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Policies & Procedures

(Updated January 2024)
For a description of the registration process, along with registration and financial policies, go here.

Family Responsibilities

Before our semester begins, please review the following responsibilities together as a family.

  • Children should never be left unattended.  We will have volunteers to help guide children, but it is still the parent’s responsibility to watch their child(ren) and/or know where your children are.
  • If you must leave the premises without your children, you must designate a friend to take responsibility for your child. There is a sign-out sheet in the common room for this. Signing out to another responsible adult is mandatory for insurance purposes.
  • In the event of a fire or if the fire alarm goes off – Teachers, parents and students are all to meet at the FIRE SAFETY SPOT (Now labeled on all HOP Maps. Everyone is required to stay in the FIRE SAFETY SPOT until the church is cleared for re-entry.
  • General Rules of North Dunedin Baptist Church (NDBC) on HOP days:
    • No climbing of trees, buildings or other structures on property
    • No picking fruit from the fruit trees on property
    • No running inside the building
  • Children not in classes may not disrupt classes in session.  Please be sure to plan to keep kids occupied.
  • ALL areas of the facility, including the outside property, must be respected at all times.
  • Be respectful to NDBC employees and listen to their directions/instructions.
  • ALL HOP members must be respected at all times.  Bullying or fighting will not be tolerated. Adults are encouraged to gently help children resolve interpersonal issues.
  • All families should read and adhere to our Policy on Bullying and Harassment and report all violations to The Planning Team.
  • Children should be equally respected.  No yelling, shaming, or punishing while at HOP.
  • Please remember that our teachers take great pride in teaching our children and they ask that you try to attend all 12 classes unless there is illness in the family.  Teachers need to start their classes on time, so please be respectful and make sure your child(ren) are in class on time.
  • Please arrange to pick up your children who are age 6 and under after each class ends and help them to get to and from classes.We are a community.  The Planning and Action Committee cannot have eyes everywhere.  We all need to pay attention and help guide our kids according the rules above as well as other rules that one would reasonably expect to be in place.

Classroom Policies

  • Our teachers are not permitted to use any punitive systems in the classroom.
  • Both teachers and students should be treated respectfully and kindly at all times.
  • Parents, along with members of the Planning Team, are welcome to sit in on classes.
    • Teachers are expected to manage their classrooms.  If you have a student being disruptive in any way, please address that behavior immediately with the student.  If the behavior persists:
      1. Notify the parent as soon as possible (must be before next the class).  The parent will need to sit in for the next class at minimum. 

      Note:  if the altercation is physical or verbal bullying (see below) the Admin Team must be notified immediately.  One of us will need to be in attendance during a parent/teacher meeting prior to the next class.

      1. If the student is still disruptive after the parent attends, the child will be excused from the class for the remainder of the semester without a refund.

      What is considered disruptive?  This will vary somewhat depending on the nature of the class, but it includes any behavior that has an adverse effect on at least one other classmate.  If the behavior inhibits another child’s ability to concentrate on the class or enjoy the class, it is considered disruptive. If the teacher is having to ask repeatedly for child to stop, the child is disruptive.  This can include talking, passing notes, moving around the classroom when not appropriate, cell phone usage, or any behavior a teacher deems inappropriate for the classroom setting.
      What is considered verbal bullying?  The definition of verbal bullying is when an individual uses verbal language (e.g., insults, teasing, etc) to gain power over his or her peers.  This could be simple words such as dummie, stupid, trash, wimp, sissy, etc.  It can also include harmful phrases such as “you’re so gay” or “man-up”. There are limitless ways in which someone could use verbal insults (intended to harm or not) and it is up to the teacher to recognize words that are not part of the learning environment. 
      Teachers who are not sure about a particular situation are encouraged to speak to someone on the action committee for assistance. 

  • Teachers must arrive before class begins and be ready to teach on time. Teachers are expected to teach each of the 12 weeks of classes unless there is an emergency or illness. If teachers need to miss a class due to illness or emergency, or if they will be delayed due to an unavoidable situation, they should notify us immediately by texting or calling a Planning Team member and/or posting on our current semester’s Facebook Page.  Teachers should make arrangements with parents of students by offering to reschedule the missed class or giving parents a refund for that class. No substitute teachers are allowed unless approved by the Planning Team beforehand.
  • Unplanned teacher absences: If a teacher has an unplanned absence, they may plan a substitute teacher (which must be approved by HOP admins) or give a refund for that class.

Policy on Bullying and Harassment

HOP does not tolerate bullying or harassment of students, families, teachers, or staff (including the Planning Team).  This includes conduct that is based on a person’s ’s actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion or any other distinguishing characteristics. Our Policy on Bullying and Harassment covers conduct at co-op, online, and at other HOP-sponsored events.  HOP’s Policy on Bullying and Harassment contains details on what constitutes bullying or harassment, what actions may be taken when it occurs and how to report incidents to the Planning Team.  If you are aware of bullying or harassment taking place, please report it to an adult teacher and/or The Planning Team as soon as possible.  To read our entire Policy on Bullying and Harassment, click HERE.

Weather (and Other) Emergencies

In (very rare) extreme weather emergencies or other emergencies, the Planning Team may be forced to close HOP due to safety.  These types of closures are things that are generally not under our control and happen only when the Planning Team feels strongly that it is the best decision.  If this type of closure occurs, the Planning Team will do their best to reschedule the class/day missed, although sometimes this may not be possible due the building scheduling or other issues.  In these types of rare cancellations, refunds may not be possible. The Planning Team seeks to avoid these types of closures if at all possible. To be kept abreast of weather related emergencies and other important announcements, please be sure you join our registered-only Facebook group at the beginning of each semester, and check the group before coming to HOP each week.

Illness in the Family

Please be aware that some of our members have health issues such as compromised immune systems. Please be respectful of this and please stay home if you or your child/children are sick. HOP will always inform its members if we suspect a serious illness has been brought to HOP.

HOP Lice Policy

If your family discovers you are affected by lice, please notify a HOP Planning Team member immediately so that we can let our families know to check their own children. In order to protect the child who has lice, please do not post directly to the group. Please be sure to follow a thorough treatment protocol and be sure to remove all lice/nits before attending classes again. Continue to check the heads of your entire family for 14 days after treatment to be sure that you have successfully removed the lice.
About other children: If you suspect another child may have lice because you have seen them, please talk to a HOP administrator and let us know.  We will ask the parent to please check immediately.   We are happy to talk with anyone that has concerns and encourage you to come to us if you do.

Volunteers

We know parents want to be involved with their children.  It’s why you are working hard to homeschool them.  For HOP to run smoothly, it is imperative that all families are involved in running HOP so that the responsibility is shared. We need each family to volunteer his or her time over the 12 week semester. Each registered family volunteers for one spot, which is a total of about 4 hours of volunteer time per semester. Once your family has determined your class schedule, please fill in the volunteer form for the times that work best for you. This is on a first come basis, so you may not get the time slot that is easiest for your family.  If volunteering presents a challenge for your family, please contact us. (Families who already serve in one of the following roles are exempt from further volunteer requirements: teachers, cooperative class coordinators, volunteer coordinators, and the Planning Team).

Common Area

There is a community room where everyone is welcome to hangout together during non-class hours and during lunch. We all love being with our kids, and they love being around each other without being divided into age groups. We want to provide an atmosphere where we can chat, make new friends, nurse our babies, play with our kids, and just relax and have fun. You are welcome to bring any board games or toys each week.

Play Areas

Our HOP location, the North Dunedin Baptist Church, has several open areas where children are free to play and socialize when they aren’t in class. There is also a fenced in playground located on the East side of the property. Parents need to continuously supervise children in these locations.

Lunch

There will be a lunch break from 11:40-12:10. You can pack your own lunch or there will be pizza, drinks and snacks available for purchase. There will be a pizza sign-up sheet at the information table every week.  Please sign up for pizza by 10:00 a.m. We also allow families to sign up for pizza the evening before each HOP day by posting on a thread in our registered-only Facebook group.  A portion of the profit from snacks and drinks sold in our community room, along with pizza sales, will be added to the HOP Scholarship Fund.  We will also have a sign-up for members to make and sell soup during lunch.  We are asking for 3 each week; one vegan, one vegan/gluten-free and the other can be anything.  They will sell for $4/bowl.  To sign-up for soup https://hopfamilies.com/Volunteers.com

Clean Up

Please look around after lunch and throughout the day to see if there is any trash outside where kids may have eaten or food on the floor around tables. We do need help with things like picking up trash, sweeping, and tidying the rooms.

Don’t forget to join the Facebook Group

Our community Facebook group is used for disseminating immediate information and info on events. You can find the page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Homeschoolersofpinellas/ and request to follow. Once you follow our main Facebook page and register your family for classes, you will be invited to join our registered-only Facebook Group for the current semester. It is a secret group used for families that have registered for classes during the current semester.  This group allows us to communicate important information to registered families, such as teacher absences, class cancellations, last minute teacher requests, or issues with the weather.  When you register for classes, you will be emailed to join if you would like. While it is optional, we highly recommend joining and checking the group before HOP day each week. If you choose not to join the current semester’s Facebook Group, you will miss important and timely announcements!