St. John LatchKey Program
2014-2015
St. John School
314 3rd St NE
Independence, IA 50644
Arrival and Departure
Upon arrival, parents are responsible for bringing their children into the school. We will be entering and exiting through the front preschool door or the front main doors. Parents are to never drop their student off and leave them unattended. Likewise, at the end of the day, parents should personally accompany their child out of the school. Parents must sign their child in and out each day. It is during arrival and departure times that you will clock your child(ren) in using the provided clock.
Attendance
Your attendance is based on the schedule form you fill out and return weekly.
When your child is absent from school or leaves early due to illness, you will not be charged for Latchkey that day.
If your child does not attend their scheduled hours, and no parent contact was made by 3:00 pm you will be charged for the hours scheduled.
If parent/school contact has been made by 3:00pm, you will be charged for one hour of your scheduled time.
Breakfast/Snack
Regular breakfast will be served from 7:45-8:15am. Breakfast will be charged to your students account at the normal rate.
Snacks will provided according to the supervisor.
Change of Information
Please notify the Latchkey Program when there is a change of address, phone number, employment, authorized pickup, or emergency contacts. This information must be kept up to date, particularly in the event of an emergency. Please use the provided Latchkey envelope when sending any Latchkey information to school.
Departure/Pickup Information
Children will only be discharged to a parent, or person authorized by parent, to pickup the child. In cases of legal separation or divorce the parents must provide the school with a copy of the temporary or final judgment of custody, indicating who is the custodial parent and visitations. We cannot deny a parent access to their own child without documentation from the court stating that they do not have custody.
Early Arrival/Late pickup
The Latchkey program is based solely on the scheduling of students, drop-ins are welcome but if not scheduled teacher may not be there in the morning. If your child will come before these times or stay after these times they will be sent will be charged drop in fee. If your child will not be attending or if you will be late, call the school as soon as possible to notify staff and we will let your child know so they don’t become anxious.
Enrollment Guidelines
To enroll a child, the following must be completed one week prior to admission.
- Enrollment Form/Handbook Agreement Form
- Child Release Form
- Weekly Schedule Form.
Latchkey Activities
The Latchkey Program will provide the perfect combination of recreational and educational activities for a well balanced out of school experience. Each day your child will be involved in physical activities, homework/quiet time, and hands-on activities that allow them to develop their interests and skills.
Hours
The St. JohnLatchkey program will be available from 6:30am-8:00am and from 3:00Pm-6:00pm, Monday thru Friday. The Latchkey program is solely based on who is scheduled for the day, if there are no students scheduled for the morning then there will be no Latchkey program. If there are no scheduled students for the PM, but you notify the school by 2:40pm then we can notify staff to be present for the day but will be charged drop in fee. The Latchkey program will only be in operation on school contact days following the St. John School Calendar.
Late Start/Cancellations/Early Dismissals
If the school is delayed the Latchkey Program will be open. However, if school is cancelled during that delay, parents will be contacted and need to have their child picked up within 1 hour of being contacted.
On scheduled Early Dismissal Days the Latchkey program will be open until 6:00pm.
If school is dismissing early due to bad weather the Latchkey program will be open according to availability of Latchkey provider.
If school is cancelled due to weather the Latchkey program will not be open.
Parent Concerns
We make every attempt to create an environment that is warm, nurturing, safe and developmentally appropriate. If a concern or problem arises, we want to know about it and try to resolve it as quickly as possible. Please use the following procedure if a problem or concern arise.
- Take the problem to the staff member in your child’s classroom.
- If the problem does not get satisfactorily resolved, bring it to the attention of the Principal.
- If the concern is still not resolved, we ask that you put your complaint in writing a full account of the complaint, sign it and it will be taken to the board of education who will determine what shall be done about the incident.
We feel that it is much easier to deal with a concern, than it is to try and mediate a crisis. Please keep us informed.
Payment Policy
Parents are responsible for all payments for the Latchkey Fees. To be sure the billing is accurate, parents are informed that they must sign their students in and out each day. There is a one hour minimum charge per child per morning or afternoon of attendance. The finance assistant will tabulate Latchkey expenses weekly and send out bills every Monday. Payments are due every Thursday for the previous weeks care. Parents risk their child’s enrollment in our program if their extended account is past due. All payments should be mailed or sent to school in the provided Extended Care envelope.
The billing will be done weekly. You will receive a statement every Monday. If your account reflects a balance due you are asked to pay this by no later than Thursday of the current week. If the balance past due has not been received by the next billing date, your statement will be marked “PAST DUE”. If the balance has not been paid after two weeks, a collection letter is sent home with your bill and extended care services will be immediately terminated. At the end of the thirty-day period, if the balance due has not been paid your account will be turned over to collection. To reinstate your children you must contact St. John School and make arrangements with the Principal.
Rates
Enrolled Students: $2.75 per hour
**Billing is done by the hour. You will be billed a minimum of one hour per morning and one hour per afternoon.
Drop-In: $3.75 per hour
**Billing is done by the hour. You will be billed a minimum of one hour per morning and one hour per afternoon.
Breakfast: Regular breakfast will be served students will be charged on lunch account.
Snack: is provided by Latchkey Program
Schedules
Schedule sheets must be filled out for each child and turned in by 6:00pm Thursday for the following weeks hours. Please return the schedules in the Latchkey envelope. If no new schedule is turned in we will use the previous weeks schedule. All hours that are scheduled will be billed for. Also on this sheet you will need to indicate if your child will be having breakfast.
Withdrawal
If parents wish to withdraw their student from Latchkey program we ask that they write a short letter stating when their last day will be and the reason. If the family is moving, we also as that you list your new address so that your week end statement may be sent to you. We appreciate at least two weeks notice of a withdrawal so that we may alert other families on our waiting list that they may attend.
The following policies will be in accordance with the St. John student handbook.
Revised and Approved Aug. 2014