Academic Expectations at Co-op

It is imperative that every family FULLY understands that Learning and Families Co-op is NOT a school! We do not assume ANY responsibility for fulfilling students’ legal educational requirements. The homeschooling parents assume all responsibility for each of their student’s education. We do not keep academic records that are required by the state of Florida. The parents assume full responsibility for tracking educational activities, hours of instruction, evaluations, and academic portfolios. We also do not offer report cards or high school transcripts.

LAF is a supplemental and enrichment opportunity for families who are actively educating their children full-time at home. Families understand that if we have to close Co-op for any reason (e.g. illness outbreak, hurricanes), families have the responsibility of continuing their student’s education program at home.

When families choose to participate in the LAF Co-op, they are making a commitment to the classroom facilitators who have devoted their time and attention to preparing lessons and assignments and to their fellow classmates who are depending on their peers for quality interaction, participation, and academic excellence.

If a student repeatedly misses class, fails to complete assignments, or cannot maintain the required level of work, LAF reserves the right to dismiss the student from any or all LAF Co-op classes with no refund.

Junior Co-op is designed to be an enrichment of each family’s unique homeschool plan. No academic grades will be suggested by Junior Co-op facilitators. However, the success of the program depends on every family’s full participation. This includes completing all assignments, reading, at-home videos, projects, and presentations by the due date and with excellence. If there is a class event, party, celebration, or something similar, parents are expected to fulfill their duty to contribute whatever is asked. In addition, when facilitators request special supplies from home, parents are expected to fulfill the request.

The following information pertains to Middle and High School Co-op only. All assignments and projects must be completed and submitted to the facilitator by the due date unless a special need exists and unique arrangements have been made with the facilitator. All work handed in must be the student’s own work.

Parents agree to communicate any concerns and/or questions about assignments with the facilitator. Parents are expected to actively monitor their students’ work, as the parent is responsible for their child’s education. In addition, it is important for parents to recognize that the role of the facilitator is to lead a weekly classroom experience. The facilitator is not a traditional school teacher. Therefore, it is not appropriate to contact the facilitator to ask for copies of notes or information on material covered in class, including homework assignments. For that kind of information, refer to the syllabus or contact another student in the class.

Middle School Level: It is the facilitator’s discretion to give grades at the middle school level. The parent is primarily responsible for grading their student’s work. Middle School students have a moral obligation to complete all assignments and projects with excellence assigned by their facilitator, unless a special need exists and unique arrangements have been made with the facilitator. Any academic-related questions should be directed to the facilitator.

High School Level: All high school students will receive suggested grades in each class based on criteria developed by the class facilitator. However, parents are still the directors of their children’s education and should be thoroughly familiar with the syllabus, homework assignments, test dates, and other due dates, as well as how their student performs on each of these. Any academic-related  questions should be directed to the facilitator.

Special Considerations

If your student has special needs, learning challenges, or circumstances that prevent him/her from fulfilling the academic requirements, you are welcome to contact the facilitator and make special arrangements. If you know your child has specific challenges or needs adaptations, please arrange those with the facilitator at the beginning of the year. If a situation arises that requires special consideration, it should be addressed well in advance of any due dates, tests, presentations, projects, or other assignments. 

Academic Honesty

Good academic work must be based on honesty. The attempt of any student to present as his or her own work that which he or she has not produced is a serious offense at Learning and Families. Promoting honesty in academic work requires understanding the definition of academic dishonesty, its different types, and its causes and consequences.

There are four types of academic dishonesty:

1. Cheating
2. Plagiarism
3. Falsification or fabrication
4. Sabotage

Cheating    copying the work of another during a test or turning in an assignment written, in

whole or in part, by someone else

Plagiarism copying material or paraphrasing ideas from sources without acknowledging

them

Falsification/ Fabrication improperly assigning authorship, using false or fabricated quotes or data

Sabotage destroying or disrupting another person’s work or failing to contribute to a team project

CHEATING

Cheating involves the unauthorized use of information, materials, devices, sources, or practices in completing academic tests and assignments. For example, copying another student’s work during a test is cheating. A student who allows another student to copy from his or her work is considered to be facilitating or contributing to cheating and will be held equally responsible. Cheating also includes but is not limited to, using sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments, such as using a mobile device to look up answers during an exam and using Artificial Intelligence software to write a paper or to conduct research, unless authorized by a parent or the facilitator.

PLAGIARISM

Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as “an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author.”

There are two kinds of plagiarism: intentional and unintentional. Intentional plagiarism occurs when a student chooses to use words from sources that are not his own and does not cite the source. This can either be a direct quote or a paraphrase that is too close to the original work. Unintentional plagiarism occurs when a student’s language is too closely influenced by someone else’s work.

LAF uses Grammarly to check for plagiarism. Neither form of plagiarism will be tolerated at LAF Co-op.

FALSIFICATION/FABRICATION

Falsification or fabrication involves the unauthorized creation or alteration of information in an academic assignment. For example, artificially creating data when it should be collected from an actual experiment or making up a source of information that does not exist is considered fabrication or falsification.

SABOTAGE

Sabotage involves disrupting or destroying another person’s work so that the other person cannot complete an academic activity or assignment successfully. For example, destroying another person’s artwork, experiment, or design is considered sabotage. Failure to contribute as required to a team project can also be considered academic sabotage.

Academic Disciplinary Procedure

In any correction situation, the goal will always be effective communication and a change of heart and behavior. In the event of a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy, the Faciliator will follow the procedure outlined below.

BREACH DEFINED

• Missing assignment
• Failing grade on test
• Poor class participation
• Failure to fulfill duty on project or assignment
• Unexcused absence
• Academic dishonesty
• Arriving to class unprepared

If a parent discusses a problem or challenge with the facilitator, and an acceptable solution or plan is created prior to the problem, any of the above items will not be considered a breach. The goal is for the parent and the facilitator to be working together as a team for the best academic interest of the student and the class as a whole. The plan should be put in writing and emailed between the parent and facilitator.

First Breach

The facilitator will document the first Academic Integrity breach and share the report with the parent and the Board of Directors. It will be kept on file in the LAF Office. The parent will talk to the student and find a suitable resolution.

Second Breach

The student will be unable to attend LAF Classes until they meet with a parent, the facilitator, and members of the Board of Directors to identify the problem and brainstorm a solution. Once a plan is decided, the student will need to write a short summary of what they perceive was the problem and the plan to prevent it from recurring. The summary needs to be approved by a parent and by the Board of Directors before they can return to class. The documentation of the second breach, along with the summary of the problem and plan will be kept on file in the LAF Board Office. If it is an elementary-aged student, this will need to be written by the parent and approved by the Board of Directors.

Third Breach

After a third documented breach of the Academic Integrity Policy, the student will be unable to attend LAF Classes until they meet with our Disciplinary Committee, which then makes a recommendation to the Board of Directors. The Board will then deliberate and inform the family of their decision about how to proceed.