July 22, 2022
***While this email addresses families currently using CPA charter funds, the information within is important and applicable to all charter students at all times.
Dear SOCHH Families,
Please see below email from Cabrillo Point Academy Vendor Dept. In spite of the many emails and conversations that several Cabrillo parents have shared with us from their charter teacher relaying conflicting info and promising sentiments, we received this official response from the vendor department just days ago. Unfortunately, when we spoke to them on the phone this morning they were not willing to provide any further explanation that would help us try to resolve this issue for our families. We appreciate the families that have reached out to them on our behalf and for those that voiced support of SOCHH. We know this is a huge disappointment to CPA families and we are very sorry about the inconvenience it presents just before the start of the school year.
We have made every effort to relay to families that charter requirements and agreements can change at any time and absolutely vary from teacher to teacher and within each department. The charters can and are within their right to alter their agreements to vendors. For this very reason, we have families acknowledge in our agreements that they are ultimately liable for payments as charter funds are not guaranteed, and we implore parents to consider both SOCHH and the charters as very separate entities. As much as possible we are willing and wanting to work with charters, but any changes to SOCHH’s programs is purely driven by our academic mission and not the ever changing rules of charter legislation.
As of this writing we are approved and in good standing with the following charter schools: Scale Academy, Epic Charter, and Excel school. We have also applied and are waiting to hear from Sky Mountain and Pacific Charter school. We are told that all are accepting students (watilisted students are being cleared!) Please reach out to the schools directly for information. We are not able to facilitate any part of the admissions or application process.
Some common questions and comments from parents…
How much funds can I use and how much will I need to pay out of pocket? This is different for each student depending on the program you select and how much charter funds you are able to apply. Contrary to what some are being told, the amount that you are able to request monthly often depends on your teacher and not just the vendor department. For example, we have a handful of families with a certain charter school being told that they cannot use more than $350 of funds per month, while another parent from the same school is able to submit larger lump sums of payments. Generally speaking, we are willing to apply any amount of funds your charter is willing to pay towards your balance. If those funds are not able to cover the entire amount owed it is the family’s obligation to pay the rest out of pocket.
My charter school only allows me to go to classes for X number of days or X number of hours. A charter school can not regulate how many classes you attend and when; they can only regulate what and how much they are willing to provide funds for. They can not dictate how you spend your private money or time.
The rules regarding the days or hours allowed varies from charter to charter. And in fact, SOCHH does not bill for more than 12 academic hours a week as class fees do not include extra things like recess and PE and special enrichment classes, which are all covered by fundraising efforts. In your parent portal you will see the breakdown of how our billing admin breaks down the fees and hourly per subject.
What if my charter will not pay for a 3 day program? We also have the option of 1 day or 2 day classes that are available to both SOCHH core students and the general homeschool community.
What do I do if my charter school teacher says my student needs to be working at grade level? This is something we hear often, however SOCHH’s mission, which presumably aligns with the families that are here, is to meet the students where they are at REGARDLESS of the grade they are in. We are here to fill and close gaps. It may therefore be in conflict with a charter who needs to keep their students at grade level. So you either need to spend time with your HST/TOR/ES and explain that to them or you need to complete worksheets and samples that are at grade level and turn those in.
My charter says that I have to meet with them twice a week and turn in their approved samples. Charters can and do create their rules that have nothing to do with SOCHH. We use approved curriculum and that is the extent of our involvement with work samples.
Is there any tuition assistance available at SOCHH? We offer work exchange opportunities to families who are able to volunteer their time and talents to our program in exchange for a tuition discount/credit. Additionally, we offer 10 and 12 month payment plans, and a 10% tuition break for those paying in full at the beginning of the year.
As a reminder, please be sure to review all the important billing information found in the welcome packet that was sent out earlier this week. If you have specific billing questions please reach out to Monika, our billing administrator: billing@southochybridhomeschool.com.
Thank you all for your understanding and support!
The SOCHH Admin Team
________________________
Begin forwarded message:
From: Vendor Support CPA
Date: July 19, 2022 at 4:29:31 PM PDT
To: SOCHH Team
Cc: Billing SOCHH <billing@southochybridhomeschool.com<="" a>="">
Subject: Re: Vendor Agreement
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