Parent Handbook

2011-2012

Table of Contents

Welcome Letter from the Directors
Charter – Ocean Grove Charter School
Parent Forms
Curriculum Information

General School Information

Mission Statement

Educational Philosophy
School Terminology

Expected School-Wide Learning Results & School Growth Area Goals

School Accountability Report Card

Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accreditation

Instructional Funding Information

School Contact Information

Governance Structure

School Calendar

School ID Cards

Conflict of Interest Policy

Parent Involvement Policy
Freedom of Speech Policy

Educational Oversight and Support

The OGCS Education Specialist

The OGCS ES Advisor

Report Cards

Portfolio Information

Independent Study Policy
Highly Qualified Teacher Subject Matter Expert (HQT/SME) Policy

Student Admission and Enrollment

Student Enrollment
Student Agreement

Learning Records & Attendance Documentation

Truancy Policy

Suspension and Expulsion Process

Curriculum and Educational Resources

Learning Styles
Educational Philosophies

Teaching Styles and Methods

Choosing the Right Curriculum

Curriculum Ordering

Criteria for 'Product' Materials That Can Be Ordered with Instructional Funds

Tracking Materials

Approved Vendor List

Requesting a New Vendor
Requesting a Student Transcript
Curriculum K-5
Curriculum 6-12
Addressing the Califiornia Standards
Resource Library (OG Only)
Computer Options
Internet Service Provider for Your Students’ Usage

Newsletter

Work Permits

Driver’s Education and Training

School-Wide Writing Samples
Website Links Information

Contract Programs (CPs) and Group Educational Activities (GEAs)

Contract Programs Policy and Procedures

Educational Activities Policies and Procedures
Educational Activities Permission Slip
Volunteer/Employee Vehicle Usages

Group Educational Activities

Parent Support

Parent Support Department

Opportunities/Information/Resources for Parents (Quick Links)
Parent List Serve
First Meeting Information Sheet
General Information Sheet

High School Guidance

High School Course Plans

High School Graduation Requirements Checklist for UC/CSU University Bound Students
A-G Courses and UC/CSU Entrance Requirements
School Diplomas or Certificates of Completion
Community College Enrollment Information

Regional Occupational Programs (ROP)

Career Exploration

Mandatory Assessments

Scantron Assessments

Wide-Range Achievement Tests
State Mandated Assessments

Special Education

Welcome Letter from the Directors

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Welcome to Ocean Grove Charter School’s 2011-2012 school year!.  You have chosen an exciting form of education for your children—home-based personalized learning.  We trust that this parent handbook will be a helpful resource for you that you will keep handy and refer to throughout this school year.  
 
Ocean Grove Charter School is in its sixth year of operation, and we are managed by Innovative Education Management (IEM), a nonprofit public benefit education corporation which has managed a number of “parent friendly” public charter schools in California since 1993.  We received charter renewal in spring of 2010 through spring of 2015.  We received a three year WASC accreditation in the winter of 2010.  We continue to strive for excellence in our program.
 
IEM charter schools have a long history of educational offerings and policies that go above and beyond to support parent choice in education.  This is most evident when you look at our exhaustive vendor list for curriculum purchases and classes, and the amount of dollars allocated for the development and delivery of each child’s educational plan. 
 
Your school’s administration consists heavily of staff members who also through IEM charter schools chose home-based, personalized learning for their own children.  They understand the needs and day-to-day challenges of this type of educational model.  And equally important, they know the joys that can come from seeing your child engaged and learning while developing the strong family values that can come from this type of educational setting. 
 
Everything we do at Ocean Grove Charter School is in an effort to support your choices as a parent educator while endeavoring to make this type of educational model possible.  We are truly excited to continue building a first-rate home-based program in partnership with families who want the best for their children. 
 
Please do not hesitate to contact the Education Services Director, the Director of ES Support Staff, or your Area Facilitator at any time.  Your commitment to our school is important and your feedback helps us to strengthen and refine our program.
 
We hope this will be a rewarding and memorable year for you and your family.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Becky Cote, Education Services Director
Janet Marsh, Director of ES Support Staff

General School Information

Mission Statement
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We believe in educating each of our students for the 21st century by providing individualized learning opportunities that incorporate parental participation, choice and involvement in curricula offered in personalized learning environments and small learning communities (“SLC”).

Educational Philosophy
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OGCS will operate on the understanding that all students have different learning styles, abilities and background experiences. As important as “what” students learn is “how” they learn. The former may be viewed as the end goal of education while the latter is the road leading to it. OGCS will utilize learning and assessment modalities that, based on current research, identify best practices regarding how students learn.  OGCS identifies an educated person in the twenty-first century to mean a person who is literate, can understand and function sufficiently in the world around him or her, has an overview of the history of mankind, has an understanding of United States political processes, has an ability to solve mathematical problems and to think scientifically, and has the values necessary to enhance the world in which he or she lives. This person is one who has realized his or her own unique educational interests, talents, or abilities, whether it is in the arts, sciences, or other areas. It is the goal of this charter school to help students become educated individuals who are intrinsically motivated to learn, who have diverse yet well-developed interests, and are becoming competent lifelong learners. Each minor student and at least one parent, and each adult student, with the assistance of OGCS Education Specialists(ES) and ES Advisors, shall design, consistent with OGCS student standards and policies, appropriate curricula based upon the student's educational needs and objectives, and shall sign a written agreement with OGCS that clearly describes the student's individual educational goals and curriculum for each school year the student is enrolled with OGCS. The written agreement shall describe the student's course(s) of study, the chosen method(s) of ascertaining competence in designated course(s) of study, and if applicable, the credit(s) the student will receive upon successfully demonstrating competence and completing the course of study.

Charter School Terminology
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The following is a list of commonly used terms at Ocean Grove Charter School:

Expected School-Wide Learning Results (ESLRs) & School Growth Area Goals
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The Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs) are the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that the school wants each of our graduating seniors to have effectiveness in when they leave our school.  Each skill is linked to one or more California State (or National) Content Standards and are in compliance with the terms, conditions, and requirements of EC 47605 and related statutes and as amended by the Charter School Act.

All aspects of the student’s individualized learning plan needs to be designed to incorporate the steps necessary for the student to reach the expected schoolwide learning results during his/her educational program.  Ocean Grove Charter School’s ESLRs consist of seven school growth area goals.  The extent to which students achieve these goals is determined by mastery of the student standards and by demonstrated proficiency on STAR-specific assessments.

OGCS will prepare its graduates to have:

1.  Effective Language and Communication Skills (Reading/Writing) - “Student reads and writes effectively”.  Student:

• Reads actively and derives meaning from written media.Reads extensively for a variety of purposes.Writes using grammatically acceptable English.Adjusts tone and style of writing for purpose and audience.Supports statements using well-rounded facts, theory, and opinion.Separates fact from opinion.Logically reaches conclusions based on sufficient evidence.Clearly and succinctly states key points.Organizes ideas in a variety of ways.
• Demonstrates creativity through style, organization, and development of content.

2.  Effective Technology and Social Skills (Life Skills) - “Student sufficiently understands and functions in the world around him”.  Student:

• Demonstrates involvement in his/her community.Has knowledge of the reciprocal relationship between the individual and his/her environment.Demonstrates various skills in seeking employment and/or college admission.Understands and demonstrates his/her role as an employee, consumer, and financial manager.Identifies and documents the effects of technology on his/her environment.
• Participates in physical activities that develop strength, endurance, and personal fitness.

3.  Effective Historical Awareness (History) – “Student appreciates the history of mankind in all its diversity”.  Student shows his/her appreciation for history by identifying relationships between past and present events or situations:

• Involving cause and effect:  people, events, or situations influencing an action or result.Involving comparison: similarities and differences.Involving classification: events and situations explained as political, economic, social, and/or intellectual.To draw conclusions about the future.Involving understanding of the extent of time.
• Applies physical and cultural geography to his/her understanding of societies.

4.  Effective Citizens (Political Process) - “Student comprehends the political process”.

• Student understands the structure, operations, and relationships of the governments in the United States.

5.  Effective Mathematics Skills (Math) – “Student applies mathematical principles and operations to solve problems”.  Student:

• Demonstrates knowledge of basic skills, conceptual understanding, and problem solving with numbers and operations.Demonstrates knowledge of basic skills, conceptual understanding, and problem solving in geometry and measurement.Demonstrates knowledge of basic skills, conceptual understanding, and problem solving in functions and algebra.Demonstrates knowledge of basic skills, conceptual understanding, and problem solving in statistics and probability.Solves problems that make significant demands in one or more of these aspects of the solution process: problem formulation, problem implementations, and problem conclusion.
• Communicates his/her knowledge of basic skills, understanding of concepts, and his/her ability to solve problems and understand mathematical communication of others.

6.  Effective Science Skills (Science) – “Student applies scientific concepts and skills to explain his world and find solutions to its problems”.  Student:

• Observes, compares, orders, and categorizes characteristics and behaviors.Communicates ideas.Relates factors of differing objects and events, and infers about unknown or unseen processes.Applies knowledge and thought processes to explain his/her world and solve problems.Shows a perception of the interrelationships among the scientific themes (energy, interactions, patterns, and change) and their application to the four spheres (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, ecosphere).
• Recognizes the effects of the sciences, technologies, and societies on one another and on the environment.

7.  Effective Personal Skills (Special Interests) – “Student realizes his own unique educational interests, talents, and abilities”.  Student:

• Participates in visual and performing arts, obtains aesthetic perception and valuing opportunities, and understands historical and cultural contributions, or
• Communicates in a language other than English, while gaining knowledge and understanding of different cultures.

School Accountability Report Card (SARC)
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A copy of the School Accountability Report Card (SARC) is available on the school web site, www.ogcs.org at
http://www.ogcs.org/handbook/sarc/OGSARC06.htm and will be provided to parents upon request.  (Education Code Section 35256).

Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
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OGCS received its WASC accreditation in June of 2007.
When a school becomes accredited it:

• certifies to the public that the school is a trustworthy institution of learningvalidates the integrity of a school’s program and student transcripts.fosters improvement of the school’s program and operations to support student learning.
• assures a school community that the school’s purposes are appropriate and being accomplished through a viable educational program.

WASC accreditation is important because the military often requires applicants to be from accredited schools, many school districts and universities will only accept credits from WASC accredited schools.

Instructional Funding (IF) Information
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Instructional Funds Policies:
Each student, by his/her average daily attendance (ADA) generates the funds of the Charter School.  The funds are budgeted for use each year in three areas: 1.) district and program administration, 2.) teachers’ payroll, and  3.) instructional materials.   The funding must be spent according to the SB740 funding model for Charter Schools. The Charter School may not provide any funds or other “things of value” to the pupil or his or her parent or guardian that a school district could not legally provide to a similarly situated pupil of the school district, or to his or her parents or guardian. The Charter School may only receive funding for the provision of independent study to pupils who are residents of Santa Cruz County or who are residents of a county contiguous to Santa Cruz County. The Instructional Funds are appropriated for the purpose of supporting the student’s educational plan. The Instructional Funding (I/F) may only be spent on appropriate educational materials for the enrolled student.  They may not be used to provide educational materials/admissions for siblings or parents or anyone else not enrolled in the charter school, or for materials not applicable to the enrolled student’s educational plan. 

Instructional Funds may be spent on educational materials, Contract Program Activities, Group Educational Activities, HQT SMEs, and AESS for the enrolled student. These funds can NOT be used for items designated in the Criteria for 'Product' Materials or activities/product/instructors disallowed in the Conflict of Interest Policy.  They also cannot be spent on any item or activity that requires payment for transportation. OGCS does not pay for transportation, as our school receives no transportation funding. For our students, all learning occurs at home, and anything the parent/student chooses to do outside of their home needs to be within the realm of what transportation they can and want to arrange/provide.

The amount of funding that is allocated in the ES's budget for use to deliver the student’s educational plan is based on the ADA calendar the state goes by to appropriate school funds. The I/F amount is prorated, and differs depending on the student's enrollment date. The ES can view for the parent the prorated amount for each enrollment date by looking in the WEBfiles under "View", “I/F Calcs”. Students who are enrolled on the first day of the school year, will have the maximum amount of appropriated funds when planning their educational program.  Students who enroll later in the year will have less than the maximum amount of appropriated funds with which to plan from.  No school funding is provided directly to parents or students for any purpose.  The amount of appropriated Instructional Funds at Ocean Grove Charter School is much higher than that of other similar charter schools.  This is in keeping with the philosophy of this charter school.  The IEM and OGCS founders believe that more instructional funds enable more choice and flexibility, and more opportunities to provide an educational plan that is customized to each individual student.

Management of Educational Funds:
Each Education Specialist has the responsibility of being aware of expenses incurred to meet the educational needs and choices of each enrolled student assigned to them.  Sibling I/F are posted and tracked as a family budget under the family name, under the name of the ES. It is the responsibility of the ES to stay within the overall budget for each family.  There may be times when an ES spends more on one sibling’s educational plan than another within the same family; this is acceptable as long as the family’s overall budget is not exceeded.  Information about the ES expenditure of instructional funds is public information, and should be shared with any interested party upon request.The parent and the ES work in cooperation in determining the use of the allocated Instructional Funds in order to produce the maximum possible benefit with regard to the student’s educational plan. At no time should this funding be spent indiscriminately by any person(s). The funds remain part of the school’s budget, and anything purchased with these funds remains the property of the school.  School expenses are audited annually. Parents have a right to participate in the determination of how the allocated funding is spent. Without any reason to disagree with the parent concerning the aforementioned determinations, the ES should make every effort to comply with the parent's opinion.  But the E.S. is ultimately responsible for the professional and ethical distribution of this funding, and that responsibility is not “shared”.  As an example, if a student were studying US History, and the parent requested the purchase of European Renaissance materials which did not support the student’s educational plan with regard to U.S. History, the ES would not allow that purchase.  Conversely, the ES should not spend “one penny” of the I/F allocation without the parents’ approval.  Any disagreement between an ES and parent regarding the purchase of educational materials will be mediated by the administration of the School. 

Accrual of Instructional Funds: 
 An ES must first understand how and when instructional funds are placed in the ES budget. At the beginning of a semester, funding is placed in an ES's budget for a student based on their date of enrollment and the expected amount of ADA the school hopes to collect for that student. It isn't "real" money until attendance for that student is collected that will equal the amount projected. If, for any reason, that student drops prior to the date that the money was "earned", then some of that money may not be available to be transferred for any purpose. Students graduating at the end of first semester must remember that only the first semester funds are "real", and 2nd semester funds will be deducted from the ES budget when the graduate drop is complete.
 
Tracking Materials:
All materials are either picked up personally by the E.S., or shipped directly to the ES by the vendor. Delays can occur from products from vendors that will only ship through the school office.  Once the items are received by the ES, the ES will mark appropriate items with the school’s name before distributing them to the family.  ESs are responsible for all items ordered from their ES account or transferred to them from another ES, including consumables.  Every item issued to a student must be either:
1.) In the possession of and in use by an enrolled student for educational purposes,
2.) In the possession of the ES,
3.) Checked into a local site library (if applicable),
4.) Written off as discarded due to normal usage,
5.) Written off as consumed, if appropriate,
6.) Be listed on a Missing Materials Form that has been submitted to the office. School property willfully damaged or lost will be expected to be paid for by the student/parent prior to leaving the school.  This school reserves the right to withhold a diploma and/or transcript for a bill not paid.

Governance Structure of the School
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Ocean Grove Charter School is a public nonprofit charter school managed by IEM, also a California nonprofit corporation. The charter school is subject to the authority of the Charter School’s Board of Directors, and IEM will manage all aspects of the charter school’s operations, will act as liaison with the sponsoring district, will manage the school according to the policies developed and implemented by IEM and adopted and amended by the Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors and IEM will approve all employee’s major educational and operational policies, approve all major contracts, approve the school's annual budget and oversee the school's fiscal affairs, and hire the school’s administrative staff and other employees.
  
The charter school shall be governed by the Board of Directors, which consists of at least 29 parents of OGCS students. Except as stated below, the members of the Board of Directors shall be elected by a majority vote cast by the parents of OGCS students, and the term of office for each member shall be two years. Elections shall be held during May of each year. Each election shall be by written ballot. Each family having one or more student(s) enrolled in OGCS on the date of the elections shall be entitled to one vote per enrolled student. No more than one parent from any family may serve as a Board of Directors member at any time. The initial  twenty-nine members of the Board of Directors shall be drawn via lottery from a pool of OGCS parent volunteers compiled from the respondents to an informational memorandum sent to all parents soliciting participation in the initial Board of Directors. Fourteen of the initial Board of Director parent members shall serve a one year term, and the vacancies created by the expiration shall be filled by parents duly elected. A quorum of the Board of Directors necessary for the transaction of business shall be a majority of the Board of Director members. All business of the Board of Directors shall be by the majority of the members attending a Board meeting.

All meetings of the Board of Directors shall comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code), shall take place at least quarterly, and shall be held at a location within the sponsoring district. The charter school practices and policies will ensure parental involvement. Each parent has the right of approval for all instructional materials and opportunities provided to his/her student.  In addition, all of the Charter School’s records that relate in any way to the operation of the Charter School, are subject to the requirements of the Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250, et seq.) as well as Education Code Section 47604.3.

The Board of Directors will be responsible for adopting its by-laws and each member of the Board will be a part of at least one sub-committee responsible for one of the following matters: WASC accreditation parent group, organizing student group educational activities, developing a school yearbook, coordinating fundraising events, STAR testing volunteer coordination, organizing the yearly graduation ceremony, a Standing Hearing Committee, and other school governance matters, events and activities. The Board of Directors will uphold the mission of the school, monitor the school’s performance, and make suggestions to the school administrators for school improvement.

The Charter School shall maintain a conflicts of interest policy, which shall be provided to the District.  This policy shall reflect compliance of the governance structure of the charter school with the California Corporations Code and the Government Code’s Political Reform Act. 

The Board of Directors will meet at least quarterly to approve the preliminary budget and the budget reporting documents required by Education Code section 47604.33 and to exercise final authority over all personnel actions, including hiring, termination, and change of status of all charter school employees.

Ocean Grove 2011-2012 School Calendar
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The yearly school calendar is posted on the school website at: http://www.ogcs.org/school_calendar.html. Ask your ES for a hard copy of the calendar if you cannot print one for yourself.

Student ID Cards
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Policy
Student ID cards are required for all High School students that do not have another valid photo ID. All enrolled students K-12th  may request a school ID card. The Photo ID is required for admission to the CAHSEE exam site.

Procedure
To request a school ID card, either the parent or the ES may follow these steps:
1. If requesting by email, send your email to the OGCS school secretary, Kim Beaumont, at ogsecretary@ieminc.org.  Include the student’s full name, grade, student’s CURRENT mailing address, as well as a student photo email attachment (head and shoulders only).
2.  If requesting by mail, include the student’s CURRENT mailing address in the request along with a one inch picture (head and shoulders only) of the student with the student's full name and grade on the back of the photo.  These should be mailed directly to P.O. Box 1824 Boulder Creek, CA 95006 to avoid delay.
3.  The school secretary will check the school's database system (F.R.E.D.) to ensure that this student is enrolled prior to printing the ID card.
4. Your new ID card will be mailed to the requesting person at the address included with the request, but please allow at least three weeks for processing and mailing at the beginning of the school year, and two weeks thereafter.  Requests for students testing will always take priority.  If you have any questions you may call the Ocean Grove Charter School / IEM Office at 1-800-979-4436 and ask for your school secretary, or phone your school secretary direct at (831) 338-7298.

Special Note
OGCS can only provide school ID cards to our enrolled students, not to their parents.  Our parents are not officially enrolled or employed by this charter school, therefore it is not ethical to provide an ID card.

Conflict of Interest Policy
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Click on the link to view the school's conflict of interest policy.

Parent Involvement Policy
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Click on the link to view the school's conflict of interest policy.

Freedom of Speech Policy
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Click on the link to view the school's freedom of speech policy.

Educational Oversight and Support

The OGCS Education Specialist
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Each student is assigned to a supervising teacher called an Education Specialist (ES).  Siblings are assigned to the same supervising teacher.  The Education Specialist is a California certificated teacher who typically holds a multiple-subject credential or a single-subject credential(s), or both.  Your ES is responsible to secure all of the necessary documentation required by our educational model. 

After enrollment and if it is something you desire, your ES can help you determine your child’s learning style and show you where you can read about the types of educational philosophies and learning approaches on the school’s website.  Your ES will find it helpful (but again this is certainly optional) to know why you chose this educational model and what you hope to gain from it, as well as what issues you may have had with your previous school(s).  He/she may also find it helpful to know for planning purposes what activities might pull on your family’s time during the day as some curricula are more time intensive to teach than others.  Using any background and assessment information available, the ES will help to advise and develop your child’s personalized educational plan.  Together, you will determine what resources (curricula, classes, field trips, speakers, tutors, computers) will be needed for the various subjects your child will cover this school year. 

Each ES is expected to have a broad base of educational knowledge to draw from to meet the individual needs of their students when advising on their personalized educational plan.  An ES should be familiar with and be able to explain the numerous curriculum options available, the various learning approaches, the resources within the school, and in the community.  He/she should be able to explain the portfolio options, graduation requirements, Internet resources, group educational activities (field trips), contract program classes, and parent in-services.  If an ES cannot explain any of these, he/she will need to research them and get back to you in a timely manner.  If you feel you are requiring more information than your ES is able to provide, you should not hesitate to contact your ES’s Advisor (see below).  First year parents should be particularly pro-active about getting any information they need.

Typically, the ES is required to meet face-to-face with parents and their students at least once every 20 school days.  Some ESs will be meet more often with their students because the parent desired to contract for Additional ES Services (AESS).  The ES typically meets with the parent and student in the parent’s home, but other ESs meet with their parent and student at an appropriate central location such as a county library.  The decision of where to meet ultimately lies with the parent, and if the ES feels unable to accommodate the parent’s decision a different specialist may be requested.  The goal of these meeting locations is for the ES to serve the student’s and parent’s needs to the best of his/her ability without allowing the ES’s personal convenience to interfere.  The monthly meeting is a very important event: contractual information must be exchanged, important school information communicated, and the assignments and an assessment of student progress must be made.  As a result, neither party should accept missed appointments, late arrivals, or unpreparedness as routine.  Because everyone’s schedules are so full, rescheduling appointments can be challenging for everyone.  So make every effort to make the monthly meeting appointments a priority, and change them only if absolutely necessary (e.g. illness, death in the family, etc.)

The ES is the main liaison between the school and the family and is your primary source of information.  At your first meeting with your ES, you should receive a General Information Sheet with important contact information on it.  Communication from the ES to the family will occur at the monthly meetings, and through telephone calls, e-mails, and/or through the mail.  Because much information is time-sensitive, you will want to let your ES know what method of communication works best for you between meetings.  Your ES should also communicate their preferred communication and best days/times to reach them.         

Sometimes an ES may feel that the family would be better served by another ES.  In that case, they may request to be released from the assignment to the family.  Parents may always request a different ES if they are unhappy with their current arrangement by contacting the ES’s Advisor.  The ES’s Advisor contact information is on the General Information Sheet.

The OGCS ES Advisor
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The ES Advisors are frequently teachers who were once ESs themselves at an IEM charter school.  They usually have first-hand knowledge of the ES job and have a good grasp of the school’s policies and program offerings.  Their roll is to “make sure that the teachers they supervise know what to do and that they are doing it”.  After the ES, they are the family’s “go to” person and that extra layer of support, should you need more help and information than your ES is able to provide.  The ES Advisor trains the ES on school policies and procedures, provides the ES with curriculum counseling, trains them at the ES group meetings, meets individually with them as needed, reviews and evaluates their performance, and acts as the ESs professional growth advisor.

Your first resource for information should always be your ES and the school website.  If you feel you still need further assistance, then the ES Advisor is always there to help you either directly, or by helping your ES to help you.  Either way, the ES Advisor’s job is to make sure that the families are getting the assistance they desire.  The General Information Sheet that your ES gave you at the beginning of the school year or at your initial meeting, will list your ES Advisor’s name, e-mail, and phone number.

Report Cards
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Report Cards are not required for grades K-8th but are available upon request for those students whose learning was summarized into a grade or pass/fail.  While K-8 report cards are not required, they are sometimes necessary for other student endeavors—particularly if your child plays on sports teams.  It is recommended that parents of 8th graders whose child will be transferring into another public high school request an 8th grade report card because of potential high schools entrance requirements.  All 9th – 12th grade students will be issued a report card at the conclusion of each semester. 

It is the assigned ES’s responsibility and the highly qualified “teacher of record’s” responsibility, and not the parent’s responsibility, to assign the grades and credits because the grades and credits represent the professional evaluation by the ES of the student’s progress toward the student standards.  An electronic copy of requested report cards will be sent to the school by the ES and in addition, the ES will keep a copy in their files.  Your ES will provide you with a copy of your child's report card.

Portfolio Information
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A portfolio for the purposes of this school is an auditable, state required collection of student work which accurately shows actual student learning and demonstrates student progress towards state standards and school growth area goals as identified in our approved school charter. The work samples an ES collects monthly at your learning record meetings must be actual student assignments for that growth area/course (not a description of the actual assignment—which is a separate auditable component, identified as the Learning Record). The ES-collected work samples will not be returned to the students; therefore, we recommend you or your ES make copies of original artwork, videos, and cassettes, or any projects that you and your student wish to keep. The assembling of a student portfolio is an important accountability job duty of your ES; it is not the job of a parent/student.  The parent’s responsibility is to allow their ES to collect a variety of actual student work assignments completed monthly when they are at each LR meeting with you, or take pictures of student activity/work demonstrated for their ES at the meeting.

Portfolios are used solely by this charter school to meet the yearly school audit requirement.  Portfolios are not added to individual student’s cume files, nor are they passed on to the next school your student may attend.  They are stored for the state required time limit, then they are shredded.

Independent Study Policy
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Click on this link to view the school's independent study policy.

Highly Qualified Teacher Subject Matter Experts (HQT/SME) Policy
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Policy
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed in 1965 as a part of the "War on Poverty." ESEA emphasizes equal access to education and establishes high
standards and accountability for schools and teachers. The law authorizes federally funded education programs that are administered by the states. In 2002, Congress amended ESEA and reauthorized it as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This year, the Obama reauthorization is again being referred to as ESEA, not NCLB.
How will the new ESEA regulations effect students beginning with the 2011-2012
school year?
We will continue to watch to see what changes may be coming for our school. For the most part, this program is expected to stay the same, with just a few changes to the regulations. The Highly Qualified Teacher is expected to stay the same: All high school core courses, all a-g courses (and Algebra 1 taken in any grade) must be taught by an Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT). If your ES is not highly qualified in a core subject area, the student has three options:
1. Take the course at the community college,
2. Take the course through a school approved online vendor (so no additional costs are incurred),
3. Enroll in a modified CP course overseen by one of our HQT Subject Matter experts (SME) who becomes the “teacher of record” for that course using the Collaborative Teaching Model (see below).  This option is required if one of the other options is not being utilized. The HQT SME CP courses cost $86.32 in instructional funds per course per semester. Each Highly Qualified Teacher has weekly office hours for students and parents to make contact with their teacher should they need additional subject help.
Which courses are required to be taught by an Highly Qualified Teacher?
All core courses with state standards and all a-g courses are required to be taught by an Highly Qualified
Teacher (HQT). The list below is not complete but is meant to highlight California’s most significant changes for the 2011-2012 school year. Please discuss your child’s specific courses with your ES, as there may be exceptions or courses not mentioned below.
Mathematics: All core math classes require an HQT (not a change). Note: Algebra 1 requires an HQT, no
matter what grade level it is taken in, or whether it is being taken as an elementary course or a HS course.
English: All core English 9-12 courses require an HQT (not a change).
Science: Each of the specific sciences will now require an HQT qualified in that science subject area (this is a change) – Geosciences, Biological Sciences; Chemistry; and Physics. For 2012, we have an HQT ready to go for each of the sciences except Physics. This means that students planning to take Chemistry or Physics should plan to take it online or at the community college next year.  Students needing Biology with lab, Chemistry with lab, and Physics with lab will need to take a face-to-face web labs course through the school under a highly qualified teacher in order for the course to qualify to meet the  a-g UC entrance lab science requirements or take their lab science course(s) at the community college.    
History: World History, US History, Government, and Economics all require an HQT. The school has an HQT for these courses (not a change).
Foreign Languages: This subject area probably had the most changes. Each specific foreign language now needs to have its own language-specific Highly Qualified Teacher. We have an HQT for Spanish and French, but not for the other foreign languages. This means that students taking a foreign language other than these will need to take their foreign language course online or at the community college. Your ES can give you online foreign language vendor suggestions.  Students needing a-g foreign language can take Spanish and French through the school under a Highly Qualified Teacher, but all other a-g foreign languages willl need to be taken through the community college or a pre-approved a-g online course vendor. 
Visual and Performing Arts: (this subject area has several changes).
• Dance no longer requires an HQT. Dance is now considered solely a PE standards course (even when used to fulfill the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) requirements).
• Visual Arts and Music each need an HQT specific to each subject. We have a Visual Arts
HQT and are working on hiring a Music HQT. If it turns out that we lack a Music HQT, that course will
need to be taken at the community college. Important Note: The University of California does not accept
online Visual and Performing Arts courses.  These courses must be textbook-based and must include the performance standards for the VPA course. 
• Theater Arts/Drama courses can now be taught by a teacher with an English certification. So this course will now be overseen by an English HQT.
a-g Courses: All a-g courses require an Highly Qualified Teacher, even if the school graduation requirements have all been met and the course is being taken as an a-g elective.

The Collaborative Teaching Model
IEM schools will be utilizing a model called the Collaborative Teaching Model to meet the Federal requirements.  Under this model, each student continues to be served by one ES who is their “supervising teacher” for all subjects. The assigned ES is also the “teacher of record” for all courses their students are taking that they are Highly Qualified to teach. For any subject areas in which the assigned ES is not certified as Highly Qualified, the ES must see that each of their students are being served in another approved way for those courses. ESs with Single Subject credentials only may only serve high school students until they are certified in “multi-subjects”.

Core Academic Subjects for K-8th grades
For IEM schools, K-8th graders can be served in all subjects by a teacher certified in multi-subjects, as 7th and 8th grades have been designated to be a part of our elementary school program. An exception to this would be a junior high student who is taking a high school course for high school credit. Also Algebra 1 has been designated a high school level course for Federal purposes (even though it is expected to be taken in 7th or 8th grade) and must be overseen by a math certified HQT.

Process
On the high school report card layout, the ES must indicate how each high school subject area is being covered by an HQT. The HQT SME must also sign the Student Written Agreement each semester as well as the supervising teacher (ES). The HQT SME will be available for questions and support from the ESs, parents, and students enrolled in their HQT course during the semester, as all students must have access to a HQT in each of their core high school subject areas. The ES and SME will collaborate on the course of study, the educational materials being used for its appropriateness and ability to meet the standards, the grading system for the course, and the SME will make the final determination of the grades and credits earned for each student in their HQT course.

Student Admission and Enrollment 

Student Enrollment
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Student Application:
A Student Enrollment Application completely filled out and signed by the parent must be submitted prior to a student being considered for enrollment in an IEM Charter School. It is important that all information requested on the application is completed including the signature of the parent, guardian, or caregiver, and date the application is signed. Submission of the application does not constitute enrollment in the school, but only requests an enrollment visit with one of our Education Specialists, when we have an open student space in our geographic area. Immunization records, dental health records (K & 1st grade), Health forms (K & 1st grade), verification of birth certificate, and other requested enrollment paperwork are required before enrollment can begin. The student records office will automatically request a cume file from the student's previous school, but an unofficial transcript will be helpful for high school students, as cume files may take several months to arrive.

Enrollment Requirements:
Students age five (by December 2) and older as verified by a birth certificate may be enrolled in this Charter School. Any child turning 5 after December 2 will have to wait until the following school year to enroll in the charter school. Due to a state law that became effective July 1, 2004, we will only be able to serve continuing or new adult students if they have been continuously enrolled in any high school from a date prior to their 19th birthday, making regular progress (our school defines regular progress to be 25 credits)..

To be considered for enrollment, students must reside in the county of the charter school’s granting school district or in counties that are contiguous to the granting district (Sutter, Butte, Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, Yolo, and Yuba counties). According to charter law, students may not be enrolled in a private school while enrolled in a public school. A student may be enrolled in only one public school at a time. An inter/intra-district transfer is not necessary.

Before the student can be enrolled in this Charter School specific documentation needs to be signed at an enrollment meeting with your assigned Education specialist. These documents include the Student Agreement, the school's charter summary, and a “First Meeting Information Sheet”. It is the responsibility of the Education Specialist to fully explain the contents of the documents being signed and all of the school's policies at your initial meeting.

Special Education Students:
Special Education students need to send a copy of their past and current IEPs with their enrollment application.  These IEPs will be reviewed by our Special Ed department for legal compliance prior to being approved for enrollment. No student should disenroll from their current school until they have cleared the Special Ed department, been assigned to an ES, and have met face-to-face with that teacher to complete enrollment paperwork.

When the School is Full:
Student Enrollment may be delayed if the school is "full". By state charter school regulations, a credentialed teacher may serve no more than 25 students maximum on any one school day. If we do not have an ES with an available space in your geographic area, the student will be put on our waiting list. No guarantees of enrollment can be made at any time. We do hire and train teachers continually to prepare for growth when we are full in a geographic area.

 Enrollment Exclusions:
Students who have been expelled from other public schools are not eligible for enrollment in this charter school.  Students who have been previously enrolled in this charter school and were dropped for truancy are not eligible for re-enrollment in this charter school.

Closed Enrollment:
Each school year enrollment is closed in late winter (date determined each year). To be enrolled for that school year, the student must start on or before the last date announced for that school year. At that point, students can choose to remain on our school prospective waiting list to be enrolled for the following school year. We begin placing those students with ESs in early April. Students who enroll for the Fall semester may choose to begin with our school for Summer School, if they qualify for summer school enrollment and if it is offered that year.

Student Agreement
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A current written Student Agreement for each student enrolled in an IEM charter school shall be maintained on file for each participating student for each semester of enrollment.  Each written student agreement shall be signed by parent (or legal caregiver), student, and ES and in effect prior to the start of reporting attendance (ADA) pursuant to that agreement.  Students must meet all elements of the written student agreement in order for continued enrollment in this charter school. By California law, each agreement shall include the following:
--The manner, time, frequency, and place for submitting a student's assignments and for reporting his or her progress.
--The objectives and methods of study for the student's work, and the methods utilized to evaluate that work.
--The specific resources, including materials and personnel that will be made available to the student.
--A statement of the policies adopted regarding the maximum length of time allowed between the assignment and the completion of a student's assigned work, and the number of missed assignments allowed prior to an evaluation of whether or not the student should be allowed to continue to be enrolled in an IEM school..
--The duration of the written student agreement, recognizing that no written student agreement shall be valid for any period longer than one semester.
--A statement of the number of course credits or, for the elementary grades, other measures of academic accomplishment appropriate to the agreement, to be earned by the student upon completion.
--The inclusion of a statement in each written student agreement that attendance at this charter school is an optional educational alternative in which no student may be required to participate.
--Each written student agreement shall be signed, prior to the commencement of enrollment, by the student, the student's parent, legal guardian, or caregiver, if the student is less than 18 years of age, the certificated employee (ES) who has been designated as having responsibility for the general supervision of independent study, and all persons who have direct responsibility for providing assistance to the student, such as a supervising highly qualified teacher in a core high school subject.

Learning Records and Attendance Documentation
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Learning Records:
The Learning Record is the ES’s documentation and evaluation of the attempted assignments and learning for that Learning Period. Only new learning that occurs during the Learning Period will be recorded in the Learning Record.  The ES will also indicate in the Learning Record the state standards that correspond to the evaluated work product. It is the responsibility of the ES to prepare the Learning Records.  The assigned ES is required to observe and document student learning at each Learning Record meeting as it is an important part of the ES job.  Samples collected should reflect what is documented in the student’s Learning Record and show progress towards their "checked" standards.  ESs must collect "actual work samples”. Parents are not required to keep lesson plans, take notes, or write learning records.  Parents may choose to keep notes or a journal if they wish.  Parent notes can be written by hand or sent to the ES electronically via e-mail.  If parents do document their observations of the child’s learning, that documentation can be used as the basis of the learning record along with the ES’s own observations.  Even with parent documentation, the ES is still required to meet face-to-face with the parent/student in order to assess the work product.  During the meeting, parents may ask for suggestions about activities and resources to supplement their child’s educational plan and/or discuss challenges they are having with their child or their school day schedule.

In order to remain enrolled in this charter school, the student must demonstrate progress towards the student standards.  High school students must be attempting at least 25 credits a semester.  Students receiving Additional ES Services (AESS) must meet with their ES weekly or bi-weekly, depending upon their contract.  The Learning Records are auditable, legal school documents that become the course of study description for that course. They may be looked at by other schools or school-related agencies and become a part of the cume file if a student transfers.
Copies of Learning Records may be given to parents upon request as long as the students are enrolled in the school BUT, after a student has dropped, the request for any school information needs to go to Student Records for processing.
     
Attendance Documentation:
Attendance is filled out by the parent and ES. A hard copy of the attendance rollsheet is given to the parent prior to each meeting. The rollsheet stays with the parent who marks daily on the roll sheet as learning occurs.  The roll sheet must have original (not copied) signatures as it is a legal document. The ES completes and collects attendance rollsheet for that Learning Period when gathering Learning Record information. The ES generally requests two completed rollsheets in case of postal error. The ES is the teacher of record who is ultimately responsible to validate attendance.

Truancy Policy
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Truancy Definition
Attendance is very important to a student’s success in school.  The Charter School expects that both students and parents take responsibility for ensuring that each student attends school each day. Students enrolled at this Charter School must engage in an educational activity or activities required by the School on each of the days of the regular school calendar (175) per year. Due to the unique nature of an independent study program, the definition of "truancy" for this Charter School is defined in the policy below as a missed assignment/attendance period or missed appointment.  This is not the same definition of "truancy" in a traditional, site based school. 
Truancy Policy
Pursuant to the independent study policy adopted by the Charter School Parent Council , students who fail to demonstrate adequate and appropriate monthly progress toward the student standards (missed assignment/attendance) or after a missed appointment will be subject to the truancy policy and an Evaluation Meeting may be held to consider whether it is in the best interest of the student to remain in independent study. Parents/guardians or adult students will be informed of this policy as part of the Student Agreement signed each semester.
A missed assignment/attendance period is defined on the Attendance Roll Sheet as 50% or less attendance during any consecutive school days on the student's calendar track (example: 7 truant school days over a 14 day period, 3 out of 5 days). Full attendance is based on work in a minimum of 5 of the 7  growth areas for a K – 8 student or a high school student attempting a minimum of 25 credits per semester . For allowable variations, consult your ES Advisor.
A school appointment may be defined as learning record meetings, classes, any required testing appointments, special education meetings, and CAHSEE Intensive.
It is this Charter School’s policy to dismiss students who are truant for two school attendance periods (length of time between meetings with an ES, but no more than 20 days maximum) or have 2 missed appointments within the same school year, or a combination of the above, and students will not be permitted to re-enroll in the school at a later date. Please note that the truant attendance periods within one school year do not have to be consecutive.
First Truancy notice
Students who miss an assignment, school appointment, or are at risk of falling below the required attendance requirements as defined above shall be sent a warning letter, reminding the student of this policy and requirements of  the Student Agreement and may be invited to attend an Evaluation Meeting to discuss whether independent study is in the best interest of the student. 
Second Truancy notice
Students who have missed two assignments/attendance periods, (who have an attendance record of less than 50% during two attendance periods) or two school appointments  will receive a second truancy notice and be dismissed according to the school’s truancy policy (noted above). Parents or students who have concerns with this action are invited to produce evidence relating to your student’s truancies in the following ways:

1. Send a letter to the school director at Janet Marsh, 1166 Broadway, Suite Q, Placerville, CA 95667 including all of the related facts you wish to be considered in the dismissal issue.
2. Send an email to the school director at jmarsh@ieminc.org including all of the related facts you wish to be considered in the dismissal issue.
3. Call the school director, Janet Marsh, at 530-295-3566.

The Administration shall take any information presented by the parent/guardian or adult student into consideration when determining whether it is in the best interest of the student to remain in independent study.  Additional factors to be considered include but are not limited to the following:

1. student’s grades at the time of the evaluation
2. teacher observation/feedback
3. standardized testing data
4. student’s progress in independent study curriculum

The Administration’s decision shall be provided in writing to the parent/guardian within three (3) days of the evaluation.  The Administration may:

1. find independent study is in the student’s  best interest,
2. place the student on attendance probation to be evaluated again at a later time if the student continues to fail to engage in daily activities,
3. use other alternatives to improve attendance, or
4. find that it is not in the student’s best interest to remain in independent study.

If the Administration finds that it is not in the student’s best interest to remain in independent study, then the student shall be withdrawn from enrollment at the Charter School and the Charter School will notify the district in which your reside that we no longer have your child enrolled in our charter school.
Appeal:
The Administration’s decision that it is not in the student’s best interest to remain in independent study shall be subject to an appeal. In accordance with the Suspension/Expulsion policy and the terms of the Charter, parent(s) or guardian(s) of a student may request a hearing where the parent and the student shall be given an opportunity to participate and present facts relevant to the issues set forth in the notice from the Administration.

In the event of such request, the school education director shall appoint a Hearing Committee composed of five (5) members of the School council which shall conduct a hearing regarding the notice. After the hearing, The Hearing Committee shall send its recommendation to the school education director and educational liaison. The school education director and educational liaison, together, will make all final decisions concerning suspension, expulsion, or reinstatement of suspended or expelled students, and will notify the parent(s) or guardian(s) of a student of this final decision. In the event of a student’s expulsion, the school will notify the student’s district of resident of the student’s expulsion.
  
Special Education Students Truancy Procedure:
If the truant student is an identified Special Education student, the ES will contact the Special Education Department with their documented attempts to contact the student/parent.  If the ES receives approval from the Special Education Department, they will create and mail the 2nd truancy letter and submit the drop form which will drop the student from the school.

Suspension and Expulsion Process
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Click on this link to view the Suspension and Expulsion Policy.

Curriculum and Educational Resources

Learning Styles
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Each child has a specific mode or combination of modes in which he learns best.

VISUAL LEARNERS: learn best by seeing flash cards, visual images, matching games, pictures and diagrams, puzzles, watching someone do something, printed material, charts, pictures, posters, wall strips, desk tapes, video tapes, computer programs.

AUDITORY LEARNERS: learn best by hearing cassette tapes, lectures, educational songs and rhymes, rhythm instruments, recitation, singing and reading aloud.

KINESTHETIC LEARNERS: learn best by doing and touching long nature walks, model kits, yard work, gardening, textured puzzles and manipulatives, typing instead of writing, drama, dance, lab experiments, building models.

SOCIAL LEARNERS: learn best by interacting with others through one-on-one conversations, discussions, group participation.

One favorite learning style inventory tool used to determine the learning style can be purchased from Performance Learning Systems,  http://www.plsweb.com  (also see approved vendor list).  This learning style inventory tool, The Kaleidoscope Profile, can be purchased as either a hard copy, or completed online.  Students should choose from one of the following two versions:
Student Version, Grades 3-6:    $3.75/each or $2.00/online
Student Version, Grades 7-12:  $3.75/each or $2.00/online

It is also recommended that the parent-teacher complete The Kaleidoscope Profile, Educator Version (for adults to determine their learning style):
Educator Version, Adults:   $4.95/each or $2.00/online

The reason for parents to know their learning style is that teachers tend to choose curriculum and materials and to teach in their learning style, and it may very likely be different from the learning style of the student(s) they are teaching. So awareness of both the student’s and teacher’s learning style is helpful, particularly if they are not the same in an independent study learning environment.  

In addition to the above mentioned learning styles, there are many theories about how thinking styles affect a child's learning style.  For more information and resources, books, free learning style inventories, websites, right brain vs. left brain patterns, and multiple intelligences information, go to http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/indexiem.htm.  To learn about multiple intelligences, the book to read is, Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice, by Howard Gardner.

 Educational Philosophies
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By enrolling in Ocean Grove Charter School, you are choosing an alternative method of educating your children.  Experience has shown that parents are more successful with alternative forms of education if they have a clearly defined philosophy of education.  Your philosophy of education is your unyielding convictions about what you believe to be the role of the parent, child, government, and community in the education of your children. There are going to be times during your children’s educational journey, when the pressures of life will cause you to question the educational decisions and choices you have made.  One main reason for this self-doubt is that there is no perfect educational system--they all have advantages and disadvantages.  By having your educational philosophy written out and by referring to it during the challenging periods in your life, you will be better able to re-evaluate your belief system and goals and to prioritize with more reason than emotion.

Teaching Styles and Methods
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Once you have determined your educational philosophy, you need to think about which teaching style and methods support your philosophy.  Margie Rouge has summarized and we have listed here some of the more popular teaching styles:

The Schoolroom Method:
This is also referred to as “doing school at home”.  This method of instruction is similar to the classroom with a complete textbook curriculum, grading, testing, and schedules.  Usually a homeschool “curriculum package” is used with the same subject emphasis as that taught in a traditional school.  Each child learns in their grade level independently from the other children who are learning in their grade level.  The family has a schedule with a similar amount of time devoted to a subject from one day to the next.  The instruction is teacher centered rather than student centered.      

Classical Education:
The classical approach to education is based upon the philosophy that the best education
involves teaching children to think, not teaching "subjects". The core of the classical syllabus is what is known as the Trivium. The Trivium consists of three parts: "Grammar", "Dialectic", and "Rhetoric".

The first part, "Grammar", is not the subject of grammar; rather it is the study of the basic facts for different subjects. This stage covers the ages of approximately 6 to 10, the stage when children are the most receptive to, and will readily memorize, information.

The "Dialectic" stage begins at approximately age 10 when children naturally begin to demonstrate independent or abstract thought. During this stage, children begin to build understanding and the ability to respond to the
information acquired during the first phase, while integrating that information into a comprehensive whole.

In the "Rhetoric" stage (which lasts from teen into adulthood), the aim is to produce a student who can use language, both written and spoken, eloquently and persuasively to express what he thinks. Emphasis is placed on the ability to intelligently discuss a wide variety of subjects traditionally taught in the western world, such as Latin, Euclidean Geometry, and the classical authors.  

Theme Unit Studies:
Theme Unit studies are an integrated thematic approach to learning several subjects/concepts through a main topic. Topics or themes can be chosen by the child's interests, experiences in family life, books, events in the news, etc. This method can be used with different grades at one time to incorporate all the children of a family. Unit studies can be made up by the parent, taken from a book of unit studies or from sources online. The teacher uses all sources available:  online, library, community, etc. to bring together studies in various subjects which correlate with the theme. 
EXAMPLE:  A theme unit study of the California Gold Rush might look like this:

• History: Study of events leading up to, and what happened after the Gold Rush, to cover all of CA history.Science:  Study of plants and animals in California expanded to cover life science standards;Language Arts:  Read books about the time of the Gold Rush; write reports, letters, and stories about the Gold Rush.Health:  Study about the health and living conditions at the time of the gold rush compared with today.Art:  Make craft replicas of items used during the Gold Rush. Music:  Sing songs sang during the Gold Rush days; put on a musical about the time period. PE:  Play games played by the pioneer children.
• Technology:  Play a computer game, “Oregon Trail;” make a “Gold Rush” website by first researching facts online; use a library database to find books related to the theme; use online sources for pictures & documents.

Interactive Learning (Waldorf and Montessori):
Many teachers, parents, and philosophers throughout the ages have noted that children naturally are inquisitive and will readily try out any manipulative items they are put in contact with.  (In fact, it is often difficult to keep a young child from touching an item of interest!)  With this in mind, several educators have built systems of learning based largely on the practical use of handicrafts and manipulative materials in every subject.  Two of the most famous of these are the Waldorf approach to education and the Montessori Schools.  Although Steiner (who started the Waldorf school) and Montessori do differ in some of their philosophies, there are more similarities in their approaches to learning than differences, so they are listed here together as examples of the “Interactive Learning” approach to education.  Some background about both of these well-known educational systems may be helpful before giving the distinctions of this philosophy.

Rudolf Steiner began his first school in 1919 at the Waldorf factory in Germany. The
Waldorf philosophy is educating the whole child -- head, heart and hands. It is geared to the child's stages of development and incorporates all elements -- intellectual, artistic, spiritual and physical. The goal is to produce individuals who are able, in and of themselves, to impart meaning to their lives.

Meanwhile, Dr. Maria Montessori, a renowned educator, began her first preschool in 1907, which quickly grew to a complete elementary and spread throughout the world as she espoused her philosophy of sensory, tactile education through spontaneous, purposeful activities with the guidance of a trained adult.  Montessori preschools and elementary schools abound in America, with well-trained teachers as facilitators of the active, child-directed education which they are known for. 

Some distinctive features of both Waldorf and Montessori education include the following:

• Academics are de-emphasized in the early years of schooling. There is no academic content in the Waldorf kindergarten experience (although there is a good deal of cultivation of pre-academic skills), and minimal academics in first grade. Reading is not taught until second or third grade, though the letters are introduced carefully in first and second.  Montessori encourages reading explorations, but children learn to read when they are ready rather than at a pre-determined age.

• During the elementary school years (grades 1-8) the students have a teacher who stays with the same class for (ideally) the entire eight years of elementary school.

• Certain activities which are often considered "frills" at mainstream schools are central at Waldorf and Montessori schools: art, music, gardening, and foreign languages, to name a few. In the younger grades, all subjects are introduced through artistic or tactile mediums, because the children respond better to this than to dry workbooks and rote learning. The Montessori Association produces many hands-on educational materials for use in their schools, and these can often be purchased online. Because of this emphasis on activities rather than book learning, I have referred to this method as “Interactive Learning.”

• There are no "textbooks" as such in the first through fifth grades. All children have "main lesson books" in the Waldorf system, which are their own workbooks which they fill in during the course of the year. They essentially produce their own "textbooks" which record their experiences and what they've learned. Montessori children use materials from the real world instead of a regular “text.” Upper grades use textbooks to supplement their main lesson work.

• Learning in Waldorf and Montessori schools is a noncompetitive activity. There are no grades given at the elementary level; the teacher writes a detailed evaluation of the child at the end of each school year.

• The use of electronic media, particularly television, by young children is strongly discouraged in Waldorf schools and replaced by hands-on activities in Montessori schools.

Natural Schooling:
The philosophy here is that education is not separated from living life. Education is imbedded in the process of life. It is not a thing that happens only at certain times and in certain ways. In natural schooling, learning can happen anywhere and at anytime. It is an ongoing and natural endeavor. Therefore, the parent makes the child a part of the family daily activities, and incorporates the entire community into his daily learning. The world is his school and the child follows his own interests in learning. Proponents of natural schooling believe the child is naturally inquisitive and will learn all the basic subjects if given the time and opportunity. All subjects are incorporated into his everyday existence. For instance, math is taught in relation to how it is used in the real world, not as an isolated set of numbers. Children of natural learners often begin "apprenticing" in future careers even before they reach their teens, and are allowed to excel in their own areas of interest and ability.     

Choosing the Right Curriculum
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Part of the enrollment process is determining on the Student Agreement the amount of responsibility the parent and the ES will have in selecting the curriculum for the student.  Even when the parent has contractually assumed much of that responsibility, one important role of the ES is always to be a support to the parent.  The type of information that can be of help to an ES when discussing the student’s educational plan and determining their curriculum might include the following:  the student’s learning style, previous learning challenges at home and at prior school(s), the student’s maturity level, the student’s ability to “stay on task” and work independently, the motivational level of the student, issues in the family that might affect the student’s ability to learn; accommodations through special education, the student’s likes/dislikes and interests, available student STAR test results; high school transcripts, report cards, alternative assessments, and student diagnostic reading assessments, and math readiness tests. 

The ES will also find the following information about the parent helpful in making recommendations about the student’s curriculum: the parent’s educational philosophy and preferred teaching style, the amount of experience the parent has had with independent study; the amount of time the parent has to spend with any one student during the school day, the amount of time the parent has for educational planning and preparation each week, the parent’s ability to teach necessary courses, and the resources already available in the home.  Taking this information into consideration, the curriculum suggestions and resources necessary to accomplish the student’s educational plan will be identified and implemented within the educational and financial guidelines of the school.  The ES will help secure tutors, set up field trips and classes, and place the actual POs necessary for the curriculum.

Curriculum Ordering
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The school each year allocates instructional funds to be used to facilitate the student’s educational plan through the purchase of educational materials, contract program activities (classes and tutoring), group educational activities (field trips), and additional ES support (AESS). The parent and ES work in cooperation in determining the use of these allocated instructional funds.  Not “one penny” of the instructional fund allocations should be spent on a student without the parent’s knowledge, but should there be a disagreement (and there almost never is) ultimately the ES is responsible for the professional and ethical distribution of this funding and that responsibility is not shared.  The ES should make a reasonable effort to make maximum use of the allocated instructional funds by researching and purchasing from “least expensive” vendors to maximize student learning opportunities and resources.

The ES is responsible to place the purchase orders (POs) for the items needed by the family in a timely manner.  Purchase orders for materials can only be made through school approved vendors, and all purchases must be made in accordance with the school’s purchasing guidelines, must be non-sectarian, and must support the student’s educational plan (meaning the items must be age and subject appropriate), and must be used to meet school and state standards for the student that the materials are being purchased for.  Ocean Grove Charter School maintains a very comprehensive list of approved vendors in keeping with the school’s philosophy to support parent choice in education while adhering to the California Department of Education’s Codes regarding the purchasing of instructional materials.

Approved Subscriptions:
The charter school maintains a large selection of subscriptions for you to choose from, http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/curriculum/csuggest/magazine.htm.   

Criteria for 'Product' Materials That Can Be Purchased with Instructional Funds
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Definition:
ADA funding is received for the purpose of supporting new learning for a student and some minimal practice of those newly learned skills. Therefore, ADA funding may be spent for basic educational items that support new student learning and that fall into the categories below. We may not spend ADA funding on anything that could be construed to be a “thing of value” of a “gift of public funds” .

Specifics:
1.Materials must be used to meet school and state standards for the ENROLLED student that the materials are being purchased for (No non-enrolled sibling or parent purchases are allowed).
The following purchases are acceptable:

• Educational curriculum appropriate for the student’s courses (Textbooks/online courses/DVDs/unit studies/software/etc).
• Reading (library type) books that correlate to the student's English and History curriculum and are to be used in that study, as long as they are not sectarian, are allowed. (For example: A reading book with a study guide, phonics reader set, etc)
• Supplemental educational materials appropriate for the student’s courses and practice of the basic skills (Educational games, manipulatives, etc)
• Basic school & office supplies typically found in a classroom adequate for learning basic course skills (paper, pencils, etc).
• Enough basic raw materials (not top-of-the-line) for learning basic course skills in one learning record documented educational project: fabric, wood, yarn enough for one project (Exception: no food purchases allowed.) (ESs are responsible for monitoring the quantities of items purchased.)
• Basic equipment (not top-of-the-line) for documented learning as needed by the enrolled student only: sewing machine, VCR (only from school’s computer options), cassette players, telescopes, microscopes, cameras(only from school’s computer options), tools (not power tools), musical instruments (basic school models), computers (only from school’s computer options), printers(only from school’s computer options), scanners(only from school’s computer options).

The following types of items can only be ordered for a high school student (and the grade level must be noted on the PO) (This is a safety and school risk issue).  The item must be removed from the home when that study is over:

• Bunsen Burners

The following types of items can only be ordered in small quantities for a student with the educational usage noted on the PO (This is a safety and school risk issue):

• Chemicals (Note:  We prefer that an appropriate chemistry kit is ordered instead of individual chemicals, if at all possible.)

The following types of items are unacceptable:

• Generic library books intended for free reading and not a part of the student's curriculum study. Please use your local public library.
• Furniture, storage, organizational items (large or small items), picture frames, and other non-educational household items.
• Computer parts, equipment, and software upgrades for non school-owned computers (exceptions made only for printers, scanners, and other external parts needed for the student’s educational courses).
• Ready- made clothes
• Ready-made jewelry
• Toys
• Live animals or animal food (Exception:  As a part of a science class, you may order praying mantis, butterfly, ladybug, silkworm to watch “hatching”; ant farms; tadpoles)
• Personal hygiene items
• Personal PE items: skis, bicycles, tricycles, golf clubs, trampolines, or any top of the line sports equipment (ex: Order the basic level softball bat, not the expensive professional model)
• Musical Instrument Rentals or Exchanges (The school must purchase a basic model only.)
• Home and Office Equipment: faxes, copiers, phones, dictation equipment, TV's (we assume that the student's home is equipped with basic home and office supplies), DVD and VCR players, power tools
• Kitchen Equipment: popcorn poppers, microwave, pots and pans, glassware (except for chemistry items), baking pans,  trays, plates, silverware (we assume that the student's home is equipped with basic kitchen supplies)
• Yard Equipment: grass watering kits, garden ponds, swimming pools, greenhouses, rakes, shovel, hoe, gloves, pruners, lawnmower, etc.
• Anything that must be installed permanently at a home in order to be used, or anything that will be too large or heavy for an ES to transport after it is put together (if it cannot be torn back down and be usable again).

2. Materials must not be sectarian or denominational as this is against state law to purchase these items with state funding.
The following types of items are unacceptable:
-Religious materials of any type: Including, but not limited to--Books, Magazines, DVDs, CD Roms, CDs, Videos, Cassette tapes, posters, etc.

3. Materials must not expose the ES or student to dangerous or serious injury
The following types of items are unacceptable (These are disallowed by our insurance carrier—no exceptions can be made) :

• Poisons (except for small amounts of chemicals for lab work)
• Knives (an exception for small woodworking blades may be made for older students)
• Bows and Arrows
• Darts with sharp points
• Trampolines or any rebounding items
• Swimming pools
• Rocket engines
• Weapons
• Power tools
• Welding equipment
• Large or heavy items must be limited to those items which the ES can transport. Rule of thumb: Nothing over 4 ft by 3 ft should be ordered, as it may not be able to be transported by every ES as the item is shared around. Nothing should be ordered that is too heavy for an ES to lift.

4. The school conflict of interest policy must be followed.

Tracking Materials
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The PO materials are shipped to the address of the ES, where they are “received” internally and stamped/labeled as being the property of Ocean Grove Charter School. The materials are delivered to the parent by the ES and the list of items is signed for by the parent as having been received by the parent who then assumes responsibility for those items. It is the responsibility of the ES to track items purchased from their ES account. All items are tracked internally within the school in addition to the other methods of tracking.
All instructional items purchased with school funds, including consumable items not used, remain the property of the school and must be in the possession of the school at the time of the student’s disenrollment. Parents will be charged for lost or missing items, items that were willfully damaged, and items not consumed and not returned to the school at the time of student disenrollment. The ES is to use their professional judgment for all school materials as to whether or not items returned from a student have been willfully damaged and should be charged as a “missing material”, or if the items were “used up” through normal use and should be discarded. Items will not be prorated, but rather school fines will be charged for all lost or missing materials at the full price paid by the charter school to purchase the materials for the student’s use. The Missing Materials form is completed and sent by the ES to Student Records in a timely manner whereby the student’s cume file will be held until the school fines are either cleared up or are paid by the parent.

Approved Vendor List
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The charter school maintains a list of school approved vendors that the ES can place POs through to draw from their ES instructional fund allocations.  The approved vendor list is comprised of vendors that offer products only, services only, or a combination of product and services.  On the vendor list is the phone number, website address, and a brief description of each vendor’s products and/or services.  Not every item offered by an approved vendor is approved for purchase and it is the responsibility of the ES to research and be aware of as much as is possible the items that are not approved for purchase.  The ES usually does this by reading the description of the item in the vendor’s catalogue, reading about the product on the vendor’s website, reading customer reviews of the product, and by checking with their ES Advisor. If there is a vendor a parent would like to see added to the approved vendor list, contact your ES who will submit the vendor request paperwork and who receive the response back from school administration.

To view the approved vendor list, go to the Ocean Grove Charter School’s website home page, www.ogcs.org, click on “School Resources”, then click on “Approved Vendors”, or go to http://www.ogcs.org/search/search_vendors.php

Requesting a New Vendor
Vendor Approval Request - Definition
A Vendor Approval Request is when a parent or ES identifies a business which either believes will be beneficial in assisting our student’s educationally by providing educational materials or educational services.  It is the ES’s responsibility to submit the Vendor Approval Request through WEBfiles. (Webex )

 Policy
The ES receives a Vendor Approval Request Form from a parent or they may initiate a request. The ES must gather all necessary information because they give the initial approval of the vendor before submitting the request to Vendor Relations.
When considering if this is an appropriate school vendor the ES needs to consider the following:

• Service Vendor: Vendor Instructor Policy; The extra requirements for High Risk vendors, as well as Restricted Activities  School Restricted Additional Requirements
• Theme Park Guideline
• Product Vendor: Criteria of Materials That Can Be Purchased with Instructional Funds,

ESs are asked not to contact product vendors once they are on our approved vendor list, but they may call prospective product vendors to let them know that paperwork from IEM will be coming to initiate the vendor approval process. You may need to initiate a new vendor request to reactivate an inactive vendor that is no longer on our approved vendor list.

Criteria for Educational Vendor Approval 
An Educational Vendor must meet the following criteria before being approved as an IEM vendor:

• Vendor must sell non-denominational or non-sectarian materials and/or provide non-denominational or non-sectarian instruction
• Vendor must sell educational materials or provide educational activities.
• Vendor must complete the school vendor approval process in order to become a vendor for the school.

Procedure

• The ES receives a Vendor Approval Request Form from a parent or he/she initiates a request to provide materials or service to his/her student.
• The ES contacts the prospective vendor and gathers all the necessary information he/she will need in order to approve the vendor. (It is often helpful for the ES to contact the vendor to "pave the way" for the vendor approval paperwork that is going to be sent to them, as well as informing the vendor that someone from our business office will be contacting them.)
• The ES completes the Vendor Approval Checklist form and the Vendor Approval Request form while speaking with the vendor to be sure he/she has gather all the required information. (Keep the completed Vendor Approval Checklist in your files until the end of the school year the vendor became an Approved Vendor.)
• ES logs into ES WEBfiles and creates a Vendor Request through ES WEBfiles.
• Vendor Relations contacts the prospective vendor and after talking with the contact person sends the vendor the vendor packet (typically through a fax).
• Our goal is to have the vendor approval process completed within two weeks. If a vendor does not return the packet in a timely manner (ie. The paperwork is sitting in the fax machine) the complete approval process will be delayed.  The ES may go into WEBfiles and update the family the process after reading the notes in WEBfiles.
• Once the vendor has completed and returned all required paperwork and it meets the school requirements, the vendor is marked in WEBfiles as an Approved Vendor.
• Vendor Relations notifies the ES the vendor is now an approved vendor and the ES may proceed with submitting a PO.

Requesting a Student Transcript
There are two ways one can obtain a student transcript.  A parent can request an official or unofficial transcript on their own.  If the student leaves our school to another school the parent may request the transcript from the new school.
1.  If the parent requests an unofficial or official transcript. 

• Go to the school website
• Highlight the Parent Information column and choose Parent Forms
• Choose the link Transcript Request Form
• Print this form out
• Check requesting either official or unofficial
• If checking official then make sure to list where the official transcript should be mailed
• You may check either/or official or unofficial
• Parent signature required or for students 18 or over they may request their own transcript

2.  If the student has left our school and attending another school the parent must initiate the request for an official transcript through the new school.  Typically this is done by the parent filling out a release of records form at the new school NOT our school.  This form is then faxed to our school and we will process it and send it to the new school.

Addressing the California Standards
Students are to demonstrate adequate and appropriate monthly progress toward the student standards. The school provides much access to the state standards. The subject and course standards and the parent overview standards are linked on the Curriculum Home Page, http://www.sscs.cc/curriculum.html. You can obtain the subject and course standards directly from the California Department of Education website, http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp, linked from both the Curriculum Grades K-5 and Curriculum Grades 6-12 website pages. Each year at your first meeting with your Education Specialist, your Education Specialist (ES) will give you a parent overview brochure of the state standards for the core subjects at your child's grade level, or their individual courses if in high school. For easy access to the parent overview of the state standards, go to, http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/statestandards/paroverviewss.htm.

Resource Library
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Ocean Grove Charter School maintains a Resource Library in their chartering county.  The items in this facility consist of previously purchased student curriculum items that have been returned to the school after the student was done using them.  Parents can check out on loan any of these free items to help support their student’s educational plan.  At this time there is no limit to the number of items that can be checked out, however, families are asked to return items as soon as they are no longer needing them in order to maximize use of these great resources.  To find out Resource Library hours and location, contact your school secretary, (800) 997-4436 and ask to be transferred, or phone direct (831) 338-7298. 

Computer Options
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Computer Options:
Computers may be purchased by the school for your student’s educational usage only.  Family, business, and personal usage is not authorized for our computers, and an agreement stating that this is understood must be signed prior to a computer being placed in your home. 

Please ask your ES for a current list as prices and products change frequently. If requesting a computer, the warranty and environmental fees are a required part of the purchase. The computers don’t come with Word or Office unless the web description says it does.  You may order it separately. We may not order computers from other vendors, but instead must only use the pre-approved list provided in the link above. We do not upgrade our school computers, but they come as they are listed in the description area.  We cannot purchase computer components for non-school owned computers. We cannot sell our computers to you at a later date.  They are purchased with state dollars and must be disposed of in legal manners, authorized by law.

Computer Repair/Refresh Process:
Only a school owned computer under warranty can be repaired/refreshed with school funding.  A computer must be “refreshed” by an approved school computer vendor before it can be placed with another family.  All personal information and any software programs that the school does not own must be removed from the computer.   A computer under warranty must be repaired only by the company listed on the warranty paperwork.  For a refresh, a school approved vendor can be used, or the ES may request a new vendor, using the vendor approval process.  Typically the cost of the refresh is paid for with allocated instructional funds by the family “receiving” the computer. 

Internet Service Provider (ISP) for Your Students’ Usage
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ISP Information:
We are currently using Site Star as our ISP vendor.  The charge for dial-up internet access is $9.95 a month, and it is deducted monthly from your school funding. Internet services and monthly deductions will continue until you notify your ES that you wish to terminate your services.  Please check the school’s website and your ES for information about computer security and virus protection. We are not able to offer high speed internet with school funding at this time. An agreement must be signed stating that it is understood that this internet service is being provided only for enrolled students for their educational usage.
 
 
ISP For Summer Service:
If you plan to continue with our school for the next Fall (have a signed student agreement on file for that period of time), and wish to continue ISP service over the summer, make sure that you communicate this with your ES, so they can make sure enough funding is available in your current year account to cover June and July. If you don't have enough funding, or plan to drop from the school, then it must be discontinued.

Newsletter
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Every fall and spring, the school will generate a school-wide newsletter that will be posted on the school’s website.  The newsletter will spotlight student achievements, yearly calendar events, testing dates, group activities and class updates, and information from the curriculum and guidance departments and more. Students may submit articles/photos to their ES for possible publication the Newsletter pending director approval. You may read the newsletter online or print it out and keep it handy to refer to throughout the year.  All newsletters can be viewed by going to the school’s website home page and clicking on “Newsletters”. 

Work Permits
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All students between the ages of 14 and 18 are required to have a work permit before they begin work, unless they are in the entertainment business, in which case they will still need a work permit, but the age limit is much lower.

Work Permit Packet:
Students should print out a work permit packet from the school website.  The completed packet when ready to submit will include a Work Permit Checklist,  Statement of Intent to Employ Minor and Request for Work Permit, a copy of the student’s Social Security Card with the same name as the one in which the work permit is requested, copy of the student’s official Birth Certificate, and ES approval form signed by the student’s ES approving this request.

Work Permit Application Instructions:
To ensure prompt processing of your new Work Permit Packet, please follow these instructions carefully:

• Print legibly.Fill in ALL areas of the “Request for Work Permit” form completely.Under “For Employer to Complete” your employer must provide sufficient detail under “Minor’s Work Duties” i.e. description of job responsibilities, tasks, duties to be performed by the student, etc.  For any unspecified work duty descriptions, the form will be returned to the student so that the employer can supply specific detail.  Failure to provide specific detail will delay the process in obtaining your work permit.If you are applying for an additional job, please indicate “2nd Job” on the upper left hand corner of the “Request for Work Permit” form.Date and Signature of Parent or GuardianInclude copy of Social Security CardCopy of certified/official Birth CertificateSigned/Dated “Statement of Intent to Employ Minor and Request for Work Permit” form.Specific Job Duties Description
• Maximum number of hours that the minor will be working.

For Processing of the Work Permit Paperwork by School:
For Ocean Grove Charter School, Fax or mail COMPLETED Work Permit Packet to:
Ocean Grove Charter School, ATTN: Work Permits
1166 Broadway, Suite Q
Placerville, CA 95667
(800) 979-4436
Fax: (530) 626-8201

Driver’s Education and Training
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IEM Charter Schools will allow appropriate use of instructional funds to pay for Driver’s Education and Training at licensed driver’s training programs in the State of California.
 
There are two options for completing Driver’s Education with your students:  NOTE:  Students must have a DMV Certificate of Completion to take the driving test and be issued a driving license or learner’s permit to drive.  The vendor, NOT the school, issues the DMV “pink slip”. The School will not pay for driver’s licenses or learner’s permits.
1.  Contract with a local approved driving school vendor as an Educational Activity.  (DMV “Pink slips” must be awarded by the vendor, as the school MAY NOT issue DMV “Pink slips”).
2.  Contract with an on-line approved online driving school.  (DMV “Pink slips” must be awarded by the vendor, as the school MAY NOT issue DMV “Pink slips”).

Credits:
The Driver’s Education course can be taken up for up to 5 credits, although most vendors do not teach a 5 unit course.  The ES will use their professional judgment in awarding units for Driver’s Education.  Driver’s Training (Behind-the-wheel) Instruction can be counted for no more than 1 credit.

Approval of Driving Schools:
School approved driver’s education/ training schools can be located on the Approved Vendor List in the Educational Resources section of the school's website. If an ES wants to use a vendor not currently on the approved vendor list, a Vendor Request form should be submitted to Vendor Relations.

Process for signing up students for CP Driver’s Education and/or Training:
1.   Parent or ES locates the local driving school offering the best combination of price and service and makes arrangement for the student to be served.
2.   If not already on the Approved Vendor list, the ES submits a Vendor Request form to have the business considered for addition to the IEM Charter Schools’ approved vendor list.
3.  The ES will process a “service” PO using the Educational Activities policy and procedures.
4.   The ES should tell the parent that a PO has been submitted, and ask them to call the vendor when they are ready to schedule their classes.
5.   The ES will document skills learned on the student’s learning record under the correct course name.
6.   The ES may assign no more than 5 credits for Driver’s Education and 1 credit for Driver’s Training, using their professional judgment.
7.   The school can only pay for classes that occur when school is in session.   The PO must be cancelled if the course is not completed prior to the end of school or if the student is no longer enrolled/ active.

Driver Safety and Awareness:
If the student wishes to study driver’s education, but does not want a DMV “pink slip”, he/she may complete any course the ES and the parent agree upon. The ES should document learning on the learning record and use the course name “Driver Safety and Awareness”.  This may NOT be used for a court or DMV ordered driver’s school program.  This course is only for students who are not currently pursuing a Driver’s License as no DMV “pink slip” will be awarded.

School-Wide Writing Assignment
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Each year the school chooses a writing genre to train on and supplies grade level writing prompt assignments in that genre for grades K-12.  The writing prompt assignment is only required for grades 2-11, and for 12th grade students who have not passed the CAHSEE ELA.  The assignment is optional for grades K-1, and for 12th graders who have already passed the CAHSEE ELA.  The ESs will receive training and information to give to each family in September about strategies on how to teach that writing genre along with the student writing prompt assignment for each grade.  The samples will be collected in December and graded by the ESs in January using the rubric that is posted on the school’s website.  The ESs will review the student’s writing prompt draft with the parent at their February learning record meeting.  The students’ writing samples will be kept on file with the school to show the school’s writing improvement through the years. 

At the website for the school-wide writing assignment, you will find posted:  the writing assignment by grade levels, writing practice materials, writing instruction specific to the writing assignment that may include graphic organizers or outlines, writing information about the genre, writing checklists and rubrics specific to the writing assignment, and more.  To locate the school-wide writing assignment, go to, http://www.ogcs.org/curriculum.html, then click on the School-Wide Writing Assignment link.  Everything that you will need is posted there.

Website Links Information
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The school has posted web links that they feel might be helpful to the parent, ES, and student.  When you go to the below link, you will find the links broken down into the following categories: General Information, Links for Parents, Links for Teachers, Links for Students.  These links can be found by going to the school’s homepage, clicking on “Links”, or going to http://www.ogcs.org/educational_resource_links.html.

Contract Programs (CPs), Educational Activities (EAs), and Group Educational Activities (GEAs)

Contract Programs Policy and Procedures
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Contract Programs Procedures:
Contract program courses are initiated based on the student’s educational needs and can be held in various locations, however, in some instances the school may request proof of insurance.  These classes can be set up by your ES or by the school, but no student is officially enrolled in or may attend a course unless Contract Programs has received the ES’s approval and the ES has approved that instructional funds be encumbered to cover the expense of the course(s).  Course instructors must be approved by the ES prior to instruction and will be given a copy of the Instructor Policy and Procedures.  When the vendor relations department get the contract back from the instructor, they will mark the course “approved” in the status box and change the start date of the class if the start date was before the approval date.  Even if the instructor was an employee of the school before the contract was received, the beginning date of the class can not be before the office gets the contract back from the instructor (the approval date).

The instructor may state the minimum and maximum number of students they will allow in their courses.  The instructor’s contract for each course will be based on a per student rate times the maximum amount of students they will accept.  Contract Programs will only pay the per student rate for each student actually enrolled in that course each calendar month.  An instructor may cancel a class with 5 days written notice to Contract Programs that falls below their stated minimum number of students.  A separate amount may be encumbered in the ES instructional funds account for materials for a course and a course facility fee.  That amount will be charted out evenly over students taking the course and must be stated in the signed contract with the instructor.  These materials and facilities charges will be stated in the e-mail for ES approval, and will then be encumbered upon approval by the ES.  All books and materials remain the property and must be returned to the school at the end of the course.  An ES may not require any of the students on their “class list” to enroll in the CP courses they instruct.  If an ES feels that a student would benefit from one of the above activities, and the parent disagrees, the ES can only require it of them if approved in writing by the ES’s advisor.  (This does not limit a parent’s ability to choose to participate in any of these situations).    

A student is committed to paying for one calendar month’s worth of Contract Programs courses at a time after they have signed up on the web and the ES has given approval.  To drop from a Contract Programs course, the ES must send an e-mail to Contract Programs prior to the start of the next calendar month of the course.  A student may drop from the course, but their instructional funding will be committed to paying for the rest of that calendar month unless the course is officially cancelled.  The ES is responsible to make sure that the CP instructor (an initial phone call is OK) is notified when one of their students drops from a class.      

Courses may be held on Monday through Friday, and make-up classes can be scheduled as needed.  Courses may not be exclusively be scheduled on weekends, holiday, school breaks, prior to the first day of school, or continue after the last day of school, unless approved by IEM. 

Reason for Restricted Courses:
Courses may be restricted because they are high safety risks or high political risks to offer to our students.  The “disallowed” courses are ones our school insurance company will not allow us to offer to our students. The ones with funding caps are “political” risks.  In the past, schools have been “accused of abusing public school funding” by offering some of these courses to their students.  We have been able to continue to allow these courses to be taken by our students, as long as they stay under the stated funding cap, and our students have all of the necessary materials available to them in the core subject areas they are taking first.  The courses currently restricted to 30% of funding are not typically offered in any public school in California, paid for by the school as a class.  We understand the educational value of these courses to our students, so have chosen to allow them, with a funding cap for accountability purposes.  Some other courses have additional requirements paperwork and may take longer approval time. 

Restricted Course Policy:
1.  Students may take a restricted course all year long if the cost of the course does not exceed the cap for that course.
2.  Students may participate in the same course both semesters if the cost of the course does not exceed the cap.
3.  If the cost of the course equals the cap in one semester then the student may not take it again the next semester.
4.  You may take more than one restricted course at the same time.  (Example:  Martial Arts and Skiing may be taken the same semester as long as the ES of the student can approve the funding and the educational value for their student).

Currently restricted courses to 30% of funding:
Golf classes, ski classes, gymnastics classes, tennis classes, horsemanship, and martial arts.

Contract Program Approved Courses:
Contract Program Courses and Group Educational Activities that have been requested are listed on the school’s website.  Check here to find out if your course or any others you are interested in have been approved.  If the course has been approved look to see if there is still room in the course.  If the course has a “0” next to it, you know there is no more room in the course.  You can do a find on the approved courses and activities by course type, city, county, course name, grade level.  Some sections of the “searches” will produce better results than others.  Most of the school’s contract program courses are set up through already established businesses in the area.   

The above and more Contract Program information can be obtained at:
http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/cprograms/cppolicy.htm

Educational Activities (EA) Policies and Procedures
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Definition

1. An Educational Activity is an educational expense, that can be financed with ES Instructional Funding for one or more students in one family, at one school approved service vendor.
   
   

2. Educational Activities include but are not limited to: admission fees, material costs, enrichment activities, community involvement activities, and other educational services fees. 

Educational Activity Policy

1. If instructional funding is to be used for an Educational Activity , the Education Specialist (ES), parent, and student must follow all school policies and procedures which includes, adhering to School Restricted Courses/Activities and the High Risk Courses/Activities requirements

2. The Educational Activity must be approved by the ES, the required process must be submitted prior to the event/activity, and the required paperwork must be completed before any students may participate in event/activity.

3. The charter school will not, under any circumstances, reimburse parents or ES’s for any student’s participation in any Educational Activities. 

4. No sectarian or denominational instruction may be given in any course/activity paid for by the school.

5. The vendor must be approved before the school will pay for an Educational Activity, and the vendor must be approved prior to the student’s participation in the activity if instructional funding will be used for the activity/event. 

6. School funding may only be used for students currently enrolled in the school, during the school year.

7. The school does not pay for season passes, memberships, team sport registrations, uniforms, etc. but for specific events, educational services and activities only.

8. Instructional funding cannot be used for the following: out of state activities, gas or mileage, meals, or parking, etc.

9. Allow 2 to 4 weeks for a Pre-Pay; the check or the tickets will be sent by the office to the ES.

Parent/Guardian Educational Activities Responsibilities

• Discuss the possible EA with their ES and share relevant EA information (where they are going, what they hope to learn by participating in the EA, as well as the cost, and contact information) and how it fits within the child’s educational goals
• Complete two Educational Activity Permission Slip forms for each student, for each activity and give one original copy to ES prior to EA.
• If during an EA a student will be transported by someone other than their own parent/guardian, the Volunteer-Employee Vehicle Usage Transporting Students form must be completed and mailed to the ES prior to the event.
• If the student is participating in a prepay EA, the parent/guardian agrees to be responsible to collect a receipt from the vendor whild their child attends the EA and give it to their ES.
• Share the student's learning with ES as it relates to the ES, as well as provide their ES with the required student learning sample. d mailed to the ES prior to the event.

Group Educational Activities (GEAs)
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Group Educational Activities (GEAs) are large, usually school-wide, group activities involving another ESs students rather than just an ESs own students.  For information and policies regarding large group activities go to: http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/cprograms/geasetup.htm. Let your ES know early if you wish to attend a GEA, as these events usually fill up fast.
GEA Cancellation Policy
Parents must inform the school Liaison directly within 48 hours of an event if they are unable to attend.
OGCS Liaison: Mary Ann Shapiro, ogliaison@ieminc.org
Families that are a "no show" for two GEA's in one school year will not be allowed to enroll in any GEA's for the rest of the school year.
The IF funds can NOT be refunded back to the ES account for a late cancellation (past the sign-up date) or for a no-show.

Parent Support

Parent Support Department
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The school secretary provides parent support to incoming families. If you have questions about the school or the enrollment process, please contact Kim Beaumont at (800) 979-4436, direct line (831) 338-7298, or ogsecretary@ieminc.org. For parents of enrolled students who have needs, please contact your ES.  

Opportunities/Information/Resources for Parents (Quick Links)
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Approved Vendor List
http://www.ogcs.org/search/search_vendors.php
Curriculum Information
Grades K-5th
Grades 6th-12th
Approved Subscriptions
http://www.ogcs.org/curriculum/vendorinfo/magazine.htm
Approved Class/GEA List (Classes and School-Wide Field Trips)
http://www.ogcs.org/search/search_classes.php
Assessment Information
http://www.ieminc.org/Assessment/index.htm
High School Guidance
http://www.ogcs.org/guidance.html
Online Vendor Information
http://www.ogcs.org/curriculum/vendorinfo/vendorsonline/index.dwt
Parent Forms
http://www.ogcs.org/parent_forms.html
School-Wide Writing Assignment
http://www.ogcs.org/curriculum/writing_schoolwide/writing_2012/wr_comcon_index_12.dwt
Work Permits
http://www.sscs.cc/Guidance/workexp/wkpermit.htm

Parent List Serve
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One of the main venues of communication to our parents is through our parent list-serve.  Parents on the parent list-serve receive time-sensitive communication, parent specific school information, school deadline reminders, and school vendor notifications.  Parents must proactively sign up to be on the parent list-serve by contacting their school's secretary and requesting to be added to the parent list-serve.  If you do not receive a parent list-serve e-mail within a week of signing up, re-contact your school's secretary to verify that you were indeed added.

First Meeting Information Sheet
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The First Meeting Information Sheet is printed out by your ES from WEBfiles.  It was developed to ensure that all parents are informed about the variety of school services available to them at the beginning of each school year. This sheet verifies that the parent has received a copy of the General Information Sheet, the school calendar, the parent version of the state standards for the grade level of their student for that year, the dates of the standardized testing, etc. The parent and the ES must sign this form at their first meeting, once each school year. The ES marks off each item on the WEBfiles Parent Checklist as it becomes completed, and keeps the sheet in the parent's file. It is a benefit for both the parents and the ESs to have a signed sheet that will indicate the information that was discussed at their first meeting.

General Information Sheet
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The General Information Sheet is printed from the school's WebFiles system for each family by their ES. The General Information Sheet is to be given to each family by their ES at their first meeting of each school year. It provides the parent with the more pertinent information they might need throughout the school year: their school/ES/ES Advisor's contact information including phone and email, student and parent numbers, important test dates for the year, websites, and basic information about the school.

 High School Guidance

High School Course Plans
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There are different high school course plans leading to high school graduation depending upon the student’s goals after completing high school.  To view the three course plan options, go to the following link:  http://www.sscs.cc/Guidance/TypHSplan/HSSuggSchedules.pdf. Ask your ES if you have specific information.

High School Graduation Requirements Checklist for UC/CSU University Bound Students
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This checklist shows the parent and student what requirements need to be met and when for entrance into UC/CSU.  To view the checklist, go to the following link:
http://www.ieminc.org/Guidance/Checklistgrad.htm

A-G Courses for UC/CSU Entrance Requirements
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Courses approved by UC to meet the a-g UC/CSU Entrance Requirements, can be viewed on the UC Doorways List of Courses for Ocean Grove Charter School, https://doorways.ucop.edu/list/app/home?execution=e2s4 .

School Diplomas/Certificates of Completion
Upon completion of school requirements for graduation, School Diplomas or Certificates of Completion will be mailed up to 4 months following the graduation date.  Contact the IEM office immediately at 800-979-4436 to report a change of address or telephone number, so there is no problem with receipt of a Diploma/Certificate.   It is recommended that the family contact their local Post Office to complete a “Change of Address” form as well.
If a Diploma/Certificate is not received 4 months following the graduation date, the family should proceed as follows:

1. Contact the local Post Office for items not received.
2. Contact the school for returned Diplomas/Certificates, providing current address for mailing.
3. If Missing Materials are an issue, the family needs to return the missing items to the school or write a check for the amount indicated payable to the school.  See address noted below.
4. Request new Diploma/Certificate by contacting  the school, including the following:
1. Student name
2. Year and semester graduated
3. Check for $15.00 payable to the school name
4. Mail request with payment to this address:

Ocean Grove Charter School
Attention:  Nancy Mack
1166 Broadway, Suite Q
Placerville, CA 95667

Community College Enrollment Information
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Students will usually take their lab sciences at the Community College, as the UC/CSU lab requirements for science classes are difficult to achieve in the home.  For more information about Community College enrollment, go to the following link:  http://www.ieminc.org/Guidance/Comcoll.htm.

Regional Occupational Programs (ROP)
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Regional Occupational Programs (ROP) offer great courses that allow your student to graduate from high school having learned specific technical and career-related job skills.   For a listing of the ROP centers in your area and their course offerings, go to http://www.carocp.org/. To enroll in an ROP class, contact your ES.

Career Exploration
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The school has purchased two great resources, the Bridges Ability Profiler and the Bridges Choices Planner, to help students explore, analyze, and evaluate their post-high school options, then use that information to continue to re-evaluate and modify their personal learning plan.  The Ability Profiler is a program that assesses the student’s aptitude and is seamlessly linked to the Choices Planner.  The Choices Planner contains career information and career-in-action videos about long lists of careers within each career cluster.  Students can learn about various careers, then read about the colleges that offer programs leading to those careers.  The colleges are linked to scholarship and financial information.  The Bridges programs also provide resume creation and job interview training.  To access these school-purchased, free-to-the-student programs, contact your Education Specialist who can give you the username and password.  To visit the Bridges website, go to http://www.bridges.com/us/home.html.

Mandatory Assessments

Scantron Assessments
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2011-2012
Scantron assessments are given to every 2nd-12th grade student at the beginning of each school year and then as needed.  Graduating 12th graders are also required to take a post-test at the end of the year.  Scantron’s Performance Series is Internet based (requires DSL) and targets the instructional level of each 2nd-12th grade student.  The shorter version of this program, which is what we will be using, is about 20 minutes long to administer, assessing Reading & Math.  Educators can use this product to evaluate skill mastery, place incoming students using their instructional level, and provide immediate reports to parents and tutors on progress made as the course proceeds.  The advantage of Scantron’s Performance Series assessment over traditional assessments is that it measures the actual growth of each student.  ES’s can access additional resources which allow them to create remedial activities and assessments for their students which target the skills that they need along the way with a home study guide.  ES’s can also use Scantron’s Performance Series to generate a test in seconds for students that ties back to the unmet standards suggested by the Performance Series assessment.  The Performance Series assessment allows the ES to quickly identify learning gaps and have an accurate knowledge of which skills have been successfully attained and which are not yet proficient and need to be focused on.  The customized reports allow each student’s instructional level and academic gains to be measured and tracked over time.  This is especially important to students that are working below grade level because this tool enables us to track and show their progress, even though they are still not performing at the proficient level.

Our school charter requires a student assessment in the spring. For most of our students, this will be the STAR assessment. For those families who choose to waive out of the STAR, they will need to take the spring school-wide assessment which is a hard copy version of the Scantron Performance Series test. It will be administered at the same time and locations that the student is already scheduled to attend if they were taking the STAR test.

Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT)
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2011-2012
The WRAT4 is given to all Kindergarten and 1st grade students.  Also, there are some situations in which students of other grades cannot be given the Scantron assessment and so instead will take the WRAT.  The student will be given the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT4) by their ES.  This assessment helps the ES know where the student’s instructional levels are in math, reading, and spelling.  It is not tied to the California State Standards, so the tests will not identify as specific areas of weaknesses for re-teaching and remediation as the Scantron assessment, but it does give the ES an instructional level for each of the subjects tested and some obvious areas of weaknesses.                

State Mandated Assessments
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2011-2012
State mandated assessments are very important to the life of the charter school.  The state requires that schools must have a 95% participation rate to qualify for funding.  The state has also given charter school growth target percentage increases that we must meet on our school’s test scores in order to qualify for funding.  IEM charter schools are dedicated to preserving parents’ rights while trying to work within the system mandated by the state.
 
Charter schools are required to administer the state mandated assessments, and students are required to participate in them.  They are as follows:  California English Language Development Test (CELDT), Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR),  Physical Fitness Test (PFT), California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE).
 
Only students who indicate that they are “other than English” or have “other than English” family members living in their home on their application will be required to take the CELDT test within the first 30 calendar days of enrollment.
  
The Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) test is mandatory for students enrolled in the charter school.  In addition to the regular STAR California Subject Tests (CSTs), students in the 4th and 7th grades are required to take a writing exam on a separate day from their STAR subject tests.
 
The Physical Fitness Test is given for students in the 5th, 7th, and 9th grades.  These students will have an assigned time during their STAR testing to take the PFT at their STAR site.

All students in the 10th grade are required to take the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE).  This exam consists of two parts: English-Language Arts (ELA) and Math.  The state designates the days that these exams will be given and the time of day.  The CAHSEE ELA exam includes an essay prompt that the students must write about.  There are many good preparation workbooks that can be purchased for those students that need extra standards preparation for this exam.  The student’s 8th grade STAR scores are a pretty good indicator as to how well the student will do on the CAHSEE.  If you have an 8th grader who did not score well in 8th grade, begin CAHSEE preparation in 9th grade and do not wait until the test in 10th grade.  All students must now pass both parts of the CAHSEE in order to receive a high school diploma in the state of California.  Students who did not pass the CAHSEE in 10th grade will have multiple test opportunities during their junior and senior years to take and pass the CAHSEE. Under state law, failure to pass either portion of the CAHSEE disqualifies students from receiving a high school diploma.

For an at-a-glance of the state mandated assessments, click here:  http://www.sscs.cc/assessment/assesbygrlvl.pdf.

Special Education

Ocean Grove Charter School provides special education services for students who qualify.  If you are not sure whether your student should be considered for special education services, contact your ES.