Payments

A student’s spot is not held in a class until after payment is completed or a payment plan is initiated with a deposit.

Refunds

  • All tuition and fees are non-refundable unless a class has been cancelled, or your child is on the waiting list and either does not get into a class, you are withdrawing from the waiting list before being placed in a class, or you are offered a place in class from the waiting list and you decline.
  • Families are liable to pay the full year’s tuition once the program begins (whether or not they finish the year for any reason). 
  • If the student/family is asked to leave for any reason, there will not be a refund of costs.  We try to resolve issues before they get to this point and in fact, have never been put in a position to ask a family to leave so far.
  • There will be no pro-rated refunds if classes are canceled once during a semester for any reason including teacher illness, facility problems or weather.  If there is a subsequent occurence during the same semester, classes will be rescheduled.
  • Note: The program officially begins on the day of in-person orientation even if you do not attend.

Refund Policy Statement

Prairie Paideia, NFP (the parent organization for the coschool) adheres to a strict “no refund policy” in order to honor and protect our teachers, families, and the organization as a whole.

TEACHERS

We are committed to hiring and retaining high quality teachers, which can only be accomplished if they are paid fairly. While withdrawals may be inevitable, we still need to pay the teachers what was promised to them in order to retain their services.

FAMILIES

Last minute student withdrawals can lead to class cancellations due to low enrollment. In these cases, we still pay the teacher as if the withdrawals had not happened so that they are paid fairly. If we didn’t, families that had planned on our services for the school year will miss out on classes.

THE ORGANIZATION

Refunding student withdrawals would have a domino effect on our organization as a whole. If we can’t pay the teachers fairly, they may not return. If we cannot renew our lease with confidence that it would be paid based on enrollment, we would lose our building partway through the year.  If we had to cancel classes due to last minute withdrawals, whole families may decide to withdraw as a result.

Prairie Paideia, NFP is a 501(c)3 organization that was formed for educational purposes. We believe in delivering what we advertise. We also believe that families should pay for what they order so that we can continue to uphold our mission to provide high quality, alternative, secular education for many years to come.

Pick-up Policy

Students are expected to be picked up on time.  After a 10-minute grace period, families will be charged $45 per 15-minute block starting at minute 11 after dismissal PLUS reimbursement of any no-show charges incurred by a teacher who misses any type of appointment because of late pickups. 

Please understand that our teachers are also juggling their lives around classes and the costs here are not indicative of the losses incurred when families pick up late.

Behavioral Policy

As we grow, we feel the need to codify the behavior standards that have always been in place in our organization so that expectations are clear and up front.  It is the goal of our organization to maintain order in our environment so that it is conducive to learning and upholds respectful and inclusive behavior. This policy is in effect for all ages and all students regardless of special needs or diagnosis. Behavioral issues which are beyond our ability to manage, or multiple unresolved offenses, will result in removal from our programs without a refund and without continuation of academic involvement.

We believe that behavior issues are generally communication by the child that something is wrong.  While we attempt to support getting to the heart of that issue, we also need to consider that this is a learning environment and there are other students here whose families are relying on us to provide that learning experience.

The following list of inappropriate actions and attitudes will be handled using the policy below.
Note: This list is not all inclusive but gives a strong sense of the things that are considered actionable by our organization. Staff will deem an action or attitude inappropriate if it interferes with learning and/or disturbs the environment.

  • Disrespect to the authority of teachers and support staff
  • Use of phones and other communication devices (including watches) other than contacting parents after class dismissal or in an emergency (which should be brought to a staff member first).
  • Excessive talking and calling out in class requiring constant redirection
  • Using swear words, slurs or derogatory language about any faith, ethinicity, race, etc.
  • Going into areas of the building that are off limits (the Café and empty rooms)
  • Public displays of affection
  • Fighting or arguing with students or teachers
  • Bullying, name calling, or denigration of other students (please see our Harassment & Anti-Bullying Policy of record)
  • Skipping classes without parental consent
  • Plagiarism or inappropriate use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Cheating on tests
  • Stealing from students, teachers, or the organization
  • Viewing of inappropriate images on electronic devises or through other venues
  • Defacing or damaging of property, including drawing on tables
  • Possession and/or use of of illegal drugs, cigarettes, or weapons 

Most of these offenses will result in redirecting the student, documenting the offense for our files and notifying the parent to have a discussion about how to proceed.  However, multiple instances of problematic will be cause for dismissal from the program.

Severe offenses or offenses that make it difficult for the group to continue peacefully will result in a student being removed and a parent being called to pick up their student.  Physical aggression, illegal substances, weapons or a student’s verbal abuse of another would be examples of what would warrant this type of response.  Students in this situation will be dismissed from the program.

Students dismissed from the program for behavior issues will not be entitled to a refund of tuition or fees.  Final dismissal from the program will be a determination of the Board of Directors.

Building Policy

  • Parents may leave the building while their children are in class and are enrolled in consecutive classes as long as they are enrolled in our emergency notification application and we have a current phone number on file. 
  • Parents are welcome to wait and work in our lobby, use the internet service, bathrooms and coffee station.
  • Teen students (ages 13-18) should leave when their classes or Flex Time end unless other arrangements have been made with our administration.

Food Policies

  • We are a peanut free program due to students with severe allergies. Please do not send in any foods containing peanuts with your child.
  • Although we have a refrigerator on site, we do not have a microwave.
  • Lunch boxes and bottles that are left behind will be placed on the lost and found shelf near our front entry.

Academic Program Policies

Attendance Policy

  • Attendance is required for high school academic classes and labs.  Absences will be recorded as a zero for the student’s participation score.  In class quizzes will not be sent home but can be made up within a week upon student’s return to class.
  • Parents are asked to report an absence by the morning of class using the emergency notification application.

Vacation Policy

The beauty of homeschooling is the flexibility to travel and we embrace this and encourage it!  To ensure we plan activities appropriately, please stay in communication with us with the following guidelines.

  • Parents should notify teachers in advance of any vacation in writing to info@prairiepaideia.org to ensure things are clear and not left to memory. 

  • Families of high school students should discuss the work arrangements with their instructor ahead of time to ensure the least stressful outcomes for learning. 

Curriculum Policy

  • It is the parents’ full responsibility to have read course descriptions including “Time Required Outside of Class” and “Parent Considerations” and have their question answered prior to registering their child for any classes to fully understand to what they are committing. Students will be expected to participate in class and complete all work assigned.

  • Once the school year begins, parents taking issue with any component of the curriculum will be fully responsible for their misunderstanding, and students who do not complete work or do not participate in any part of a class should expect to get a zero on their homework assignments/tests not completed in relation to that topic.