ABSENCES. If you are going to be absent, please email the jobs coordinator (jobs@palsenrichment.org) and your children's teachers to let them know. 

ADDRESSING CONCERNS. Concerns or questions that arise during Enrichment should be taken to the appropriate parent or teacher involved.  If you feel as if your concerns or questions during Enrichment have not been heard by the family or teacher, they can be raised by email with any Board Member. (See Contact Us). At the board’s discretion, involved parties may be asked to sit down together to discuss a mutually satisfactory resolution.

AGE TO ATTEND. PALS Enrichment provides programming beginning at age four and up to eighteen. Please email the New Family Liaison with any questions.

ALLERGY INFORMATION. If someone in your family has a severe food allergy, please be aware that families bring lunches from home that they eat onsite and that classes occasionally include snacks. PALS does not have the capacity to monitor food. At the start of each semester, contact your child’s teachers directly to ensure that they are aware of the allergy and update your family profile to include this information.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. PALS distributes information through its website and by email.

BEHAVIOR AND EXPECTATIONS. Parents are responsible for their children’s behavior at all times.  Please treat each other and the facility with respect and courtesy. To ensure an environment conducive to learning, repeated disruptive behavior in class or in the building may require that special conditions be imposed, such as removal of a child from a class for the remainder of the period, a parent’s attendance in class with their child, or throughout the day, or in extreme cases, removal from Enrichment classes all together. Above all else, PALS is a voluntary community space that values and encourages empathy, collaboration, learning and respect.

CLASS CANCELLATIONS. At the end of the registration period, classes with insufficient enrollment may be cancelled. If a class for which you have registered is cancelled, the registrar will notify you and give you the opportunity to choose another class for that time period.

CLASS PERIOD TIMES. 1st period 10:00 to 10:55 / 2nd period 11:00 to 11:55 / Lunch 12:00 to 12:40 / 3rd period 12:45 to 1:40 / 4th period 1:45 to 2:40

CLASS REGISTRATIONS. All class registrations will be finalized after the first week of classes. If anything needs changed, the registrar must be notified prior to the Friday following the first class.

CLOSING AND DELAYS. If Pittsburgh Public Schools have a cancellation due to weather we do not hold enrichment classes. If PPS issues a delay, we may have classes. PALS Enrichment will announce our open/closed status by email.

COVID-19. PALS will continue to follow national and county health and safety guidelines regarding COVID-19.  We will ask all families to agree to our Assumption of Risk and Waiver of Liability regarding COVID-19. PALS will require masking indoors if the community transmission rate is graded ‘High’.  If community transmission rates remain ‘Low’ or ‘Medium’, we will not require masking. We always respect individual families’ decision to mask beyond our requirements.  We reserve the right to modify this requirement and its criteria as new information becomes available regarding COVID-19 or reporting models change. We’ll continue to request that families inform us of any positive COVID home or laboratory tests, or if there is prolonged exposure to a positive case.  To the best of our ability, we will inform the community of any possible exposure to a Covid positive student or teacher during classes.  Positive cases will be disclosed anonymously. Should any student or teacher have high risk medical reasons to request masking in their classroom, please reach out to the board. 

DIRECTORY. During the registration process, families will be asked if they wish to have their contact information (including children’s names and ages) published in a directory that will be available securely on this site to families that are also attending this term.

FACILITY CARE. In order to be good stewards of our rental facility and to demonstrate respect for our fellow Enrichment families, the responsibility for cleaning our Enrichment space rests with everyone. Food is permitted in the cafeteria/gym, the teen lunch room (202) and the quiet lunch room (M2). No food or drinks are allowed in any carpeted classroom. Please clean up food and other debris after eating. Tables and desks in the quiet lunch room and the teen lunch room must be wiped down after you are finished; cleaning supplies can be found in the closet of room 202 and the metal cabinets in room M2  Please note that dirty diapers MUST be placed in the mezzanine bathroom trashcan ONLY. Before leaving Enrichment, please spend some time cleaning up after yourself or straightening an area that is messy.

LOST AND FOUND. Any items found at the end of the PALS day will be placed in a Lost and Found box on the relative floor. Items not claimed by the end of the term will be donated.

JOBS. PALS Enrichment relies on parental participation to maintain the quality of our programs. If anything may cause difficulty in completing jobs, early and ongoing communication with the Jobs Coordinator before registration can help ensure that each family is assigned jobs they can successfully complete. The deadline for this will be in the Job Registration email. If you are at PALS Enrichment for one period, you must sign up for one parent job;  for two periods, you must sign up for two parents jobs; three or more periods, you must sign up for three jobs.

NO DISCRIMINATION. PALS Enrichment does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff if any, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. Furthermore, PALS embraces nonpartisanship to respect the diversity of our political opinions and according to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code expressly directing that nonprofits shall “not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”

OUTSIDE TEACHERS. PALS Enrichment classes are proposed and taught by parents of PALS students. In a few cases we invite specialized teachers to operate as independent contractors during PALS hours at the PALS site. These teachers must present certification in the area of teaching, acceptable certifications are subject to Board discretion. Additionally any teacher who teaches professionally is required to carry insurance to cover their liability.  

PARENT RESPONSIBILITY. PALS Enrichment is NOT a drop-off program! Parents are expected to attend and remain at PALS with their children. You are responsible for your child at all times. Students will be released at the end of class unless prior arrangements are made with the teacher. PALS is not responsible for the safety, well-being, or behavior of your child. If you must leave the building, your children must be signed over to another adult in attendance who knows and can manage them. Parents are responsible for any property damage caused by their child.

PARKING. There is ample street parking available around the church building.

PRIVACY. Information that is behind your account log in may not be shared. This includes rosters, personal information, etc.

SICK POLICY. We urge you to use good judgment about attending Enrichment classes if your child is ill. Please do not come within 24 hours of your child having severe cold symptoms, fever, vomiting, or diarrhea.

SIGN IN AND OUT. Families are not permitted inside the facility until 9:30am.  Each person must sign in and out upon entering and leaving the building, including infants and children.  We need to know everyone inside the building in case of an emergency. 

SMOKING. Our rental facility has a non-smoking policy in both the building and on the grounds.

SOLICITATION. PALS Enrichment is to be solicitation free. While many parents have their own businesses please respect our sales free policies and conduct any business outside of PALS Enrichment time and not on site. Fundraising by students for their extra curricular activities is permitted but must be approved by the board.

WAITLIST. If you are interested in joining PALS, you can contact the New Family Liason for information and to be added to the waitlist for the next semester. Waitlisted families will be invited to join PALS based on famiy and age availability.

WEAPONS. No weapons of any kind are allowed, including as part of Halloween costumes or cosplay.

COMMUNITY SHARE FEE. All PALS families must pay a Community Share Fee of $135 per family per term, in addition to all class fees. The Community Share Fee covers operating costs such as rent, insurance, and other overhead, which we believe is most fairly divided on a per family, rather than per child, basis. If PALS is a financial burden to you (either as an attending family or as a teaching adult pre-buying class materials) please contact the treasurer or another board member to discuss how we can support you.

PAYMENT. PALS Enrichment accepts payment through PayPal or check (made out to PALS Enrichment). The PayPal link can be found in your account. Payment is due on or before the first day of term.

REFUNDS. You may cancel a class registration and receive a full refund only until the end of the regular registration period, at which time teachers may be engaged and/or materials fees spent in reliance on your registration. For this reason, refunds after the end of the regular registration will be minus any materials fees already spent by the teachers. Students transferring from one class to another after the end of regular registration period may be required to pay materials fees for both classes. NOTE: Ability to join a class after regular registration closes is at the discretion of the teacher and will depend on the nature of the class. The registration dates for each term are shown under Calendar

WITHDRAWAL and NO SHOWS. If you have registered but not yet paid, and change your mind about attending PALS, please notify the registrar as soon as possible so that we may release those seats to other families. If you fail to notify the Registrar directly before the end of the regular registration period, then prior to registering for the next term, you will need to pay the nonrefundable Community Share Fee for the missed term before your registration will be complete.

Terms and Conditions

By registering my child for classes at PALS Enrichment:

I have read and agree to abide by all PALS Enrichment policies.

I hereby recognize and agree to assume the full risk and responsibility for any and all injuries, damages, or losses regardless of severity which I, my minor child/ward, or my guests may sustain as a result of participating in any and all activities connected with or associated with the PALS Enrichment program.

I agree to waive and relinquish all claims I, my minor child/ward, or my guests may have as a result of participating in the program against the officials, organizers, agents, associates and employees.

I have read and fully understand the above information, warning of risk, assumption of risk and responsibility, and waiver and release of all claims, to which I have affixed my signature by submitting the registration form.