To facilitate Godly influenced fine arts training for home school families in a positive environment.
G.I.F.T. POLICIES
Behavior & Discipline
Parents are responsible for their children’s behavior both in and out of the building.
Parents must physically supervise all of their children when not attending classes.
If there is any damage done to the property it must be immediately reported to a board member. Restitution for damage is necessary.
Make sure your children are in their classrooms when class begins, and make sure they have all necessary supplies, instruments, etc.
Names must be on all instrument cases, books, materials, etc. Anything of value must remain with a parent when not in use.
Class problems should be addressed directly with the instructor.
If classroom behavior is disruptive, it will be discussed with the student. If the behavior does not improve, the parents will be notified and appropriate action will be taken. Parents may be asked to attend classes with their child.
If a child is unruly and ignores parental guidance, the parent will be asked to remove the child for the day. If the problem persists, the parent may be asked to meet with the board so the situation can be resolved in an appropriate manner.
There is no official dress code. Please use your discretion when entering the church building and remember to dress appropriately due to building climate control.
No sale or distribution of anything including fundraising items, religious/political literature, and promotional materials is allowed.
Building Rules
No child may be left unattended on church property due to fire and safety codes. This will be strictly enforced and anyone not in compliance will be asked to leave the program.
Upon arrival, every family must sign in. Please sign in and let us know if you are staying or leaving the building. If you will be leaving, please write in the name of another adult who is staying in the building, who will be responsible for your child(ren), and to whom your children will go to when they are not in class.
If you need to leave the building when your child is involved in class, you are required to sign your child out to another parent present in the building. If you do not know anyone else involved in the G.I.F.T. program that you can ask to be responsible for your child while you are out of the building, please let a member of the G.I.F.T. board know.
Children must remain in the building and must be supervised by an adult while in the parking lot. There is absolutely NO playing out in the parking lot.
If bringing food or drinks into the building, please dispose of all trash and clean up properly or our food privileges may be revoked. Food and drink must be kept on the tiled area of the Family Waiting Area.
NO running in the building. No jumping down stairs. Note: It may become necessary for parents to escort their children to and from classrooms.
Do not use the elevator unless necessary (i.e. handicap, stroller, large or bulky items).
Financial Responsibilities
NO cash will be accepted for payments. All GIFT Student Fee checks must be made out to "Godly Influenced Fine Arts Training" or "G.I.F.T.". All Teacher Class Fees checks must be made out to the teacher. The teacher fees will be collected by the GIFT Board treasurers in order to allow the teachers to focus on teaching their classes rather than tracking down payments.
All checks returned for insufficient funds (NSF) will be assessed a $30 fee, which must be paid promptly. If two NSF checks are received during the course of the school year, all subsequent payments must be made by certified (bank) check or money order.
All teacher supply fees must be paid in full before classes start.
If payments are not made by the scheduled due date, a late fee of $30 will be assessed if the payment is not received by the treasurer prior to the following Tuesday. Reminders may not be given. You are responsible for payment; please remember that all G.I.F.T. board members are volunteers and cannot continually remind individuals for payment. The students will not be allowed back into class until payment has been made. Payments past due by 10 days will result in expulsion from the program. The board will consider personal emergencies that are presented in writing to the treasurer and family liaison board members. All information is considered confidential.
Absenteeism due to vacation, illness, etc., still requires full payment.
Notify an instructor and board member regarding unavoidable prolonged absences.
Dropping a class requires notification in writing and payment of the $20/class drop fee. The startup fees are non-refundable. Exceptions are at the discretion of the board. You must drop classes by Oct. 14, 2008 to avoid a drop fee.
To ensure the success of our program, parents may be asked to help out in various areas (monitoring, clean up, etc.) as they are able.
A need based working scholarship is available. Choose the Forms button on the left to find the application. Total scholarship funds available are not know until after Aug. 15, 2008, but have been about $30 per month in the past. Scholarship applications must be postmarked no later than Aug. 15, 2008 and must include a completed registration form listing the desired classes.
Here's an example of how payments work:
Imagine that you registered one student for Preschool Music at $3 per class and one student for Teen Art Studio at $6 per class.
Your family would pay a new family registration fee of $45 for the entire school year when you sent in your registration by July 31.
Each month (Sept. - May) you would pay $9.33 = (($3 x 28 weeks) /9 months) for Preschool Music and $18.67 = (($6 x 28 weeks) /9 months) for Teen Art Studio.
Each month (Sept. - May) you would pay a building fee of $5 = ($2.50 x 2 classes).
In only your first month of classes (Sept.), you would pay a one time Teacher Supply Fee for Teen Art Studio of $10 to cover the cost of your student's art supplies for the year. Preschool Music has no Teacher Supply Fee.
Student Supply Fees are estimates of what you might spend to purchase your own supplies needed for the class at your local store if necessary.
That would be your total expenses for the year if you had a student in those classes.
Fee structure
The fees have been broken down into two categories: Teacher fees and Student Building fees.
The Teacher class fees (sometimes referred to as tuition payments) are the cost of the lessons to be paid on a monthly basis by a check made out to the teacher.
The Student Building fees are collected to pay for G.I.F.T. expenses such as rent, insurance and printing and mailing costs. These fees may be paid on a monthly or yearly basis, by check made out to G.I.F.T. The fee is $2.50 per month per class.
As stated above, all payments should be given to G.I.F.T. Board treasurers, not to the teachers. The board will ensure that the teachers receive all checks at one time.
Commitment
An enormous number of volunteer hours have gone into organizing this program. In order for it to succeed we need our participants to be committed to following through. This is a yearly commitment for each student. G.I.F.T. is a not-for-profit organization and we must be able to meet our financial obligations (building rental, printing costs, insurance, and teacher salaries) if we are able to continue.
Instructor Responsibilities
Instructors are responsible for picking their own curriculum and/or music. If there is a conflict between instructors and parents, the issue should be presented to the G.I.F.T. board.
Enrollment is based on age and ability which is determined by the teacher, and set in the class information.
Location
G.I.F.T. classes will be held Tuesdays at: Church of the Brethren 783 W. Highland Ave. Elgin, IL 60123. Church of the Brethren is located just a few blocks west of the Fox River and Hwy. 31. Please DO NOT call the church office for any G.I.F.T.-related reason.