, so excellent attendance and punctuality is vital. 
  • If you anticipate being late or unavailable (appointments, vacations, etc.), you must inform Tara Cory, the Co-op Director, at [email protected] or 423-584-2222, as early as possible arrangements can be made to fill your spot for the day. 
  • If sickness or unexpected absence arises on the day of co-op, please contact Tara Cory as soon as possible at 423-584-2222. If you or one of your children are sick, but you want your other child(ren) to attend Co-op, they must be accompanied by a substitute who will take your volunteer duties.
  • If the absences seem to be of a more chronic and/or voluntary nature, the Co-op Committee can decide that the following Co-op year the family will sit out one semester, thus placing it on the lowest level for registration, and that the option of a teacher position will not be available to the parent. Since excellent attendance is essential to the health and fairness of our co-op, if a family misses more than two classes in a semester, the Co-op Committee will review its situation; we understand that sometimes emergencies arise.
  • Only children that are enrolled in Enrichment Co-op are allowed to be present in the areas used by BCHE Enrichment Co-op at the time Co-op is taking place.
• Email Communication – Please remember to check and read your emails regularly so that you do not miss important Co-op information.
• Flexibility – The co-op strictly runs on parent volunteers. As needs and situations arise, the co-op committee may need to move volunteers at any point to fill a need in another area. Please be flexible and willingly helpful when this situation occurs.
• Weather Policy - We usually follow the Bradley County Schools policy for cancellations due to weather. If co-op is cancelled for weather, we will send an email and/or text regarding the cancellation. If in doubt, please check your email or refer to the website for updates.
• Sickness – Please do not attend co-op if you or your child has experienced any of the following symptoms within the past 24 hours: fever, diarrhea, or vomiting. Please be courteous of others if there is any question about the health of your child. This is especially important for nursery children.
• Phones and Electronic Devices - Students are not to bring any electronics with them to class including phones, electronic games, mp3 players, etc. Parents, please keep your phone on vibrate and do not use them in the classrooms.

SECTION TWO: TEACHER POLICIES

• Statement of Faith – BCHE encourages members of all faiths to attend our co-op. However, in order to stay faithful to our mission as a Christian organization, every teacher at the co-op is required to sign the BCHE Statement of Faith. This is signed on the Class Proposal iform and must be completed before submission.

• Class Proposal I-Form -- We encourage our teachers to teach topics that they are passionate about. We give them the freedom to make choices with the understanding that we want to offer a well-balanced selection of classes. To propose a class, please fill out a Class Proposal I-Form (available in the spring), which is sent directly to the Co-op Administrator for approval. We strongly encourage teachers to teach their class to both paths if applicable.

• Mandatory New Teacher Orientation - Teachers new to BCHE Enrichment Co-op must attend a Teacher Orientation in the Fall before co-op starts. 

• Teacher Attendance – If you need to miss a week of co-op, you are responsible for finding your own substitute teacher (usually this will be one of your helpers). If you have an unexplained or last-minute absence, like sickness, and cannot make these arrangements, please contact the Co-op Director, Tara Cory to let her know your situation. 

• Supply Money and Additional Class Fees - Enrichment teachers have $3.00/child and middle school teachers have $3.50/child for class supplies. If the teacher feels that more money per child will be necessary, she can request that a supply fee be associated with her class. Since we make every effort to keep costs low for our families, this fee should be kept as low as possible and should not exceed $10.00.

• Reimbursements – To get reimbursed for supplies and expenses for your class, you must submit the original receipts (or a legible copy) and a completed BCHE Co-op reimbursement Iform (either online or paper). Forms and receipts must be submitted to the treasurer within two (2) weeks of the final co-op day for the applicable school year.

• Classroom Maintenance - Please leave the facility cleaner than you found it. Each classroom will have a binder with photos of how the classroom is to look when we are done. Classroom helpers and teachers should be cleaning/tidying their classroom each hour, wipe down tables (glue, markers, crumbs) and vacuum the floor.

• Use of copy machine – Teachers are allowed to use the copy machine at the facility during the co-op hours. Copies are to be used for the co-op classes and not for personal home use. Please record the number of copies printed each week on the sheet provided in the copy room. In addition, please be respectful of others and the property of the facility by planning ahead and limiting your time at the copy machine.

• Curriculum – In the middle school and lower grades, we try to offer any of the following classes based on the choices made by our volunteer parent-teachers: Math, Science, Technology, History, Geography, Language Arts, Art, Physical Education, Other Electives. We ask that teachers pick curriculum that will fall into one of these categories, so as to avoid any overlap each semester. In general, Bible and theology-related classes will not be offered.

SECTION THREE: CO-OP FEES AND DEADLINES

• Fees—These are based on the number of weeks of co-op and go towards covering the facility rental charges. It is a flat fee per child for the entire session and there are no discounts. Some classes may have an additional fee for supplies or request that the parent bring supplies from home. These additional supply fees will be paid at registration time. 

• Payment Due at Registration—It is required that you pay for all Co-op fees for the full year at the time of registration. Registrations will be canceled if payment is not received 24 hours. Payments can be made online through PayPal. 

• Canceled Registration Refund Policy – There are no refunds for canceled registrations.

SECTION FOUR: CO-OP FACILITY POLICIES

• Food is not allowed in the hallways. Please keep food and snacks in the classroom and discard appropriately.
• No peanuts and/or tree nuts allowed.
• Children are to be accompanied by a parent or other adult at all times.
• When children are not in class, they are to be attended by a parent at all times – ALL AGES, NO EXCEPTIONS, before and after co-op. Children are also not to be left unattended in classrooms without an adult present.
• As stated in the attendance policy section, only children that are enrolled in Enrichment Co-op are allowed to be present in the areas used by BCHE Enrichment Co-op at the time Co-op is taking place.
• Smoking, including tobacco, vaping, or e-cigarettes, is not permitted by Meadowview Baptist Church whether indoors or outside at playground or pavilion area.

SECTION FIVE: NURSERY POLICIES