AFTERSCHOOL
PARENT/GUARDIAN
HANDBOOK
2023-24 School Year
This handbook is designed to give students, parents, and guardians a helpful insight into the ABC After School program. It includes detailed information about program activities, procedures, and policies. Please read this handbook carefully and keep it in a safe place for easy reference during the school year.
ABC strives to provide an atmosphere where students can enjoy, grow, and learn. The staff always welcomes suggestions and ideas that will help us make your child’s time at the program beneficial and rewarding. We encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas with us at any time.
Many thanks to our ABC staff for their energy and the outstanding job they do with the students each day and to the parents and guardians of the students in ABC for your support and encouragement. The students benefit greatly from the many special qualities contributed to the ABC by so many committed and caring people!
If you have any questions about the content of this handbook, please feel free to call the ABC number at 208-244-0625.
I look forward to the time that we will be spending together.
Best Regards,
Kami Archibald | Executive Director
AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION
Executive Director: Kami Archibald
Email: director@abctetonvalley.org
Phone: 208-244-0625
Program Coordinator: Ranetta Kinnery
Email: programs@abctetonvalley.org
Phone: 208-244-0703
Mailing Address: PO Box 716, Driggs, ID 83422
ABC Office Physical Address: 481 N Main St, Driggs, ID 83422
ABC website: www.abctetonvalley.org
PROGRAM LOCATIONS:
Driggs Center, Driggs Elementary School
265 Legrand Pierre Ave, Driggs, ID 83422
Victor Center, Victor Elementary School
255 Elm Street, Victor, ID 83455
Tetonia Center, Tetonia Elementary School
215 5th N St, Tetonia, ID 83452
ABC STRUCTURE
ABC is an IRS-designated 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. ABC partners with the Teton School District (TSD). TSD generously provides in-kind classroom space and use of the facility at no cost. We rely on tuition, grants, and donations from the community to sustain our program. These funds help pay our staff wages, materials, supplies, snacks, and organizational expenses.
THE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM
At our centers, the ABC Program uses a designated area where students have access to a classroom setting and outside playground.
The staff at each center includes a Lead Teacher (who is a certificated teacher), teachers and support staff. During the year, ABC also utilizes volunteer tutoring and instructional services. Background checks are performed on all staff members employed by ABC.
APPLICATION & REGISTRATION PROCEDURES
ABC does not discriminate against applicants based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or disability status. Enrollment application forms for ABC are available at www.abctetonvalley.org The enrollment process is outlined below.
Application: Complete an After School Enrollment Application. This application includes the student’s personal information, emergency contacts, full legal names of persons authorized to pick up the student, ABC waivers, and other information.
Program Acceptance: After you complete this enrollment application, you will receive an email within
10 days notifying you of your acceptance into the program and your daily fee. Our program fees range from $2-$10 per day.Register for After School Classes: We use the software, Popsicle, for student registration. Using this program, you will be able to sign your child up for any day that we run programming during the school year. Please only sign up for days you know you will be attending. We do offer a waitlist on Popsicle if a day is full.
Updating Personal Information: It is the responsibility of the enrolling parent/guardian to update
information in the permission form and intake packet should any changes occur in emergency,
telephone, or other information.
CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY
We understand that schedules change and sometimes cancellations occur. In the event that you need to cancel your child’s registration, we will use the following to determine if a refund is given.
If a cancellation is made 5 days or more before the class is to take place, a full refund minus a 15% processing fee will be issued.
If a child is absent from school due to a documented illness, parents/guardians must notify ABC the day of the absence and they will receive a full refund minus a 15% processing fee.
If a cancellation is made less than 5 days before the start of the class, or there is no notification for an excused absence, no refund will be issued.
Schedule of Operation
ABC operates on all days that Teton School District is open for students.
ABC’s hours are 3 pm – 5:30 pm.
Students must be picked up by an approved person by 5:30pm.
Early Dismissal
ABC will be closed whenever Teton School District is dismissed early due to inclement weather or whenever there is an unexpected event that impacts the safe use of the center.
ATTENDANCE PROCEDURES
Daily Sign-in
Students must report directly to the program as soon as they are dismissed from their classroom or their school bus. Students will be considered late if they sign-in more than five (5) minutes after their usual ABC arrival time. Three (3) unexcused tardies equal one absence. The safety of each student is paramount to the ABC staff. If a student will not be attending the program as scheduled, it is essential that the student’s parent/guardian notify ABC staff of the student’s absence from the program. To avoid miscommunication at our sites, please be sure to call even when an absence has been communicated to the school about the regular school day.
If your child does not arrive on a designated day, the parent/guardian will receive a notification text from ABC.
Daily Sign-out
All students must be signed out by an authorized adult when leaving the program at the end of the day. The student will not be released to anyone other than a parent, guardian, or person listed in the student’s application packet, unless the student’s parent/guardian notifies the program in advance prior to pick up time.
If a staff member is unfamiliar with any person picking up a student, the staff member will ask to see picture identification before the student is released.
LATE PICK UP AND LATE PICK UP FEES
ABC closes at the indicated end time. We ask parents/guardians or others authorized to pick up students to (a) arrive by five minutes before the end time to allow students enough time to tidy up and gather their belongings; and (b) if running late, to take a moment to call or text the designated coordinator at the number provided so a staff member can speak to the student about the delay.
If a student is picked up more than ten (10) minutes after the site end time, the late pickup will be noted. After the (2nd) second occurrence of a late pickup, late fees will be assessed of $7.00 per incident each time going forward. After the (6th) sixth occurrence of a late pick, it may result in a student’s suspension or removal from the program.
We will be happy to discuss special requests to best accommodate working parents’ schedules.
PROGRAMMING
ABC provides a carefully designed schedule of activities that are grounded in evidence-based programs and strategies and focused on: 1) academic support; 2) wellness/life/social skills development; 3) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics); 4) art programming; 5) physical education programming.
Academic Support/Literacy Instruction
ABC stresses the importance of homework in promoting academic excellence and self-discipline and sets time aside every day for students to complete their homework or work on academic skill development. Students are expected to bring their homework to ABC and be responsible for taking it out of their backpacks and working on it during the designated time. Staff members will supervise the homework area and assist the students with their work but will not be able to check each student’s homework for accuracy. Parents are strongly encouraged to review homework daily. Students having difficulty meeting benchmarks in reading will work though lessons in the program’s differentiated literacy curriculum. Students having difficulty meeting benchmarks in other core subjects may be assigned to work with trained tutors.
Students in grades 2nd and up, who do not have homework and are not working with tutors may use homework time to practice academic skills, explore STEM activities, or read a book.
Life/Social Skills Development
ABC stresses the importance of strong social awareness, relationship, problem-solving, and responsible decision-making skills. During this time, students will work on community building; developing pro-social, listening and communication skills; understanding others’ perspectives; managing anger and aggression; resolving conflicts; making decisions; avoiding peer pressure; understanding culture; respecting differences; and avoiding stereotypes.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
Students will work with committed teachers to understand the basics of STEM through hands-on curriculum that provides them with 21st century skills, the ability to collaborate, work in a group, and problem solve.
ART
Students will work with committed teachers to explore the creative process using different methods. We utilize a process-based approach, where students are encouraged to engage with different art mediums in an exploratory way.
Physical Education
Students will receive daily outdoor unstructured play, as well as weekly PE instruction. This instruction will focus on team building, physical skills, collaboration, and different movements.
Use of Online Resources
Students in ABC may use online programs structured by their classroom teachers. Please note that students will use their emails that they were assigned through the school system in order to login to the ABC computers. These email addresses will not be provided to students for the purposes of sending and receiving email messages.
Personal Items
Since we cannot guarantee the safe return of personal belongings, ABC asks that any personal possessions be left in backpacks during a student’s time in the program. We also ask that students take all belongings with them when they leave the program site each day.
Telephone Use by Students
The staff will be happy to convey messages to students, when necessary, but it is not possible for students to make or receive telephone calls while at ABC. Parents are welcome to call or text the program to speak to the designated staff person about questions or concerns regarding their children.
Daily Snacks
Students will receive a nutritious snack when they arrive at ABC in the afternoon. If your child has any food allergies, dietary restrictions, or prefers different or additional food, please feel free to send a snack with your child
HEALTH POLICY AND IMMUNIZATIONS
Student's Illness / Accident / Emergencies
If a student is absent from school due to illness, they may not come to the program that day. In general, a student must have attended school during the school day to attend the program. If a student becomes ill or is injured during the program or exhibits any of the following conditions, his/her parent/guardian or emergency contact person will be contacted and asked to pick up the student within one hour of notification:
∙ Contagious disease
∙ Fever over 100 degrees Fahrenheit
∙ Vomiting or diarrhea
∙ Accident requiring medical attention
∙ Head lice
If a student needs urgent hospital attention, staff will call 911, the student will be transported to the hospital by ambulance, and the student's parent/guardian will be held responsible for all costs incurred.
Please report any changes of emergency contact information, employment, telephone numbers, or addresses to the Executive Director as soon as they become available. Although this information will be kept confidential, it will be shared with appropriate staff members to facilitate communication with parents or guardians in emergency situations.
In addition, ABC follows Teton School District’s COVID-19 policies and protocols for preventative health strategies. ABC may follow wellness policies that are more stringent than what TSD calls for.
Immunizations
Parents are required to provide immunization records. Eastern Idaho District Health monitors ABC student immunizations. Annually, student immunizations records are examined by EIPH to ensure all immunizations are up to date. If a student is missing an immunization, the parent/guardian will be notified. If the required immunizations are not followed, the student will be temporarily suspended from the program until all immunizations are up to date.
Abuse and Neglect Policy
The program staff members are mandated reporters and as such, are required to report all suspected instances of abuse or neglect to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
Individual Educational Program (IEP)
If your child has an Individual Educational Program, please notify the Center’s Lead Teacher, so we may support your child to the best of our ability.
Abuse and Neglect Policy
The parents, students and staff of ABC are asked to treat each other with respect, tolerance, kindness, and consideration. Students must exhibit respectful classroom conduct at all times and will be asked to leave a class or activity for inappropriate behavior, including yelling, hitting, fighting, damaging school or ABC property, not listening to ABC staff and deliberately not following the rules. The following procedures will be followed consistently in the event participants behave unacceptably.
a) First offense: an ABC staff member will notify the problem with a student’s parent/guardian.
b) Second offense: an ABC staff member will discuss the problem with a student’s parent/guardian. A student reflection will be completed and documented,
c) Third offense: an ABC staff member will meet with the student and parent/guardian to create a behavior plan. At this time the child may also be suspended from the program depending on the severity of the offense.
NOTE: Serious or disruptive/destructive behavior that interferes with normal program operation will not be tolerated and will result in immediate dismissal with no previous notice to a parent/guardian.
Any inappropriate behavior by a parent, including verbal abuse of a student or staff member or confrontations with staff members in the presence of a student, is grounds for termination of the family’s participation in the program without notice. A suspension or termination decision may be appealed by contacting the Executive Director.
COMMUNICATION
ABC maintains an open-door policy. Please feel free to direct questions or concerns related to any facet of the program to the Executive Director at any time. Voicemail is in place 24 hours a day and will record a message if no one is available to answer your call. If a concern involving a staff member arises, please speak directly to the staff member involved. If the matter cannot be resolved directly with the staff member, the Executive Director will meet with the staff member and arrange a meeting with the staff member and parent to discuss and resolve the concern.
TUITION AND PAYMENT
ABC assesses fees for afterschool and summer programming services. ABC offers a sliding-scale fee based on family income that parents indicate in the enrollment application. Program fees are due at the time of registration through our registration system Popsicle. Popsicle utilizes Stripe to process credit cards.
In the event that a family cannot pay the program fee up front, an alternative payment plan may be arranged. ABC prioritizes serving all families and doesn't want program fees to be a barrier to program access.
IDAHO CHILD CARE PROGRAM
ABC is a certified childcare program through the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Children may be qualified for tuition assistance depending on family size and income factors.
To qualify:
Live in Idaho
Child must be a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident
Show proof of identity
Under the age of 13
Have a provider who is registered as an ICCP provider
Parents must be working -- or be in a qualified training or education program
Meet certain income guidelines
