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Valley Shepherd Church of the Nazarene off Maestra St in Meridian on Friday mornings from 9:30-12:30. During nice weather, some of our co-op families pack a lunch and stay to play outside at the park area behind the church.

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Our families arrrive between 9:15 and 9:30 to check in and get their kids to the appropriate classes. This is also the time for teachers to set up for first period, make copies, etc. First period begins promptly at 9:30 and we have 3-50 minute periods throughout the morning with 10 minute breaks between them. When third period is over at 12:20 we all pitch in and clean our classrooms and common areas. This should only take about 10-15 minutes if everyone helps or there was a very messy project for the day. Once the church is cleaned, some families go outside to eat lunch and play on the park behind the church while others leave for the day.

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Dues are for insurance, website fees, rent, basic supplies for co-op, and special events.

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Our classes are suggested and voted on by our members twice a year. We do our best to honor the vote and go with the most popular classes in each age group. Sometimes alternate classes are chosen by the leadership because a teacher can't be found or other logistical issues.

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You are asked to teach two out of the three periods and most of the time you are paired with another person. Often, co-teachers alternate weeks and share the responsibility. Occasionally someone is really passionate about a class, wants to take the lead, and is okay with the other person being a helper and backup when the main teacher is gone. It is up to the two co-teachers to figure out how they are going to share the load. We also try to pair veteran members with incoming families so they have an opportunity to learn our culture. 

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Some classes have material needs above and beyond what the co-op typically provides. Sometimes instead of a fee the teacher will provide a supply list. All additional material requests and supply fees will be clearly stated in the description area when registering for a class.

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Because homeschoolers often fluctuate between grades, our classes are offered by age. Our cutoff is October 1st of the current school year and students will remain with that group for the entire year.

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We do our best to respond to messages as quickly as possible but sometimes we do forget. Please keep in mind that we are all busy homeschooling moms so it may take a few days. If it has been more than 7 days, feel free to contact us again and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

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Our goal is to do our best in maintaining the safety of the children and families at co-op. If you have a concern of something that may be on your background check, please reach out to the leadership team for guidance. Background checks are mandatory for co-op participation.

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We get this question a lot! Our student ages fluctuate as our families grow and shift. We estimate we will have 35-40 students between our 11-13 and 14+ classes for Fall 2021.

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We have an enrollment cap of 41 families and we are usually full so it is important to make sure you are on our Wait List if you are interested. While family size varies, we average a little over 100 children spread across all classes.

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We are not a drop off program. We are an all volunteer co-op and rely on our parents to teach and help in the classes.

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No. FHL is set up so that everyone is involved for the entire morning. All students must be enrolled in and attend one class per period in their appropriate age group. The parent accompanying each family is required to teach during two class periods.