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ACTS Emergency Cell Phone Number:  434-249-0293

 


Frequently Asked Questions

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If I am new to home schooling, may I join ACTS?
Answer: Families may join ACTS after a full semester of home schooling experience.  Families who are entering homeschooling when their oldest child begins kindergarten do not have to wait a semester before joining ACTS.  Initially, ACTS was advised by other co-ops in the country to have a one year homeschooling experience requirement for membership into ACTS. After further research, the ACTS officers determined that literature supports that it takes a transition time to “come home” to learn and so they opted for just a one semester requirement. We believe that the semester requirement of homeschooling experience provides enough adjustment for students to make the transition from formal school to home education.
 

Can I join ACTS classes after the start of the school year?
Answer:
Students may join a class already in session if it is not full. However, students may not attend classes until all forms and payments are made. This must be no further than 30 days in advance of the desired start date.  All materials fees checks and tuition must also be submitted to the teachers during that time.  All Registration paperwork and dues checks need to be submitted to the Registrar no later than the Sunday prior to the desired start date.  For example, a family desiring to begin on Tuesday, January 3rd, their Registration paperwork and dues check must be received by the Registrar no later than Sunday, January 1st

How do I drop a class?
Answer: Once your grace month is over dropping a class incurs a tuition obligation. Please see the Tuition Policy page of the Family Handbook for a complete explanation.

Why do I have to write so many tuition checks each month?
Answer: ACTS attempts to keep the volunteer administration
duties as simple as feasible and the gross annual receipts as low as possible. In lieu of a paid treasurer  to collect all the checks from each family and write all the tuition checks for teachers, we all co-operatively help out with writing the checks directly to the teachers. To reduce the number of checks, a family may opt to pay by the semester or year.



Why do my children lose their spot in the class if I am not timely in getting my checks and paperwork into the registrar?
Answer: The job of registrar for a co-op our size is innately time consuming.
Handling discrepancies is very frustrating. Not everyone realizes that and is conscientious about getting their stuff in on time. The drop date insures each one takes part in making the job of registrar more manageable.

Can I drop off my kids in the parking lot and let them sign themselves in so I don't have to park and walk in too?
Answer: Please do not do this.  It is a liability issue that is against ACTS
policy.  Parents must park and walk in with and sign in ALL of their children – including those 11 and up. Additionally, you must walk in to pick up your children when their classes are finished.  Do not instruct them to leave the building and walk out to meet you in the parking lot.  Exceptions are:  1)A responsible adult brings your children to ACTS for you.  They may sign in and pick up your children. 2)An ACTS student 16 years old or over that drives themselves to classes.

Do I have to stay on-site while my children are in class?
Answer: As long as your child is in class, you do not need to remain on site.  If
your children 10 and younger have a free class period, you must return to supervise them, or, arrange for a designated responsible adult (not an older sibling) to directly supervise them.  You do not need to return to supervise children 11 and up who have a free class period.  They may sit in the two designated areas that are supervised by the weekly service parent.



What about lunch?
Answer: Please eat lunch before coming to ACTS unless your children have first and
second period (11:00-11:55) classes.  Students that come for first will stay in their first period classroom for 15 minutes after class is over (11:55-12:10) to eat lunch.  Please pack non-messy food: no crumbly chips or cookies, chocolate cupcakes, etc!  Please pack water to drink rather than sticky, colored juice-type drinks, and only pack foods children can open and eat independently. Children will be responsible to pack out their trash, and forgotten lunchboxes will be emptied and put in lost and found.

What about bad weather? Snow? How do I know if ACTS is cancelled?
Answer: If ACTS must be cancelled due to snow or bad weather, or for any other reason, you will get an email at 8:00AM that morning. Please check your email for any cancellations.

How do I find the family roster?
Answer: The Roster is available to ACTS parents with students currently enrolled in classes. To access the Roster, go to the Scheduler and log in with your email and password. Then, look on the left menu for the link which says Roster.

What is the difference between CACHE and ACTS?
Answer:  ACTS purpose is to provide weekly enrichment classes for home
educating families.  CACHE stands for Charlottesville Area Christian Home Educators and their purpose is to provide homeschool support for the parents. You can join the discussion group on yahoo at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cache_inc/

How can I become an Officer or Coordinator?
Answer:  Board members serve a minimum of two year terms (beginning July
1st), and coordinators serve a minimum of one year.  Both receive priority registration for their children while serving.  Our Board is self-perpetuating – it selects and replaces its own members on a voluntary basis.  We attempt to match gifting and calling with our leadership needs.  If you would like to volunteer for a leadership position, please contact the current President.   Prospective leaders are reviewed by the Board and taken before the Lord for wisdom and direction. If a match seems indicated, we welcome the new insights and gifts! All leaders must not only sign, but also agree with the statement of faith. New Board members begin training in March.  We would love to see more dads involved...please join us in prayer for this covering need.

How do I post on the website?
Answer: Guidelines for posting announcements on the website are found by
clicking on this link. http://www.actscoop.org/ActivitiesOpportunities/index.htm

How can I print from the website?
Answer: There are several ways to do this.

  1. Go to the web page you wish to print. Look at the top of your browser window. Find the printer icon and click on it. The page will automatically print on your printer. (If you cannot find the printer icon, look at the top of your browser window and find the File menu. Click and choose Print from the pull down menu.)
  2. Go to the web page you wish to print. Highlight the text and/or photos you want to print. Right click (Mac users Control+click) on what you highlighted and choose Print from the drop-down menu.
  3. Go to the web page you wish to print. Highlight the text and/or photos you want to print. Right click (Mac users Control+click) on what you highlighted and choose Copy from the menu. Then open a new document in your word processing program (this is Word for most people) and paste the text into it. Choose Print from your Edit menu.
  4. If you are at the library (or other public access), you need to ask the librarian how to use their printers.

Why can't I open the forms? (Registration Form, Enrollment Contract, New Family Introduction Form, or Release of Liability Form)
Answer:
These forms are written in pdf format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to open. It is free and is available by clicking on the Adobe Reader icon below.

get adobe reader

It's free! Click on the icon to the left and follow the download directions. You must then install the program.

 

When I click on a teacher or leader's name, nothing happens.
Answer: When you click on a name, a window should open with a form to send email. If nothing opens, or seems to open and immediately closes, it is probably because you have pop-up blocker software running. Turn off the pop-up blocker software and try again. Still not working? Contact the webmaster

How are the teachers chosen?
Answer: From the Administrator's Manual -
Teachers’ applications will be submitted to the ACTS President, references will be checked, and a criminal background check is done.  Once these are completed, an interview will be conducted.

Where do you meet?
Answer: ACTS meets at Covenant Church of God, 1025 East Rio Road, Charlottesville, Virginia

How many families are in the co-op?
Answer: This changes each year. ACTS began with only 50 families. 

How long has ACTS been going?
Answer: ACTS has been operating since 2002.

How do I find the phone number of an ACTS family?
Answer: All phone numbers and address information are available to ACTS members only. Go to HORAS (look in the menu on the left side of this page) and log in with your email address and password. Look on the left side menus for the Roster.