Initial Phone Call, Meeting & Enrollment Procedure

revised 11/1/07

It is critical that you complete no enrollment paperwork with, nor promise a spot to, any student not officially assigned to you. You may give out student applications to those who ask you for them, and parents may request a specific ES on the application form.  We will honor every request that we can.

Use the following as a guide for your initial phone call and your initial enrollment meeting.  Please do not submit enrollment paperwork until all of these issues have been discussed with the parents/students.

Initial Phone Call

As soon as the student is officially assigned to you, call the parent to discuss if the school will fit the student’s needs and the parent’s expectations and if so, to set up an appointment for a face-to-face meeting to complete the enrollment paperwork.  Use the Initial Phone Contact form (Word doc) to take notes during the call.

A.               Ask the parents how they heard about the school, and how they see the school working for their children.

B.               This will be a time to correct any misconceptions they have (such as that we will send a daily tutor to their home) about how the school works and what we can provide.

C.               Ask what previous experience they have had with other types of independent study schools or charter schools.

D.               Ask what previous experience/knowledge they have of homeschooling.

E.               Ask if they have any curriculum that they have been using or if they are familiar with particular curriculum.  This is the time to clarify that, as we are a public school, all materials and learning documented for the purposes of school attendance must be secular in nature.

F.               Ask if they have Internet access.  If yes, ask if they use email and ask for their email address.

G.               What is that child’s age and study habit?  Confirm the student’s expected grade level.  Will our school be appropriate for that student’s needs?

H.               Is the parent prepared to be the child's primary teacher?  Explain what you are able to provide for them.  Does the parent work outside of the home?  If so, who will supervise the student’s daily work?

I.               Give a very brief intro to how our program works – learning & attendance documentation must occur at least once every 20 school days; ES will look at and discuss all learning/school work with parent and student; ES will regularly collect work samples.

J.               Mention that, as a public school, our students do participate in all state-mandated testing.  This currently includes the STAR for grades 3-11, STAR writing for grades 4 & 7, PE testing for grades 5, 7 & 9 and passing the CAHSEE in order to earn a high school diploma.

K.               If the student is in high school and you do not already have a copy from the office, ask the parent to have a copy of the student’s transcript(s) for you at the initial enrollment meeting.  You may also contact the office prior to contacting the student, to see if they can mail you a copy.

L.               If the information in the “You have prospectives” email indicates “No” next to “sp ed?”, ask the parent if the student has ever received Special Ed services and/or if the student has ever, at any time, had an IEP. 

a.   If the parent responds yes, tell the parent that you will contact the school office and get back to them.  Let them know that you need to confirm that we have received a copy of that IEP, and that everything is in order to proceed with enrollment.  Do not proceed with enrollment until you have verified that this student has been cleared for general ed.  

b.   If the answer is no, all is well—proceed to letter M.

M.               Set a date, time and place for the initial meeting.  Make sure that the student will also be present at the first meeting, since both the student and parent signatures are required on the Master Student Agreement.  Make the appointment long enough to allow time for questions and paperwork.  Some ESs visit the family in the home; others arrange to meet their families at a centrally located, appropriate meeting place (e.g. the public library).  The decision of where to meet lies with the parent, although the ES must feel comfortable and safe.  If the ES feels unable to accommodate the parent's decision, a different ES may be requested.

N.               Mention that at the enrollment meeting, you will be reviewing the school’s charter document with the family.  Suggest that they look at it ahead of time, so they have adequate time to read and understand it, and then ask questions at the meeting, if they have any.  The charter can be found on our school website, www.goldenvcs.org.

**Neither party will accept missed appointments, late arrivals, or lack of preparation as routine.**

Initial Meeting

Use the ES Checklist-Parent Information Sheet (Word doc) to guide your conversation at the initial meeting, and to ensure that you cover all necessary topics and complete all the necessary paperwork.  It is imperative the parent is fully informed.

Complete the Enrollment Paperwork

A.   Charter

Go over the charter and have the parent initial the proper places.  Reiterate that they will be required to take their child(ren) to a testing site each spring for 2-4 days, which may require some travel time, in order to take the state-mandated test.

The charter is read and initialed by the parent.  The ES keeps the entire, original, initialed charter document in his/her files.

B.   Master Student Agreement & Independent Study Policy

Go over the Master Student Agreement and address these questions in detail:

a.    Will the parent and student be available once every 20 days to meet with the ES?  Where?  How should the ES and parent handle emergency situations and communications?

b.    Explain the Independent Study Policy and that missed appointments are grounds for an evaluation of the appropriateness of the student’s placement in independent study, and potential disenrollment from the school.  Leave a copy of the IS Policy with the parent.  Parents do not need to sign anything related to the IS policy.

c.    Ask who will do the teaching for each subject.  Make sure they are not expecting to have enough funding available for a computer and for a class or tutor for each subject.  Explain realistic expectations of what we can provide based on how much funding is available when they enroll.

d.    For high school students, begin conversation regarding graduation requirements, course planning and approval process.

e.    Use the students' age and/or previous grade level and the Grade Placement Policy to determine the grade level of a K-8 student.  Use student’s transcript and the Grade Placement Policy to determine the grade level of a high school student.

The Master Student Agreement is read and discussed, then signed by all parties.  The ES will make a copy of the agreement for his/her files, and send the original copy to the school office. 

The Independent Study Policy is reviewed and discussed.  A copy of the Independent Study Policy is left with the family.

Additional Items to Discuss

A.    Give the parent a General Information Sheet (Word doc).  Fill in all necessary information. Go over the information on the form and answer any questions the parent or student may have.  Ask for a 2nd contact phone number for the family in case you are not able to reach them at their current number.

B.    Give the parent a copy of the Parent Overview of State Standards for each applicable grade level/subject area, for their information.  These can be printed off the school’s website.  If you are uncertain of the subjects a high school student will be studying prior to the enrollment meeting, you may print and mail or email the appropriate standards at a later time.

C.    Explain the Attendance Rollsheet procedure, including documentation of a daily educational activity, and the monthly learning record procedure.  Leave the first month’s attendance sheet and school calendar .  Set the date, time and place for your next meeting.  Some ESs plan the entire year of appointments in the fall.  For some ESs and families, weekend meetings are convenient.  Others prefer evening meetings.  Every effort should be made to meet with the family at their convenience.

Give them an idea of what you will expect at the first learning record meeting.  You will need to see and hear about all the learning/school work that the student has completed.

D.    Discuss work sample requirements (one sample per subject, per month).  Collect a work sample from each student.

E.    Discuss instructional funding/budget, ordering materials and the approved vendor list.

F.    Arrange for textbooks and materials.  Provide curriculum ideas for use while waiting for ordered materials; many materials are available from the school library.  You and the parent/student will discuss the classes, types of curriculum appropriate for the student and what is available.  Take the family's curriculum order, if they know what they want.  Counsel them, to the best of your ability, if they are undecided about details.  Orders for new students may not be submitted until the enrollment paperwork is processed.  Remember that there is a cap on the amount of instructional funds that can be spent on newly enrolling students, prior to the first day of school.  Ask your advisor about the specifics.  Gather as much of the family's order as you can and work with the family to prioritize the list so that more materials can be ordered once school starts.  When ordering for high school students, compare the graduation requirements with the student’s transcript, to ensure that you do not order curriculum for courses the student does not need. 

G.    Answer the family's questions the best that you can.  Do not make up an answer to a question - write down the question, find out the answer using resources mentioned here and call the family later with that answer.

Search the ES Handbook and other resources on the school’s website to find answers.  Refer the family to the website for answers, if they want to research it themselves.  Even if the family wishes to do some research for themselves, the ES is responsible to make sure all the family's questions are answered accurately!!!  Refer your questions to your ES Advisor.

Make sure to take the following with you to the initial meeting:

·         ES Checklist - Parent Information sheet

·         Copy of complete Charter to initial - one per family

·         Enough copies of Master Student Agreement - one for each student

·         Copy of Independent Study Policy

·         General Information Sheet

·         Copy of appropriate grade level/subject Parent Overview of State Standards

·         Information regarding high school graduation requirements

·         Attendance Rollsheet - one for each student, filled out with first 20 school days’ dates

·         Copy of school calendar

·         Copy of Favorite Vendors (optional)

·         Copy of Curriculum Ideas for Newly Enrolled Students (optional)

REMEMBER:

·         It is important to call your prospective students and enroll them as soon as possible. 

·         All paperwork must be completed in blue or black ink, and it must be accurate, complete and legible.

·         A student will be enrolled as of the date that all necessary paperwork is signed by the parent.  If you meet with a parent and do not complete all the necessary paperwork or complete it incorrectly, the documents will be returned to you to be re-signed by the parent.  The first day of attendance cannot precede the day that all paperwork is signed.  If you must return to a parent to re-sign papers, the date that these corrected documents are signed is considered the first day of attendance.

Prior to mailing the enrollment paperwork, go to Mapquest.com and search for the driving directions from your home address to each family’s home address.  Print a copy of these directions (which should include the mileage from your home to their home), write the family name across the top of the printed page, and include these directions when mailing the other enrollment paperwork.

Finally, fill out an Initial Paperwork Checklist and put it on top of the stack of enrollment forms for each family.  Make a copy of the paperwork for your records, prior to mailing.

Submit original, completed enrollment paperwork, along with the Mapquest directions and Initial Paperwork Checklist, to Golden Valley Charter School, 2421 Portola Rd., Suite C, Ventura, CA 93003.

During the regular school year, paperwork is to be mailed or delivered to the office within 5 days of the enrollment meeting.

Add Email

Once you have completed the initial meeting and enrollment paperwork and within 5 work days of the date of the enrollment meeting, send an Add Email as follows.

Address an email to the following seven people:

Terri Adams; Meg Rydman; Claudia Weintraub; Golden Valley Office; Lori Llorence; Maria Benitez; Your ES Advisor; Laurie Swaffar (Ventura BSA).

If the student is special ed, include the following three people:
Jill Brogan; Michonne Taylor; and Alan Judge.  

In the subject line of the email message, write the words “Add Student.”

In the body of the email message, include the following information:

ES name;

Student name;

Student grade level;

Date of enrollment;

Total number of students on ES list, after the add.

If the student is special ed., include the student's address in addition to the above-listed information.

Send an individual add email for each student.  Students in the same family may be sent in one email.

Send the Add Email as soon as possible following the enrollment meeting.  Add Emails for special ed. students must be sent within 24 hours of the enrollment meeting, as the IEP process must be initiated ASAP.  All other Add Emails should be sent prior to mailing the enrollment paperwork, and within 5 days of enrollment, at the very longest.