The following are guidelines for maintaining a respectful and safe environment for co-op while having fun and meaningful fellowship.

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• Please affirm that your children respect the church’s property. If you see inappropriate behavior, please correct it immediately.

  • Balls and gym equipment are to be kept in the gym.

  • No running in the building except in the gym. 

  • No rough play, hitting or kicking. 

  • The First Presbyterian Church of Beaver Falls will not be held responsible for injuries sustained on church property. 

  • Use of the playground is to be parent supervised during non-co-op hours.

  • Because of safety issues, we are to use the main door only. Please do not enter or exit from  any other door. ​

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SICK POLICY

Please be respectful of the health of others. If your child has had a fever, vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours, he or she should not attend. Please also consider that your other children may be carriers of the illness. Please do not attend if you or one of your children has recently shown signs of any of the following:

• fever in the past 24 hours

• vomiting 

• diarrhea 

• colored mucus

• eye drainage

• rash (contagious)

• head lice

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​WEATHER CANCELLATION POLICY

If Beaver Falls Area School District is canceled due to snow or other inclement weather, co-op will also be canceled for that day and parents will be notified. If Beaver Falls has a delay, co-op will meet as usual.

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PARENT ATTENDANCE POLICY

Parents are required to be at co-op each week and to serve in some capacity as a teacher, aid, or volunteer. In the case of a sick child at home, a parent may arrange for another Co-op parent to be responsible for their non-ill children (ages 3rd grade and above) at Co-op. However, the following procedure must be followed: 

 

a)  Contact Sharyn McGeary (814) 964-8095 and request a substitute co-op mom arrangement. This means that another co-op mom (you will arrange who this will be) will take responsibility for your attending children while you are at home or at the doctor with a sick child. 

 

b)  Sharyn will be the only point-of-contact for this substitute arrangement. She will allow the first request, but any additional requests for the same day will be denied so that we don’t run into a shortage of parents. 

 

c)  A parent can take advantage of this substitute co-op arrangement only once per semester (2  semesters per school year). This is not meant to be used to schedule a “day off,” but for times when a parent may be out of town, sick, etc. 

 

d)  Other than this substitute arrangement, parents must remain in the church with their children at all times. 

 

e)  If you are scheduled to do devotions and will be absent, please contact a parent on the devotion schedule with whom you can switch days. Inform leadership of these  arrangements. 

 

f)   Please make every effort to arrive on time (all there and ready to begin before 9:15 am).

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PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES

• Show up on time and prepared to assume your assigned responsibilities.

• All families should arrive at co-op in time for opening announcements.

• All parents are volunteers who must serve in a teaching position or in another area of service within the group.

• Be willing to serve as a substitute when needed.

• Please label all items clearly and be responsible for your child's things before you leave co-op.

• Parents are responsible for purchasing any texts, materials or other items before the start of classes.

• Members age 18 and above are required by PA state law to obtain current background check and child abuse clearances. These include: Child Abuse History Clearance (CY113), PA State Police Criminal Record Check, and FBI fingerprinting.

 

TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES

• Be punctual, be prepared, and teach with excellence.

• Find your own substitute if you are unable to attend cco-op and make arrangements to get any lesson plans and teaching materials to the substitute before class.

• Prepare a class description, including required materials and costs for each semester class you are teaching.

 

STUDENT PARTICIPATION POLICY

• Be on time.

• Be prepared for class.

• Absolutely no running or yelling inside the church.

• Children are expected to show obedience, respect and attention to all instructors. If a child's behavior is disruptive or disrespectful, one warning will be given to the child. If an additional incident occurs during that class, the child will be sent to the parent. If the parent wants the child to rejoin the class that day, the parent must accompany the child for the remainder of the class period. 

• Students are not permitted to bring pocket knives or other weapons to co-op.

• Class participation is expected and all assignments should be completed on time. 

 

CLASSROOM POLICY

• In order to utilize the preschool class for your child, you must have other children enrolled at co-op in grades Kindergarten or above.

• The nursery is not a formal teaching grade.

• No advanced placement arrangements will be made for students.  

 

LUNCH POLICY

• Lunch period is a time for nourishment, thanksgiving and fellowship for both children and parents.

• All eating must be done at lunch tables.

• There will be no leaving the room, except by permission to use the bathroom, until lunch is over.

• No running or playing near lunch tables. Kids should use the basketball court area for games.

• Parents are responsible for their children's garbage and lunch items. At the end of lunch time, all garbage should be thrown away. All notebooks, papers, crafts and lunch boxes should be taken from the lunch area promptly and stacked neatly near the front door. This allows the moms who are cleaning to begin their tasks easily.

 

PAYMENT POLICY

Please make all payments on time. In cases of financial hardship, scholarships may be available upon request.

 

REIMBURSEMENT POLICY

In order to be reimbursed for supplies, fill out a requisition form and turn it into Leadership. If you are a teacher of a class and know you can stay within your budget you can use it how you would like. If it is something outside of a class budget please approve it before actually making the purchase to be insured that you will be reimbursed.

 

Download a reimbursement form here:

Plants and Pillars Requisition Form

 

CONFLICT RESOLUTION POLICY

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” (Matthew 18:15-16)

 

Because we are all sinners, misunderstandings and personal conflict can occur in any group. At Plants and Pillars, we have chosen to base our conflict resolution on the Matthew 18 passage above.

 

Most disputes or differences can be resolved by overlooking the offense and forgiving the person who has offended. Often conflict arises because of a simple misunderstanding. Because of this, we ask that you pray about the issue to decide if it is important enough to require confrontation. If, after prayer, God gives you the peace to dismiss the issue, then it is over and forgotten and is NOT to be discussed with others. If, however, after prayer, you feel the offense must be addressed, the offended party must first seek to resolve* the conflict with the individual involved. If either party is unsatisfied or a resolution* cannot be met, they must seek the assistance of the leadership team to mediate. The leadership team will then make the final decision.

*resolve/resolution = achieved when all parties reach mutual agreement or understanding.