The policies of Family Christian Academy have been established
by the Board of Directors and apply to those families whose
children are enrolled in Family Christian Academy.
It is the opinion of the Board of Directors that these policies
are fair and just.
Each family enrolled in Family Christian Academy, having signed,
at the time of enrollment, the statement of policy, acknowledges
its responsibility to FCA as well as its obligation to fulfill FCA
policies, as stated herein.
Society rightly holds Christians to a higher standard of behavior
than it does non-Christians. Family Christian Academy, like most
Christian schools, expects its families to display Christian values
in the community in which they live.
The attitude of the Board is not one of legalism but rather an
expectation of responsible compliance with reasonable standards.
Such an attitude allows for grace but also enforces just consequences
when violations occur.
FCA is not racially discriminatory and does not exclude families
from enrollment in its programs and activities based on race,
color, nationality, or ethnic origin. However, because the school
is a religious organization, the Board of Directors does reserve
the right to discriminate in areas of religious beliefs and affiliations.
Consequently, the school is not obligated to accept those who may
not meet admission requirements.
FCA offers activities which are valuable to some children, but
are not essential for every child (one example is FCA’s Athletics
Program). For non-essential programs, the school allows a cafeteria
approach be taken by parents.
| Dress Code |
| ›Family Christian Academy has a comprehensive
Dress Code for all On-Campus students. This policy appears in
FCA’s On-Campus Enrollment Packet. |
| ›Uniform specifics for off-campus
students: There is no dress code for students being Home Educated.
However, we ask that all families who are designated a Satellite
School of Family Christian Academy be mindful that they represent
the values of the School to the community at large. When attending
any function associated with the School (ie, testing, field
trips, etc.), the following dress is not allowed: hats, caps,
shorts, tank tops, T-shirts with un-Christian or occult text
or pictures, gang-related colors or paraphernalia, more than
one set of earrings for girls, any earrings on boys, body piercing.
This code is subject to the discretion of the coordinator of
the event who has full authority to search for fire arms or
tobacco products, under probable cause, at any time, and to
remove the student and/or family from the event. |
| Driver’s
License Form SF-1010 |
| ›Use FCA’s
Request Form |
| ›Student’s
birth certificate must be on file with FCA. |
| ›Student must
have been enrolled with FCA at least 30 days, and their file
must be current. |
| ›Allow 7-10
business days for a response. |
| ›Cut-off date
for asking for this form is either June 1st or upon enrollment
for the new school year. |
| ›Form remains
valid for 30 days from date of issue only. |
| Dual
Enrollment |
| ›Home Educated
students may dual enroll in Family Christian Academy On-Campus
school to take specific courses. |
›Many Community
and 4-year Colleges are accepting Home Educated middle school
and high school students for individual coursework or for early
entry into college. Some Home Educated students are skipping
one or more of their high school years altogether and entering
college, instead. Depending on the college, student may or may
not receive college credit for the course(s) taken. This is
an important consideration if parents want their high school
age students to receive college credit. Check with the college.
When a high school age student takes a college course, the parents
will enter the
course on the student’s high school transcript and assign
1/2-high school credit for a 3-credit college course and 1-high
school credit for a 5 or 6 credit college course. |
| |
| Grading |
| ›For home educated
students in grades K-8, please give the student a grade either
as a percentage, as a letter, or an “S” for satisfactory
or “U” for unsatisfactory. |
| ›For grades
9-12, give all of the following: a percentage, a grade, and
the number of credits earned. |
Grading
Scale |
| 94-100..................................................... |
A |
| 87-93....................................................... |
B |
| 77-86....................................................... |
C |
| 70-76....................................................... |
D |
| Below 70................................................ |
F |
|
| Graduation
& Diplomas |
| Upon satisfactory
completion of any of FCA’s Programs, the student may attend
FCA’s Graduation Ceremony and receive a Diploma. |
| Family
Christian Academy offers three different diplomas |
| › Family Christian
Academy High School Diploma (Available to On-Campus
& Home Educated students). |
| Students must meet
all of the following requirements: |
| |
•Student’s final Transcript
shows that student has met at least the minimum credit requirements
for graduation. |
| |
•Student has received a Stanine score
of at least 4 on two separate Stanford Achievement Tests; a
score of at least 500 verbal/500 math on the college entrance
SAT; and/or a score of at least 21 on the ACT. |
| › Parent-Directed
High School Diploma (Available to Home Educated
students only). |
| Students must be 18
years old and meet one of the following requirements: |
| |
•Student’s final Transcript shows
that student has met the minimum credit requirements for graduation
and has either taken no standardized tests or student’s
test scores are below those required to receive a regular Family
Christian Academy High School Diploma (#1, above). |
| |
•Student is considered a Special Education
Student. |
| › Apprenticeship
High School Diploma |
| Student has successfully
completed the requirements for FCA’s Apprenticeship Program. |
| Making
application for graduation from FCA |
| ›Complete the
“Letter of Request for Student to Graduate” |
| ›Fill out and
include the Transcript Worksheet Form if student was Home Educated |
| ›Send Letter
& Form to FCA. FCA will evaluate the Worksheet for accuracy.
Please fill out the form carefully. |
| ›The cost of
the first high school diploma is included in your enrollment
fee. If we must return your Transcript Worksheet Form for any
reason, a $15.00 reevaluation fee will be charged. |
| ›In order to
issue your student’s diploma, student’s file must
contain the following: |
| |
•All required courses and
credits. |
| |
•All required documentation
such as birth certificate, immunization records, 9th-12th grade
Progress & Attendance reports, 9th-12th grade Curriculum
lists, and all achievement tests taken, including ACT &
SAT for college. |
| ›Allow 2-3 weeks
for processing diploma requests. |
| ›Diplomas are
issued December 15th, January 30th, or June 15th and July 30th.
All are printed by computer in bulk, so requests for diplomas
at other times will incur a cost of $15.00. |
| Hardships
Regarding Violations |
›When compliance
with a school requirement would result in a hardship to the
parent(s) or student(s), it is the responsibility of the family
to notify the school of the hardship prior to the violation
in order to work out a solution or an extension. Such
violations include (but are not limited to) failure to turn
in semi-annual reports, delinquent payments, excessive absences,
and un-Christian conduct. |
| Legal
Issues |
| ›FCA is registered
with the State of Tennessee as a Category IV School, as outlined
in Tennessee Law § 49-50-801. |
| ›FCA is also
a charter member of the Tennessee Association of Church Related
Schools (TACRS). |
| ›FCA is also
recognized by the Educational Research Bureau in Princeton,
New Jersey, S.A.T., A.C.T., and Educational Services. FCA is
also a member of the Home School Legal Defense Association. |
| ›Read “Family
Christian Academy and the Homeschool Law” .This information
is also covered extensively during FCA’s Orientation Seminar. |
| ›Because of
conflicting (and changing) public opinion regarding homeschooling,
the inconsistency of how public officials define the homeschooling
law, and the fact that some of our programs have not been challenged
in the courts, it is not possible for FCA to guarantee that
families enrolled in our programs will never be scrutinized
by authorities. |
| ›FCA wants each
member to be aware of their legal liability. |
| ›FCA strongly
recommends that each home educating family know their state
homeschooling law and consider joining Home School Legal Defense
Association (www.hslda.org). |
HomeSchool
Legal Defense Association Discount No, 294057 |
| Membership
Benefits |
| ›Becomes effective
upon acceptance of enrollment and are in effect so long as accounts
are current, records are up-to-date, and no disciplinary action
has been taken against parents or students. |
| ›All benefits
expire at the close of the school year (June 30th). |
| Office
Hours |
| ›When calling
FCA for any reason, it is imperative that you have your Family
ID number available (located on the teacher card), in order
for FCA to offer phone support. |
| ›Our Records
Department is open Monday through Friday, 10 AM—5 PM.
Our general offices are closed most holidays and from December
25th through January 2nd. |
| Records |
| ›FCA student
records are kept in the Madison, Tennessee office. |
| ›All records
are kept confidential and will only be released upon receiving
a written, verified request from the parent or legal guardian. |
| ›If a parent
would like to review a student’s records, he or she should
call our Madison office to set up an appointment. |
| ›FCA will request
the student’s previous school send all student records
to FCA. It takes approximately 4 to 6 weeks to receive all records
from a student’s previous school. |
| ›Copies of student’s
complete file are available for $15.00. |
| ›All questions
should be directed to the Records Office in Madison, Tennessee
except for families who enrolled online. Families who enroll
online must email all records questions to our webmaster as
this is a separate department from the Academy. |
| Requests
for Information |
| ›For your protection,
all requests, of any nature, must be in writing (emails
for web enrollees). |
| ›The request
will become part of the student’s file. FCA does not mail
responses outside the U.S. (with the exception
of email responses). |
| Requests
for Transcripts |
| ›Upon written
request, transcripts are provided for students in grades 9-12. |
| ›We send parent(s)
or guardian(s) two certified copies: one for college application
and one for parents. |
| ›Transcript
Request Form |
| Semi-Annual
Reports |
›Each home educating
family must submit a semiannual report summarizing the work
of each student on a subject-by-subject basis. The report must
contain written documentation of the days being “schooled”,
days absent with a cumulative
total of days “schooled” to date. The report must
be submitted by January 15th & July 15th or it will not
be posted until the next period. Student reporting must be kept
up-to-date. Use Semi-Annual form for your convenience. |
| ›A late fee
will be assessed to families submitting reports after the deadline. |
| Teacher
& Student Cards |
| ›Upon acceptance
into FCA, members will receive teacher and student cards. |
| ›Cards will
contain family & student ID numbers and achievement test
location. |
| ›FCA issues
one teacher card per family. Each additional card costs $10. |
| ›If your card(s)
are stolen or misplaced, replacements are $10 each. Use the
form on page xxxx to request cards. |
| Testing |
| Transferring
Out of FCA |
| ›Student records
will be sent directly to the new school. This process may take
up to 4 weeks (longer if student’s current file is incomplete,
all reports are not filed and posted and all fees have not been
paid in full). |
| ›For students
transferring out of FCA in mid-semester, semi-annual reports
must be turned in up to the day of transfer. |
| ›If we do not
have all progress and attendance reports on file, the new school
may challenge the student’s placement. |
