Policies & FAQ
As a Parent Participatory School, SSDS welcomes all families to play an active role in caring for children alongside our educators. They are there to be part of the life of the classroom and should be encouraged to participate in all aspects of the classroom day. The relationship building that can happen during participation is truly valued at SSDS.
In-classroom participating parents can expect to participate up to 12 times (full), six times (half), 3 times (quarter), or O (Non) during the school year. A fee is associated with any level other than full participation.**Parent participation shifts are only for the Core Program and do not include Enrichment hours.**
Parent participants are not included in the consideration of adult-child ratios. All classrooms are staffed with SSDS Faculty sufficient to meet legal ratio requirements.
Participation Requirements:
In order to ensure the safety of our students and maintain compliance with Maryland State Law, approved parent participants must:
Scheduling for Participants:
The in-classroom participation schedule is developed in trimesters (Sept – Nov, Dec – Feb, March – June) by the classroom Scheduler. The Scheduler will reach out to the class to solicit availability and then create the schedule using said availability on the shared class google calendar. Schedules will be shared three months at a time.
The Day of:
A participation shift is one full school day, including a 15 minute prep/clean-up period before and after the core school hours. The parent helps prepare the room for the arrival of the students, assists the classroom teacher and assistant during the day (and has a ton of fun!), and helps to clean up the classroom/get ready for the following day. Check out our “Day in the Life of a Parent Participant” video to be prepared for a successful day in the classroom!
Finding Replacements:
Parents are responsible for finding their own replacement/swap if they cannot fulfill their in-classroom participation commitment that day. Nannies, au pairs and caregivers are generally not acceptable substitutes for in-classroom participation. If you are unable to find a replacement and the school needs to find a substitute, there will be a $75 missed parent participation fee.
SSDS Family Jobs:
In addition, each family at SSDS is required to take on one job per child enrolled. A sign up genius is released in July and all jobs are on a first come first serve basis. Below are some of the committees available: