Friendly Educators Guidelines!
Payment Policies
1. Please remember that you’re required to pay your full tuition payment, even if you withdraw before the year is complete. Friendly Educators does not offer refunds.
2. By the start of the new school year, you should have already paid at least half of your tuition. If you chose a payment plan, then the remaining due will be automatically deducted the first week of January.
Attendance Policies
1. Parents of preschoolers through 8th graders must remain on campus. Only a mom, dad, grandparent, aunt/uncle may serve in this capacity (and you should let us know who will be staying).
2. High school parents are encouraged but not required to stay. One of our goals is to foster community and having moms and dads around on Mondays is a blessing for everyone!
3. Parents are welcome to sit in on any classes that they choose.
4. Remember, your children are your responsibility while you’re here! You must supervise them during lunch, chapel, and class changes. Students are not allowed to hang out in any part of the building, including the lobby, during class hours unless they are with a parent. Students must be in class, with a parent, or in study hall.
5. If you plan to sit in your car at any point during the day, please let the front desk person know in case we need to find you. High school students may not sit in your car at any time during the day.
6. You may *NOT* leave campus so that you can run errands, attend doctor’s appointments, etc. The privilege to leave another parent in charge is only for true emergencies.
7. Chapel is not optional if you are on campus during that time. Worship is the hallmark of our program, and it’s a wonderful time to praise, rest, fellowship, and teach our children. It’s the one part of the day when we are all together; please do not disrespect this special time.
8. All students must remain on campus until their last class is over unless they are leaving with a parent. Teens who drive themselves will not be allowed to leave and return by themselves or with anyone other than a parent during the class day.
9. In the event of inclement weather, we will make a decision about canceling or delaying classes by 7:30am on Monday morning. We will send an email and post on the FE website and Facebook page.
Check-In and Security Policies
1. The ONLY entrance and exit we are allowed to use is through the glass doors in the lobby area. Look for the portico, and you’ll be in the right place!
2. DO NOT use any other door in the church unless it’s an emergency, and DO NOT open the door to anyone.
3. The building will open for Friendly Educators on Mondays at 8:30am and close at 3:15pm.
4. Do not send your children downstairs to class more than 5 minutes early so as not to disrupt classes currently going on.
General Facility Policies
1. Food is only allowed in the lunchroom during the lunch time period. You’re welcome to eat outside at any point during the day.
2. DO NOT sit on the floor anywhere in the building to eat.
3. Please clean up after yourself and your young child(ren) in the lunchroom and bathroom.
4. With the one exception of the preschool classes, there is no food allowed in the classrooms.
5. Smoking, vaping, e-cigarettes are NOT allowed anywhere on campus.
6. DO NOT park in any space marked “guest.” Those are reserved for people who need to conduct church business during our class day.
7. The elevator may be used by teachers with carts, moms with strollers, or someone who cannot manage the stairs. Everyone else needs to use the stairs.
8. The ice maker in the kitchen is off limits.
9. There is a lovely nursery available for those mothers with babies across from the sanctuary.
10. Only currently enrolled FE students may be present on campus on Monday. High school cannot invite their outside friends to visit at lunch or chapel.
Communicating Concerns:
1. If you find that you have a conflict with another parent, a teacher, or a member of our leadership team, please follow the Biblical guidelines from Matthew 18, in which Jesus asks us to go directly to the person involved first before talking to anyone else. If the problem is still not resolved, please bring it to the board’s attention. It is our desire to handle all conflicts with grace and love.
2. We encourage your feedback on how we can improve Friendly Educators. At the end of each semester, you will have the opportunity to complete a brief survey about your experience at FE.
COVID Protocols
Friendly Educators will abide by Guilford County mandates regarding Covid face covering requirements. If a mandate is enacted, and you are not wearing a face covering on meeting days, we assume that you fall under an allowable exemption. We will NOT ask you for proof of the exemption. However, if an enforcement officer visits and issues you a fine because you do not have proper paperwork, you are responsible for paying the fine, not Friendly Educators or FACC. If Friendly Educators or FACC is issued a fine, the total number of families not wearing a mask (and without proper paperwork to prove an exemption) will have the fine divided equally among them and each family must pay their portion before their children may return to class.
Sick Policy
1. Do not bring sick children to campus. If a child has ANY symptoms - runny nose, cough, fever, vomiting, diarrhea - within the last 24 hours, stay home.
2. If one child is sick and you suspect your entire family may be contagious, we ask that the whole family stay home for the day. We know this is disappointing for the other children in the family, but we feel it’s the wisest decision this year.
3. If an FE attendee tests positive for COVID, please follow any CDC guidelines for quarantining or testing before returning to FE.
Allergen Policies
Friendly Educators strives to be a Nut Allergy Aware campus. We ask families to refrain from bringing foods and drinks with nuts into the campus on community day. However, our meeting place, generously provided by Friendly Avenue Church of Christ, is not a nut free facility. Therefore, FE is not able to guarantee that nut products are not in the church and/or on campus on meeting day. However, we ask all families to be Nut Allergy Aware and abide by the following conduct:
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Please do not bring any nut products to campus on meeting days. This includes peanut butter sandwiches, snacks with nuts and milks using nuts.
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Please ensure the allergy information section in our registration system (LMG) is accurately entered into the record of the child with allergies.
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If you or your child(ren) accidentally bring in food containing nuts, DO NOT open it and put it immediately back in your car.
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If you see an opened allergen, immediately alert Amy Smith at 336-549-2701 as well as any teacher in the room or any available board member so that they can dispose of it according to our guidelines.
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Parents with children with severe allergies must remain in the church building during class time, ideally in the classroom with their children.
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Friendly Educators and Friendly Avenue Church of Christ can not be held responsible in the event of an allergy related incident. Parents are ultimately responsible for the safety of their own children.
General Behavior Guidelines:
1. Please show respect for the teachers, other adults, and fellow students both in and out of class. This includes coming to class on time and being prepared, as well as speaking in an appropriate manner.
2. Absolutely no teasing or bullying will be tolerated.
3. Absolutely no running or loud noises in the hallways. We must respect the church staff members who are working during our classes. Stay in the designated areas only.
4. Please dress modestly on Mondays and at all FE events. For girls, this means no cleavage, no spaghetti straps, no bra straps showing, no see-through tops, and no crop tops. Shorts and skirts must be longer than the tip of your finger when your arm is straight down by your side. No soccer shorts or miniskirts! For guys, this means no tank tops and no underwear showing. No one is
allowed to wear attire that makes a controversial statement. If you’re dressed inappropriately, you will be asked to cover your violation with a shirt/shorts out of our clothes bag, or you may choose to go home and change.
5. Access to the study hall is a privilege that will be revoked if students misbehave. Study hall is located close to church offices and it needs to stay quiet.
The board reserves the right to take action for repeated violations of rules up to and including expulsion from the program. Please be aware that there are security cameras throughout the church.
Chapel and Lunch
The elementary school students will follow the typical schedule of lunch at noon, followed by chapel at 12:30. Middle School and High School students will have chapel at noon, followed by lunch at 12:30. This will give us more space in the lunchroom and allow chapel to be adapted based on the age of the students. Parents are encouraged to stay with their youngest children.
Work Duty Review and Assignments
1. Each family is required to work a certain number of times (depending on how many families we have enrolled) during the year to help us with daily duties such as set-up and clean-up.
2. You are required to be on time for your job and to stay until it’s completed. Please plan to arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled time begins.
3. If you fail to show up for your work duty, you will be required to pay a $75 fine before your children can return to class. If you are late or leave before the job is finished, you will be required to pay a $25 fine before your children can return to class.
4. It is your responsibility to find your own substitute if you are unable to make your scheduled time. (And if you agree to substitute for someone else, the fine becomes your responsibility if you fail to complete the job.)
5. If you miss more than 2 work duties, FE reserves the right to dismiss you from FE.
