BROOKLYN FREE SPACE MEMBER HANDBOOK

INTRODUCTION

Brooklyn Free Space (“BFS”) is a cooperative preschool for children between 2.5 and 5 years of age. We are proud to have a full-time Educational Director, an Assistant Director, and a teaching staff of dedicated, experienced professionals. We enrich the classroom experience with specialized instruction in art, music, and dance/movement. We also employ a part-time Administrator to coordinate financial and administrative tasks, and a cleaning service. The rest of the school’s function depends on our efforts as the coop membership. In addition to tuition, each member family gives time and effort each month in coop work to support our students and teachers.

In 2007-2008, BFS expanded to welcome more and younger students. Our formerly two-room school now has four classrooms, each with three teachers.

· The Jitterbug Room is for our 2’s students. This class has 12 children; four are part-time, and the rest are full day.

· The Dragonfly Room is our younger 3’s room. This class has 16 students; up to four may be part-time, the rest are full-day.

· The Sunshine Room is for older 3’s and 4’s. This class has 17 full-day students. We have been told to expect UPK funding for age-eligible students (3.9-4.8 in September).

· The Rainbow Room is our “oldest” class, for older 3’s and 4’s, generally of UPK age and older. This class has 17 full-day students. Age-eligible (3.9-4.8 in September) students in this class receive partial tuition reimbursement through UPK funding.

AIMS

BFS is a child-centered program. The interests of the children guide our school. We provide a safe, nurturing, creative environment for preschool children by drawing on the experience and individual talents of the membership and staff.

We encourage children in their emotional, social, and intellectual growth and help them develop self-confidence and self-esteem.

We seek to meet the needs of each child, developing individual interests and encouraging each child’s creativity and self-direction through constructive play and creative, stimulating activities.

We recognize that children benefit from interaction with other children and with warm, loving, respectful adults other than those at home, and we provide an environment that allows this interaction to occur regularly.

OUR PHILOSOPHY OF LEARNING

In a caring and positive atmosphere, we create a warm, happy place where preschoolers can learn. As we bridge the gap from home to school, we guide the children to a continued good self-image while building social skills in a school setting.

Sensory, motor, perceptual, and language skills are introduced through weekly themes, materials, and activities that are both child-centered and teacher-directed. "Work" is planned which emphasizes the process rather than the product, fostering a sense of accomplishment and pride.

Based on the theory that children learn through play, classroom routines encourage active involvement, meaningful experimentation and reinforcement through diversity and repetition. Schedules are designed to balance structure and free choice, as well as active and quiet times.

Recognizing that children grow in predictable stages, we treat each child as an individual. Working from the level each child has attained (keeping in mind the child's learning styles and interests) and moving forward a step at a time, we teach love of learning by allowing them to feel success without pressure.

Two cornerstones of BFS’s children-first philosophy are a five-day week for all students, and narrow age ranges in younger classrooms. The five-day week gives young children a comforting and predictable routine, and fosters an important sense of belonging and community. The narrow age ranges in younger classes helps teachers to focus on the particular developmental needs of their students. Together, these two cornerstones help the children in each classroom to form a cohesive bond with their teachers and each other, and to learn and thrive in a program geared to their mental, physical, and emotional needs.

We value active involvement of families in our program, through both coop and classroom participation. The children at BFS grow to see their families as important and concerned members of the school community. Families may gain valuable insights and techniques from the expertise of the staff, and also share their own insights, talents and interests to maintain the excellent quality of care here at BFS. School at BFS is a shared experience, a relationship that we hope will continue throughout each child’s education.

COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION AT BFS

HOW INFORMATION FLOWS: There are many info conduits for BFS members.

Email:

• Important school news & info, announcements about General and Steering meetings, meeting minutes, and info on other school events/topics are sent frequently via our BFS-wide email list, members@brooklynfreespace.org. It is a stated requirement of coop membership to participate in the BFS community email list. Please check often, and keep contact info current.
• Anyone is free to email the BFS community via the members@ email address, but please do so only to share info about school topics, or other related topics liable to be of interest to our particular group.

· Each coop committee also has its own email list. These email lists are used for inter- and intra-committee use. Please respond promptly to emails concerning coop work duties and other coop business.

Website:

· At brooklynfreespace.org, you can download forms, Member Handbook, BFS By-laws, etc. The private area contains the member contact list, meeting minutes, and yet more forms. The private area’s login info changes each year. The Tech Committee will announce each year’s username/password to the membership.

Member Roster/Contact List:

· This list includes students’ and adults’ names, and contact information. A current contact list is always available in the private area on the BFS website. An updated contact list is distributed to all at each General Meeting, as well. Please use the most recent version, and discard the older ones safely.

· The school constantly updates member contact information. If any part of your contact information changes, please tell BFS ASAP. We require current contact information from all members.

Classroom Mailboxes:

· Staff (and others) often put notices in children’s classroom mailboxes. These mailboxes are the official means of notice for school issues. Please check daily.

Bulletin boards: The Director and teachers frequently post important notices on the bulletin boards outside the classrooms. Please check daily.

US Mail: Administrative mailings occur several times during the school year.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY ALL COMMUNICATIONS

FROM MEMBERS OF THE BFS COMMUNITY,

AND RESPOND PROMPTLY AS NEEDED.

WHO TO CONTACT ABOUT WHAT: If you need information or have a question or comment, it is almost invariably best to go directly to the person(s) involved, first. Examples: If you have a suggestion about a classroom detail, talk to your child’s teachers themselves. If you have a question about a coop policy, you can contact anyone on the Steering Committee.

If it concerns your child’s classroom experience your child’s teachers

If it concerns BFS staff or students Educational Director Stacy Roupas,

Asst. Director Daniela Vancurova

If it concerns payments Administrator Laura Pollakoff

If it concerns some aspect of the coop a Steering Committee member

ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT

BFS enrolls students on a wholly nondiscriminatory basis, without regard to the race, color, national and ethnic origin, or sexual orientation of applicants’ families. We seek to provide our students with the opportunity to meet and make friends with children from all backgrounds. BFS balances classes by age and gender whenever possible.

We hold an Open House in early January, and offer tours of the school in the following weeks. We begin accepting applications for the following school year after the Open House. Applications are available on our website or by requesting one from the school. The information packet that accompanies the application will state the deadline date for that year--generally at the end of January.

Currently enrolled members may pre-enroll by paying the required deposit by the specified date in early January to ensure their place in school the following year. Applicants who are current or former students’ siblings are pre-enrolled next, so long as there is space available in an age-appropriate classroom following the pre-enrollment of current students. The rest of the spaces are filled through a lottery selection.

Applicants are notified in mid-February of their acceptance status. First-round acceptees are given about two weeks to enroll by submitting a signed Statement of Agreement and paying the initial deposit, generally two months’ tuition. After the deadline has passed, we offer admission to applicants on the waiting list and give them an opportunity to submit a deposit and a signed agreement.

Following acceptance of a space at the school, families are asked to provide additional information concerning their child for the school’s records. Certain information is necessary to ensure our compliance with New York City licensing requirements. Families must also pay a second tuition deposit, generally one month’s tuition, no later than June 1^st and the annual Materials Fee by the first day of school in September.

Membership for families begins upon the school’s receipt of a signed Statement of Agreement and the payment of the first tuition deposit and continues as long as the child is enrolled in BFS. For purposes of membership, the family consists of adults who are listed on the enrollment form.

It is our policy that all tuition and fees are completely NONREFUNDABLE once paid. Our annual Financial Policies handout and the Financial Policies section of this handbook contain complete information concerning tuition and fees, payment schedules, and procedures to be followed.

SCHOOL CALENDAR AND HOURS

BFS follows the New York City Department of Education elementary school calendar. Children attend school Monday to Friday from September through June. Additionally, we offer Early Bird and After School programs, and a summer camp.

When the New York City public schools are closed due to inclement weather, BFS closes as well. In rare instances, it may be necessary to close the school for other reasons. If this occurs, an email announcement and a telephone tree will be used to notify families.

HOURS OF OPERATION:

JITTERBUG & DRAGONFLY ROOMS 9 AM TO 12:30 PM (PART-TIME)

9 AM TO 3 PM (FULL DAY)

SUNSHINE & RAINBOW ROOMS 9 AM to 3 PM (ALL FULL DAY)

EARLY BIRD (all classrooms) 8 AM TO 9 AM

AFTER SCHOOL (all classrooms) 3 PM TO 6 PM

AT THE START OF EACH SCHOOL YEAR - Entering preschool is an important experience for your child. It means leaving a familiar home and depending on adults other than her/his own family. It means finding a place among a group of other children. There are new toys, different toileting arrangements, and unfamiliar (at first) settings. One of the consuming tasks for the child entering school for the first time is to learn to live with peers who may want to play with the same toys at the same time, or who make the same demands on adults as s/he does.

We plan our schedule during the first few days of school to help all children adjust as comfortably and pleasantly as possible. During the first week, the program is limited so as to provide time for children to become acclimated to their new environment. Each family should plan to have someone available at the beginning of the school year to ease the child’s adjustment to school. For the younger classes, Jitterbug and Dragonfly, families are encouraged to spend as much time at school as needed during the first two weeks to make the child comfortable. For the older classes, Sunshine and Rainbow families are invited to stay for limited periods, particularly during the first week, to assist in the adjustment process.

STAFF HOURS – Staff hours vary according to the needs of the school. The Educational Director is generally at BFS from 8:30 AM to 4 PM. The Assistant Director, who is a head teacher from 9:00 AM – 3 PM, is generally at BFS from 8:30 AM to 3 PM plus some after-school time at least twice a week. Staff hours are posted on the bulletin board outside each classroom for member reference.

FAMILY-TEACHER CONFERENCES – Twice a year BFS holds family-teacher conferences to discuss each child’s progress. Families may also schedule informal conferences at a time mutually convenient to themselves and their child’s teachers.

SUMMER CAMP PROGRAM – We offer a summer camp for a number of weeks in July and August. The dates and duration of camp may change each year according to demand. Summer camp is open to BFS students who meet the program’s age requirements (generally 3.2 or 3.3 and up) and who were enrolled during the prior school year. We can usually also accommodate other children in the same age range who did not attend during the school year. The program, taught by our regular teachers, is built around activities in and out of the classroom. As weather allows, children visit local playgrounds, parks, and various other neighborhood destinations, as well as taking field trips to fun and educational destinations such as museums and puppet shows. As during the regular school year, some member coop work or a buyout fee is required in addition to tuition.

DAILY CLASSROOM SCHEDULES

THE SCHOOL DAY AT BFS: In all areas of preschool play there are concepts of living, sharing, and understanding that take on added dimensions with the growth and development of your child. It is our belief that children need both freedom and a sense of order in the events of the day. A fixed daily schedule gives children confidence because they know what to expect. However, the schedule is just a framework. It gives a sense of sureness and order to the day but the order can be modified easily as needed. Throughout the day, children are free to make many choices within the basic structure.

Below is our daily schedule, and descriptions of many of the activities we offer our students. Some students in the Jitterbug Room and the Sunshine Room attend part-time (until 12:30 PM). All other students attend BFS for the full day, until 3 PM.

DAILY SCHEDULE FOR JITTERBUG ROOM:

9:00-9:40  Choice Time (puzzles, blocks, books, manipulatives, dramatic play, etc.)

9:40-10:00 Clean Up and Morning Circle Time (discussions, poetry readings, weather, songs, daily schedule)

10:00-10:15 Snack Time

10:15-11:15 Outdoor Play and/or Nature or Neighborhood Walk (as weather

permits) or Indoor Gross Motor Play in the Big Room

10:15-11:15 Enrichment Activities when scheduled (art, music, dance/movement)

11:15-11:40  Circle Time

11:40-12:00 Toileting, Washing Hands, Preparation for Lunch

12:00-12:30 Lunch and Cleanup

12:30-12:40  Dismissal for Part-time Children

12:30-12:45  Story Time

12:45-2:15 Rest Time

2:15-2:30 Snack Time

2:30-2:45 Afternoon Circle Time

2:45-3:00 Child-selected Activities

3:00-3:10  Dismissal for Full Day Children

DAILY SCHEDULE FOR DRAGONFLY ROOM:

9:00-9:40  Choice Time (puzzles, blocks, books, manipulatives, dramatic play, etc.)

9:40-10:00 Clean Up and Morning Circle Time (discussions, poetry readings, weather, songs, daily schedule)

10:00-10:15 Snack Time

10:15-11:15 Outdoor Play and/or Nature or Neighborhood Walk (as weather

permits) or Indoor Gross Motor Play in the Big Room

10:15-11:15 Enrichment Activities when scheduled (art, music, dance/movement)

11:15-11:40  Art, Music, Movement

11:40-12:00 Toileting, Washing Hands, Preparation for Lunch

12:00-12:30 Lunch and Cleanup

12:30-12:40  Dismissal for Part-time Children

12:30-12:45  Story Time

12:45-2:15 Rest Time

2:15-2:30 Snack Time

2:30-2:45 Child-selected Activities

2:45-3:00 Afternoon Circle Time

3:00-3:10  Dismissal for Full Day Children

DAILY SCHEDULE FOR SUNSHINE ROOM AND RAINBOW ROOM:

9:00-10:00  Free Play (puzzles, toys, blocks, painting, library area, dramatic play)

10:00-10:30  Clean Up and Circle Time (songs, stories, rhymes, games, discussion, show and tell)

10:30-11:00  Snack Time

10:15-11:15 Enrichment Activities when scheduled (art, music, dance/movement)

11:15-11:50 Outdoor Play and/or Nature or Neighborhood Walk (as weather

permits) or Indoor Gross Motor Play in the Big Room

11:50-12:00 Toileting, Washing Hands, Preparation for Lunch

12:00-12:30  Lunch and Cleanup

12:30-12:45  Story Time

12:45-2:00 Rest Time with music, stories, poetry readings

2:00-2:15 Snack Time

2:15-2:30 Afternoon Circle Time

2:30-3:00  Child-selected Activities

3:00-3:10 Dismissal

ELEMENTS OF OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

After the first days, students from all classes have many opportunities to interact as part of the larger school community during periods such as Outdoor Play. We also begin to incorporate art, music, and dance/movement, taught by specialized enrichment teachers. Classes divide into smaller groups for special projects, cooking experiences and perhaps also for short local trips (such as to a dentist’s office or neighborhood library).

FREE PLAY - In- or outdoors, the child has the freedom to make choices, express herself in dramatic play and relate to others. Our materials include puzzles, games, toys, dolls, books and musical instruments.

ARTS AND CRAFTS - A variety of materials is provided to stimulate the child’s imagination and help express his feelings and ideas through artistic activities. These include using clay and play dough, drawing, easel painting, finger painting and collage.

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT - Activities are planned to stimulate creativity and bodily responses. Rhythm instruments, records and audiotapes are available.

DRESS UP - We invite children to imagine, re-live, and role-play adult home and community activities using a variety of child-size equipment and materials, including kitchen equipment and dress-up clothes.

BUILDING TOYS - In the manipulation and control of blocks and other building toys, many possibilities exist for dramatic play and imaginative expression. Many different types of building blocks and toys are available.

COOKING - This very important activity is closely linked to home and family life. Projects include soup, applesauce, fruit salad, cookies, pretzels, etc. Families are invited to come and share their culinary talents with the class.

SCIENCE AND MATH - Science and math at the child’s level of understanding is developed and encouraged. We plant seeds, experiment with magnets, cook, enjoy sensory experiences, discuss the weather and the seasons, and play with water.

OUTDOOR PLAY - The children usually go outdoors daily, weather permitting. They may visit a nearby playground or take a walk, both of which offer children the large muscle activities so necessary to their proper physical development. During inclement weather, similar experiences are offered in our well-equipped indoor play space, the Big Room.

WATER PLAY - This important activity satisfies many needs in small children. It is a calming, stimulating or explorative experience, depending on the child’s mood.

FAMILY ENRICHMENT - Families are encouraged to share their talents, skills, stories, holiday celebrations or other interests with children in the classroom.

TRIPS - The children go to local parks on a regular basis--most frequently to the playground in JJ Byrne Park around the corner from BFS. In the spring, we try to take children on field trips. Favorites are the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the New York Aquarium, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, and puppet shows. Trips are taken only if enough parent or caregiver volunteers are available to help with supervision.

CELEBRATIONS - We celebrate many cultural, family and patriotic holidays within the school. We believe that sharing different cultural backgrounds through special events develops healthy self-awareness, and a positive awareness of others. We provide children with information about the traditions that surround such events through activities and stories. Families are encouraged to participate and to share how they celebrate at home.

We also celebrate each child’s birthday if her/his family wishes. Teachers must be notified two days or more in advance to avoid conflicts in programming. A simple cake or cupcakes provided by the family are customary. “Parties” generally take place during snack time. Families need not be present but those who wish to celebrate with the children are welcome. For children whose birthdays fall during the summer months, a special day can be set aside in June to permit celebration.

GRADUATION DAY - On the last day of school each year, we hold a school-wide performance and party. Families are invited, and are strongly encouraged to participate.

MANAGEMENT OF THE SCHOOL AND THE MEMBER COOPERATIVE

· The Educational Director and Assistant Director hire, train, supervise, and collaborate with the other teaching staff at BFS. They set educational practices and policies for all classrooms. They work together with the head teachers, assistant teachers, and aides in each class to realize BFS’s child-first educational philosophy.

· A Steering Committee of six current members manages the day-to-day operation of BFS, oversees the member cooperative, and adopts the school’s annual budget. Steering Committee members are elected by the membership at the May Annual Meeting, and hold office for a term of one full year, from June through June. Any current BFS member is eligible to be elected to and serve on the Steering Committee. The Educational Director is a non-voting member of the Steering Committee.

· The Board of Trustees is made up of current and past members of BFS as well as individuals from outside the BFS community. Three current members serve on the BoT each year; one of these is the Steering Committee’s Member-at-Large, who is also a trustee for the year. The personnel and function of the Board of Trustees is set forth in full in the BFS By-Laws.

· The Educational Director and Assistant Director, the Steering Committee, and the Board of Trustees work in cooperation with each other to support the main purpose of BFS: providing a wonderful school experience for the children at BFS. See the By-Laws (available on the BFS website) for a full discussion of the roles the Steering Committee and Board of Trustees have in managing BFS.

MEMBER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

NOTE: This section is a summary. The duties and responsibilities of coop membership are set forth in detail in the BFS By-Laws and the Cooperative and Me booklet, distributed to all members each year and available on the BFS website.

BFS is a cooperative preschool. Although we hire an Educational Director, Assistant Director, teachers, a part-time Administrator, and a cleaning service, it is our members - the families of the children enrolled in the school - who ensure the effective operation and management of the school. We as members provide our wonderful classroom teachers and students with the support they need.

Our participation in the coop flows from our commitment to making sure our children’s school runs well. Duties are ideally to be undertaken in a spirit of willingness and flexibility. This is OUR school and our children’s school; it’s as good as we make it.

COOP MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Because BFS is a member-run cooperative preschool, its members are the school’s main support system. ALL BFS families are full voting members. At least one adult from each member family must:

1) Attend each General Membership Meeting.

2) Be part of the BFS community email list.

These are universal basic requirements of membership in the school and coop.

Membership Meetings: The BFS Annual Meeting is held in May. At this meeting, the Steering Committee for the following school year is elected. Four to six (usually five) General Membership meetings (“General Meetings”) are held per year, usually scheduled at six to ten week intervals. A General Meeting typically includes reports from the Educational Director and teachers concerning classroom activities, a President’s report, committee reports, a financial update, and membership votes to decide various important issues as a group. Notice of meetings is sent and posted in advance. A financial penalty is imposed for repeat absences.

MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS

In addition to the basic membership requirements above, each member family chooses between Participating Membership and Buyout Membership. We recognize constraints on some members’ time and ability to contribute actively to the functioning of the cooperative. Therefore, we have created these two ways in which member families can contribute to the school. Each member family must decide whether to join as Participating Members or Buyout Members for the year; both the tuition rate and the duties expected of the family are determined by this distinction. Whichever option you choose, you are a full and important member of the cooperative, helping to realize the goals of our school.

Participating Membership: Families who elect to be Participating Members commit to contribute their time and energies to working in the cooperative each month. This includes each of the following responsibilities:

1) Dragonfly, Sunshine, Rainbow Families: Contribute a minimum of four hours per family every month. Your obligations can be fulfilled either by working on one of the school’s committees (such as Maintenance, New Members, or Fundraising), by serving in one of BFS’s individual work roles (Legal Resource or UPK Grant Coordinator), or by serving as an elected member of the Steering Committee, or by holding one of the current-member positions on the BFS Board of Trustees. Please note that your monthly hours of contribution may be higher at times, depending on your duties and responsibilities. (* This is the one requirement that does not apply to Jitterbug families; see below.)

2) All Classes: “Satellite membership” in one of the committees most vital to the continued viability of BFS: Fundraising or New Members. Satellite members help from time to time with fundraising or member-recruitment efforts that require the participation of the larger school community for success. Duties may include hanging flyers, selling raffle tickets, and the like.

3) All Classes: Participate at two annual cleanup events, in fall and spring, averaging 2-4 hours per event. Participating members work together to do a thorough cleaning of BFS Rooms and contents, and to do small repairs. The cleanups are scheduled in advance, and members sign up for shifts. There are makeup opportunities for anyone who cannot attend due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict.

4) All Classes: Volunteer whenever possible to chaperone class trips and assist with classroom parties or activities, as requested by classroom staff.

Dragonfly, Sunshine, Rainbow Buyout Option: This option is available to BFS members who choose not to or cannot participate actively in the four ways described above. Buyout Members pay a monthly buyout fee; this tuition surcharge is specified in the BFS Financial Policies. Buyout members are not required to contribute any time to the school other than attendance at General Membership meetings and participating in the member email list, as described above.

Jitterbug Participating Membership Terms: For the 2008-2009 school year and possibly going forward, Participating Member families of students in our Jitterbug Class are exempt from the work requirements specifically outlined in item 1 * above. All other duties and responsibilities, as outlined in items 2 to 4, do apply to Jitterbug members. Jitterbug Members who are elected to and serve on the Steering Committee get a small tuition reduction in recognition of effort and responsibility above and beyond the requirements of their classroom’s Participating Membership terms.

Jitterbug Buyout Option: Because of the smaller set of duties and responsibilities associated with Jitterbug Participating Membership, Jitterbug families who choose buyout status pay a lower monthly fee, as specified in the BFS Financial Policies.

Non-Participation Provision: We aim for – and require - a high-functioning cooperative community that gives our classrooms the excellent support they need and deserve. Should a pattern of non-performance be found, the Steering Committee will issue a warning and will seek an improvement in that member family’s participation. In the event that no sufficient improvement occurs within a reasonable period, the Steering Committee is authorized to assess any such member family the tuition surcharge then applicable to Buyout Members, retroactive to the date such non-performance began.

CLASSROOM-RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES

The following responsibilities apply to all BFS member families, regardless of classroom, and regardless of Participating or Buyout status.

Attendance: Inform a teacher that your child has arrived. Children should be in school no later than 9:30 AM unless special arrangements with the teachers have been made. Call the school if your child will be late or absent.

Pick-Up: A parent or caregiver must pick up children no later than 12:40 PM (part-time), 3:10 PM (full day), or 6 PM (After School) each day. A financial penalty is imposed for late pick-ups. Teachers must be advised in advance if someone other than usual is picking up a child from school.

Lunch and Snacks: Children bring their own lunch daily in a lunchbox or bag with a beverage. BFS provides healthy snacks.

Clothing: Children should be dressed appropriately for the weather and a seasonally appropriate change of clothing should always be available in the child’s cubby. Please remember to take home wet or soiled clothing!

Rest Time: Children staying at school until 3 PM have a rest period after lunch. Families should bring a twin size sheet and a blanket from home to be kept in the cubby for rest time. These items should be taken home and laundered at least every two weeks. Please note that pillows, baby bottles, and pacifiers are not permitted in preschools, per the Department of Health. “Blankies”, sippy cups, and soft animals are welcome, however.

Toileting: Children enrolled at BFS need not be toilet trained but will be encouraged to use the potty. If they need assistance, a teacher will help and show them how to take care of toileting needs. Older children who are toilet trained are escorted to the bathroom. Privacy is important for these children so the teacher will wait outside the bathroom until the child is ready to return to the classroom.

Parent/Caregiver Availability: A parent or caregiver must be able to respond promptly in the event that a child becomes ill or otherwise needs to be picked up from school early. All families must provide current emergency contact numbers and relevant information in writing concerning allergies, medications, restrictions, etc.

Classroom Participation: Voluntary participation in the classroom is every family’s option, whether it is to offer a special talent or skill, or just to lend an extra hand. Family participation should be coordinated with the teacher in advance and will be done on a non-compensated basis.

BFS HEALTH GUIDELINES

At some time during the school year, your child is going to become ill. This happens to all children and these guidelines are to help you understand how to deal with illness when your child is enrolled in our program.

We strongly suggest that you consider plans for sick care of your child now, before they become ill. For many of you this will simply be the decision to take the day off and spend it with your child. For others it may involve some arrangements with family members or responsible friends to care for your child. We suggest that this kind of care take place in your home.

It is very important to inform the school as soon as possible when your child is ill, or even if they are not feeling well. This helps us plan for the health and safety of the other children in the school. If your child was ill the night before but is well enough to attend in the morning, tell the staff about how your child was feeling.

For most mild illnesses, your child will be allowed to attend school. However, when she has any of the symptoms outlined below, we ask that you keep your child home. These symptoms include:

§ Diarrhea or vomiting

§ Fever over 101 degrees

§ Severe coughing or trouble breathing

§ Conjunctivitis (pinkeye)

§ Unusual spots or rashes

§ Infected skin patches

§ Headache

§ Stiff neck

§ Sore throat or trouble swallowing

§ Loss of appetite

§ Unusual behavior

If your child develops any of these symptoms while at school, we will call you and ask you to take your child out of school.

In case of severe illness or serious injury to a student while at BFS, the Educational Director or a designated staff person in charge will accompany the child to the emergency department of the nearest hospital. (New York Methodist Hospital on 6th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues is closest to our current location.) A designated staff member will be left in charge at the school and shall notify the child’s parent or caregiver of the incident and ask the parent or caregiver to meet the Director or a designated staff person at the place of emergency care. If the parent or caregiver cannot be reached, the staff member shall notify an alternate emergency contact that has previously been specified in writing. Following resolution of the incident, the Director shall prepare an injury or illness report.

We expect that you will contact your child's physician when your child is sick enough to stay out of school. If the doctor makes any specific diagnosis or prescribes a medication, please inform your child’s teachers.

If your child is out of school for three days, you will need to provide a note from her/his doctor, stating that your child is well enough to return to school.

Remember:

§ Keep all your emergency telephone contact numbers at the school up to date. This lets us reach you in case of an emergency.

§ Seek medical attention for your child when necessary. Don't use old medications even if the symptoms are the same.

§ Have an alternative plan for care if your child is too ill to attend school.

§ Most important of all, regular check-ups and up-to-date immunizations help prevent illnesses. Inform us of health problems your child is having as soon as possible, so we can help you understand and deal with your child's illness.

BFS FINANCIAL POLICIES

The Steering Committee sets tuition and other fees, and issues the Financial Policies handout annually. A summary of these policies and procedures is shown below. Fees are subject to change in future school years, both in amounts and how fees are applied.

GENERAL - Without exception, payments must be made by check. It is our policy that all tuition and fees are completely nonrefundable once paid.

TUITION - Payment is due between the 1st and 6th calendar day of each month. Starting on the 7th day of each month, late payments will be charged the Late Payment Fee.

BUYOUT FEE - Buyout Members pay a monthly tuition surcharge, which becomes part of tuition. The Buyout fee for Dragonfly, Sunshine, and Rainbow families for the 2008-2009 school year is $200/month. The Buyout fee for Jitterbug families for the 2008-2009 school year is $50/month.

MATERIALS FEE – This is an annual charge intended to cover a large portion of the school’s expenses for supplies and equipment. It is generally payable by the first day of school in September.

EARLY BIRD AND AFTER SCHOOL - Regular users sign a written agreement, pay a lower charge than ad-hoc users, and must pre-pay each month with tuition for scheduled days of use. In return for this discount, regular users agree to a five-month (half of the school year) commitment and cannot withdraw part way through the term. Refunds are not given for absence. Ad hoc users are accommodated if space is available. Fees must be paid on the day of usage.