PATHKEEPERS
HOMESCHOOL
CO-OP
HANDBOOK
Leadership Team
(Text a team member first if possible for quicker response, then try email)
Shawna Norman (servant leader)
Suellen Petit (co-servant leader)
951-805-5228
912-398-9931
mrsteatimelady@gmail.com
gulfcrew6@yahoo.com
Mission Statement
To provide a place where home school moms and their children can get together to encourage
each other in the Lord through co-ops, mom’s nights out, and fieldtrips. To be Parents who
Actively are Training the Hearts of their children to model Christ in all areas of life.
Vision
To impact the next generation for Christ. We are a Christ-centered cooperative that provides a
variety of educational and enrichment classes for homeschooling families of primary and
secondary age children in a safe and loving environment.
Value Verses
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Psalm 16:11: “You (God) will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is
fullness of joy”. *Direction and joy for a full life come from seeking God’s path and
presence.
Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not
depart from it.” *lifetime habits are formed from training
Deuteronomy 6:5-9: “… You shall teach them (God’s words) diligently to your sons and
shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when
you lie down and when you rise up..” (vs.8) * Training is a lifestyle not a curriculum.
You teach your children how to love and live for God when you are living it out in daily
life.
Isaiah 54:3: “All your children will be taught of the Lord; and great will be the peace of
your children.” *True peace comes from being taught by God and in His ways.
We recognize that our group is made up of a diverse group of people whose commonality is the
priority of homeschooling our children. For this reason, we do not require member families to
sign a faith statement regarding their particular doctrinal beliefs. However, we do ask that
member families respect/abide by, and not dispute, the above values and PathKeepers statement
of faith during their participation in Pathkeepers.
Overview
As homeschool parents, we feel that God has called and enabled us to homeschool our children.
We feel that cooperatively we can provide enrichment opportunities that may not be possible on
our own.
Nursery and preschool classes are provided for siblings in co-op classes. We are unable to
accommodate children our member families babysit.
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Parents are required to serve at co-op classes in one of the following areas: lead teacher, coteacher, class/teacher’s aide, nursery, floater or misc. Moms must remain on the church
premises at all times. Since we are a true co-op and not a drop off educational program, a child
may not participate in the co-op unless his/her parent is on site. You must choose to sign up for
co-op classes offered in order to participate in the co-op.
All classes offered are supplemental to what is being taught in the home and are meant for
enrichment purposes only. The classes offered may vary from term to term and are determined
by the willingness of group members to lead. However, we may have people who volunteer their
time and talents teaching classes who are not co-op members (examples, guitar teacher, art
teacher, and ballet teacher).
Here is a general schedule of co-op on Tuesday afternoons.
1:00pm
1:15-2:15
2:30-3:30
General Assembly (flag salutes and prayer before breaking up into class)
Classes for each age group
Moms are free to visit and let kids play in play area outside/clean up/
Guitar class is offered for those who would like to stay for that.
Those who need to leave can at 2:30 if they need to. 
Guidelines, Policies and Procedures
Parent Responsibilities
1. Respect and encourage adherence to all guidelines (we are all hall monitors and
traffic/noise controllers).
2. Arrive ten minutes early. We will start our assembly with pledges and prayer before
breaking up into classes. Each teacher will stand at the front with a sign for their age
group and will have a checklist with kids names in their classes and the children will go
to their teacher to follow them to class.
3. If you cannot attend on the day you are scheduled to work, it is your responsibility to
call a member of the Leadership Team as soon as possible to have a floater take
your place. If you are a teacher’s aide, also call the teacher with whom you work.
4. Remain on site AT ALL TIMES.
5. Be willing to adhere to the Conflict and Discipline policies.
6. All classrooms need to be tidy and in order before the next class begins and when it ends
(this makes the first part easier).
7. No gossiping or causing dissention. If there is a conflict, refer to conflict and discipline
policies. Try to work things out.
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Student Responsibilities/Code of Conduct
“Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in
love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12
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Be on time.
Be prepared. Bring supplies, books, and homework.
Be quiet in the halls between classes—absolutely no yelling or running.
Be respectful of others and their property.
Modest and respectful dress-please refer to dress code.
Only Christian music will be played at the co-op.
No using bad or crude language, or slang that could be offensive to others.
No internet access during co-op.
Work together and encourage one another in words and actions.
Remember that we are guests in the building. 
Absences
Children are responsible for attending each class for which they are registered. The class
instructor has made a commitment and has spent time preparing for each student. Students are
asked to please notify their instructor of their absence. Adult absences must be reported ASAP
to a member of the Leadership Team.
Clean Up Policy
Please help clean up before you leave each week after the co-op. Clean up includes wiping down
tables with Lysol, taking out the trash, sweeping, returning materials to their proper place,
making sure bathrooms are decent, and turning lights off.
We want to respect any place we meet so one of our goals is to look like we were never there,
like it was before we were there. 
Communication
Co-op members will be placed on an e-mail loop, which will be our main means of
communication. Members are responsible for reading their e-mails to learn important
announcements related to the co-op. If technical problems occur, please let the Leadership Team
know so that telephone arrangements can be made. PATHKeepers has a facebook page as well,
please “like” the page if you have facebook so you see postings on there as well.
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Conflict Resolution Policy
Unfortunately, personality conflicts and misunderstandings can happen. It is important that we
agree on how to deal with these situations, should they arise.
Based on Matthew 18, if conflict arises, parents and teachers should seek to resolve the issue on
their own. If either party is unsatisfied or resolution* cannot be met, the parties then need to
seek the assistance of one of the ladies on the leadership team.
*resolve/resolution—achieved when all parties reach mutual agreement or understanding.
Discipline and Standards Policy
1. Parents should monitor their children’s behavior when needed. Appropriate disciplinary
measures should be taken privately. Uncooperative or disruptive children will be
removed from activities.
2. Children should respect authorities as well as peers.
3. For minor infractions, the child will be given a verbal warning, and a written note will
be given to the parent.
4. In cases of more serious disciplinary issues, the following should be considered standard
procedure:
a. Child will be given a verbal warning by the instructor, and parent will receive
written notice.
b. If unacceptable behavior continues, the child will be taken to his/her parent for the
rest of the day.
c. If this behavior continues in class the student may be dismissed from class and
may be withdrawn from the co-op and no fees will be refunded. Any other
participation in future co-ops will be for a probationary period. The PathKeepers
Homeschool Co-op reserves the right to expel any student from the co-op, if
disruptive behavior fails to be curtailed.
d. Parents need to be willing to allow the instructors to discipline their children
according to the procedures outlined above and must be willing to abide by the
instructor’s decision to dismiss their children from the class if the instructor
deems it necessary.
5. Each child attending the co-op must be accompanied by a parent who must remain on
site for the entire time.
Dress Code
1. Clothing must be modest. Please do not wear spaghetti strap tops, halter tops, muscle
shirts, or any short, tight fitting, or midriff shirts.
2. Necklines must be modest and any shorts, skirts or dresses must be at least knee length.
3. Unusual attire associated with immoral or improper ideas or with an anti-Christian
message should not be worn.
4. If you aren’t sure something is appropriate to wear, please don’t wear it. Let’s honor one
another by being respectful in our dress.
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Illness Policy
If keeping a sick child home, remember that well children may only attend classes if their parent
is on site. This means children will not be accompanied by another family, neighbor or friend
(see Overview section).
People with the following symptoms should not attend:
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Fever (within the last twenty-four hours)
Colored mucus (yellow or green snotty nose)
Diarrhea, vomiting or nausea
Eye drainage
Virus or infection (known to be contagious)
Rashes (including bleeding diaper rashes)
Head lice
This is for the protection of the children and families involved, so we can continue to provide the
highest quality program for all children. Please be considerate of others regarding your
child(ren) and illnesses.
Inclement Weather Policy
We will make determinations about closings due to weather conditions by 10:00 a.m. on co-op
days. Co-op participants will be placed in an e-mail loop which will be our main means of
communication. Please check your e-mail by 10:00 a.m. on co-op days for any special notices
about bad weather. It will also be posted on facebook page. (If you do not have an e-mail
account, we can put you on a phone chain.)
PDA (Public Displays of Affection)
All students will maintain a six-inch personal space boundary between oneself and members of
the opposite gender.
Registration Policy
The registration form given at registration needs to be signed before you are considered
registered. Each class will have a fee just for supplies needed during that class. We will try to
keep the costs low so everyone can participate. There is no family “fee” but a donation would be
greatly appreciate for using the church facilities ($10-25 for a family is recommended but not
necessary if you are not able to do that). Registration is done on a first come first served basis.
Should the co-op have to close due to size limitations, families may be put on the waiting list and
invited to fill vacated spots at the discretion of the Leadership Team. We do not want to have
anyone excluded because of lack of finances. If you truly are not able to afford part or all of
these fees, send a written request for a scholarship.
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Refund Policy
No refunds for class fees since teachers will have bought supplies for their classes.
Waiver and Medical Release Form
It is required to have a release form on file for each family, signed by the parent, in order for
them to be permitted to participate in the co-op. Registration WILL NOT be accepted without a
properly completed form. Thank you for your cooperation.
This waiver includes a medical form on each child that must be completed to be on file (for
allergies and medical information in the event of needing medical care…moms will be on the
property and be contacted immediately but we still want this information).
Statement of faith and beliefs
The PathKeepers’ statement of faith and beliefs is the same as First Baptist Pooler and is located
on the church website as well as the homeschool co-op section of the church website.
Material Supply Cart
If you are able, to help maintain low costs, please everyone bring one of the items below so our
teachers have enough supplies without having to purchase them on their own budget.
Crayons
Pencils
Paper
Glue
Chlorox wipes
Trash bags
Website/Facebook Page
PathKeepers home school co-op information, upcoming events for mom’s nights out, forms
(medical release, co-op handbook, registration form, statement of faith, etc.) will be on the First
Baptist Pooler website under the home school co-op section. http://www.poolerfbc.org
Daily encouragement and reminders of upcoming events will also be posted on the PathKeepers
Face book page. You can send messages or post fieldtrips too on there.
We look forward to serving together with you as we train our children to love God and others.
This will be a time of encouragement for the moms to make friends as well as the children.
God bless you and your home!
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