Group Educational Activity (GEA)

(Definition, Policy, Procedure, How to set-up a GEA, How to add students to GEA,

How to drop students from GEA)

Group Educational Activity Definition

1. Group Educational Activity (GEA) is an educational expense for more than one student in one family, with a school approved vendor.

2. If the activity it is to be only for the students of one ES, and the vendor allows for a small group size, then the ES should proceed as directed in the Educational Activity Policy http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/cprograms/edactpol.htm

3. GEAs may be for large or small school groups but the minimal size may be determined by the vendor.

4. GEAs include but are not limited to: admission fees, enrichment activities, community involvement activities, and other educational services

5. For GEAs that involve participation in a Theme Park, please see Theme Park Guideline http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/cprograms/parkinfo.htm

6. If the activity is to be made available to other ESs’ students, then the ESs should initiate the process by e-mailing the Educational Liaison for their school (follow directions below).

Group Educational Activity Policy

1. If instructional funding (IF) is to be used for a GEA, the Educational Specialist (ES), parent and student must follow all school policies. The GEA must be approved by the ES, the required process must be submitted prior to the event/activity, and the required paperwork must be completed before any student may participate in a GEA.

2. The charter school will not, under any circumstances, reimburse parents or ESs for any student’s participation in any GEA

3. No sectarian or denominational instruction may be given in any GEA paid for by the school.

4. The vendor must be approved before the school will pay for a GEA, and the vendor must be approved prior to the student’s participation in the activity if instructional funding will be used for the GEA. For adding a vendor to the Approved Vendor list go to Vendor Approval Request http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/purchase/Venapprequest.htm

5. The initiation of and approval for a student’s participation in a GEA is based on the student’s educational needs.

6. The duration of a GEA is limited to one specific event; it is not an ongoing class.

7. No GEA will cover costs of activities that occur before the school year begins or after the last day of school. The school will not cover costs for a GEA for any student not actively enrolled in the school on the day of the event.

8. School funding may only be used for active students currently enrolled in the school only.

9. Students who have dropped from the school may not attend an event that occurs after they have dropped from the school, even if they signed up for the event while enrolled. If the GEA has not closed, the ES will go into FRED and delete the student from the GEA roll sheet. If it has closed, then email cp@ieminc.org and the Educational Liaison so that the name of the inactive student can be removed manually from the roll sheet and notations made as appropriate.

10. Instructional funding cannot be used for: gas or mileage, meals, parking, or any event out of state.

11. The ES must collect the required paperwork approval forms (Educational Activity Permission Slip http://www.ieminc.org/genericforms/edactper.pdf and the Volunteer/Employee Usage-Transporting Students form http://www.ieminc.org/genericforms/vehicleusage.pdf , if someone other than the parent/guardian is transporting the student) from the parent/guardian prior to giving approval for the student to participate in the event/activity.

For a student to participate in a GEA, his/her parent or guardian is responsible for the following:

a. Discuss their child’s educational goals with their ES.

b. Discuss possible GEAs with their ES and the possible cost.

c. Complete two Educational Activity Permission Slip forms for each family, for each activity and give one original copy to the ES prior to the GEA and bring it with them to the event/activity.

d. If during the GEA a student will be transported by someone other than their own parent/guardian, the Volunteer/Employee Vehicle Usage Transporting Students form must be completed and mailed to the ES prior to the event.

e. Share the student’s learning with the ES as it relates to the GEA, as well as provide their ES with the required student learning sample

For your student to participate in a GEA, his/her ES is responsible for the following:

a. Keep parents informed of school-wide GEAs in a timely manner.

b. Parent and ES discuss and agree that the GEA is appropriate for their student based on the student’s current course of study. They discuss the required paperwork that must be completed before the student can participate in the GEA

c. The ES goes into ES Webfiles and signs the student up for the event/activity.

d. The ES receives the required forms from student’s parent/guardian.

e. The ES goes into again ES Webfiles and approves student to participate in the GEA.

f. The ES documents learning that occurred on the student’s LR as well as collects student learning samples for the GEA.

g. If during a GEA an ES will be transporting students other than their own children, the Volunteer/Employee Vehicle Usage Transporting Students form must be completed.

GEA protocols

If a family signs up for a GEA, they should consider themselves committed to that day and time unless illness or unavoidable circumstances arise. This includes free GEAs.

Procedures to follow:

1. Only sign up your student once you believe they truly want to go and will follow through!

2. Remove any students from the list if it is before the close date ASAP once you know they are not going

3. You may now give ES Approval while a student is still on the waiting list. Funds are not encumbered until they move up to the GEA.

4. If they decide they will not go after the closing date, inform the family that the money for the event has already been removed from their IFs and cannot be returned to them. But, free up the space for another!

5. If they cannot make the date at the last minute, the ES should contact Mary Ann Shapiro (OG) or Lisa Voss (SS), and let them know in advance so the school person in charge of the GEA does not wait for them at the front door and/or try to contact them while they are waiting.

Procedure for setting up a GEA

1. Parent and ES agree that the GEA is appropriate for their student based on the student’s current course of study, and they have discussed required paperwork that must be completed before the student can participate in the GEA.

2. The ES checks to see if the vendor is on the Approved Vendor list. If not, the ES needs to submit Vendor Approval Request before he/she may proceed. http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/purchase/Venapprequest.htm

3. If the vendor is on the approved vendor list, the ES gathers the following required information: name and address of the vendor, date, time, cost of activity, and contact person at the location.

4. The ES must look at the student’s instructional funding (IF), and the School Restricted Courses/Activities information to be sure the cost of the activity is within the school’s policy and within their IF budget. Look at the Additional Requirements for High Risk Courses/Activities to make sure requirements for this vendor are have been fulfilled.

5. The ES communicates with the Educational Liaison of the school and shares the required information (name and address of the vendor, date, time, cost of activity, and contact person at the location).

6. The ES waits to hear from the Educational Liaison that the GEA has been set up.

7. ESs enroll their student in the GEA.

8. The ES writes a listserve to send out announcing the activity and send to the school Educational Liaison.

9. ES collects the required paper work and approves their student to participate in the GEA

10. The requesting ES must be responsible to check in students to the activity. Yes, if they instigated it for their families. The Educational Liaison, or their designee, will check students in to schoolwide GEAs. They are also responsible for remaining for the full event as the school’s representative.

11. ES documents learning in the student’s LR and collects student learning sample related to the GEA.

How to add student to a GEA

1. In Es Webfiles go to “Search” and choose “Course/Activities” from the drop down list

2. Find the GEA: Click on “Start Find” choose “GEA” from the dropdown list under the pink heading “type”, then click on “Complete Find”

3. From the pop up box, identify the current school year you are looking for

4. Click on the blue “form” for the GEA you want to sign your student up for

5. Click in a blank box to the left and below “student” and a drop down list with your students’ name will appear.

6. Click on your student’s name to add to the GEA.

7. Once you have a copy of the required forms, go back in and approve your student to participate in the GEA. To do that, go to your student’s name, mark an X in the box under the heading “ES App”

8. You may approve a student who is on the waiting list, and you will receive an email once they have a space in the GEA.

How to drop a student from a GEA

If student drops before GEA is closed and processed, then the ES must go in and delete the student.

If a student drops from the GEA after it has closed and been processed, the ES manually crosses their name off the roll sheet at the event, but the IFs are committed and the student will not receive a refund.