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Enrollment Policies
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Enrollment Policies
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St. John's Lutheran School is an agency maintained primarily for parents of St. John's Lutheran Church, who desire a Christian education for their children. Families who are not members of St. John’s congregation are welcome to enroll their children in our school after consulting with the principal. The registration fee must be paid by all families to officially enroll their child. This fee is non-refundable. It is expected that all pupils will participate in the religious instruction as it is taught.
All newly-enrolled children except those in Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten must make available a transfer and transcript from the school previously attended.
St. John’s Pre-Kindergarten is for children who are 4 years old before September 1 and children who are 5 years old and are not entering Kindergarten.
The Pre-Kindergarten follows the St. John’s School calendar for vacations throughout the year. Classes begin after Labor Day and conclude before Memorial Day.
Children entering Kindergarten must have attained the age of five on or before September 1st. A copy of the child’s birth certificate, pre-school screening, and immunization records is required. Those children entering grade one must have attained the age of six on or before September 1st. Early enrollment for Kindergarten is strongly discouraged. It has been our experience that while a few children are ready academically, they are not socially nor emotionally ready for the Kindergarten program at an earlier age. Only rare exceptions would be considered upon a case review by a qualified psychologist, the Board of Education, and faculty.
New students will be accepted only at the beginning of a school year, at the start of a new term, or when a family moves into the area. After the school year has begun, enrollment of any new students, other than congregation members, must be approved by the Board of Education. If application for enrollment is made within two weeks before school begins, students may be enrolled on a six week trial basis to enable the faculty to adequately evaluate the students ability to be successful at St. John’s Lutheran School. Parents who are members of St. John's Lutheran Church have the right to enroll their child at any time of the school year.
St. John's reserves the right to place a child in an appropriate grade after administering tests and conducting interviews with a child and his/her parents.St. John’s Lutheran School is not fully equipped to handle students with moderate to severe special needs. Records, testing, consultations, and interviews will determine eligibility for enrollment. Complete testing is done through the personnel of the Osseo School District, and their recommendations will be followed. If a student qualifies for an individualized educational plan, the public school will implement the service required under this legal document. A child may be enrolled at St. John's and still qualify for special services through the Osseo School District. Students who qualify for special services can spend part of the school day at St. John's and then be transferred to an Osseo school for special services. St. John’s Lutheran School also has available a special education teacher through Lutheran Special Education Ministries to provide
support and services to both students and teachers during the school day. A child not qualifying for services through the public school can receive support through St. John’s special education service.
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Extended School Program
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St. John’s offers an extended school program for families who need supervision for their child beyond the normal school hours. All children must be registered with the program to be admitted. Students staying after 2:30 will be required to register and will be admitted into the program and charged the normal hourly fee plus a “drop in fee” of $10. The program will be available from 2:10 PM to 6 PM contingent on the number of students enrolled and the availability of workers.
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Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy Regarding Students
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St. John's Lutheran School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other school administered programs.
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Health Record Requirement
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Each student enrolled at St. John’s Lutheran School must have up-to-date immunization and health records on file by the first day of school.
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Financial Support
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St. John's Lutheran School is owned, operated, and maintained by St. John's Lutheran Church. The operation of the school depends mainly upon contributions of members of the congregation for its support. Per pupil cost per year is in excess of $4,100; therefore, sacrificial giving -- as the Lord has blessed a family -- is the guideline followed by our school families. While it is the policy of St. John’s Lutheran School that no member shall be denied enrollment at our school, tuition is charged at our school and the Board of Education expects everyone to meet their tuition obligation. If one’s financial situation is such that these guidelines cannot be met on a timely basis, members should contact a Board of Education member for a financial arrangement that will be agreeable. However, no member child shall be denied admission to St. John's Lutheran School for the inability to pay the tuition.
Tuition payments from all families supplement this support. To keep pace with the per pupil cost, tuition fees are recommended by the Board of Education to the Voter's Assembly for approval each year.
A per pupil registration fee is charged to provide for curricular and non-curricular activities, programs, field trips, and supplies which enrich the educational program.
The registration fee is due at the time of enrollment or re-enrollment and is non-refundable. Tuition payments are to be made either in full by September 1st or through the designated school tuition payment plan.
School families are required to pay their tuition on a timely basis. If a family falls behind in their payments the following steps will be taken by the Board of Education:
The Board of Education has contracted with SMART Tuition Management Services to handle and administrate tuition collection. SMART offers a simplified approach to tuition collection which reduces delinquencies, stabilizes cash flow, and decreases administrative workload, while providing families with a more organized tuition payment process. With SMART, families pay tuition in a manner similar to paying mortgage or car payments-by using a coupon book or by automatic deduction.
Under the SMART tuition payment program, tuition for K-8 can be paid in one of the following methods:
a) 4% discount if tuition is paid in full on or before September 1 (i.e. Back-To-School Night).
b) 2% discount if one-half of tuition is paid on or before September 1 (Back-To-School Night) and the second half is paid in January.
c) Four quarterly payments, the first payment to be made on or before September 1 (Back-To-School Night), and three payments to be made in November, February, and April.
d) Ten monthly payments, the first payment to be made prior to September 1 (Back-To-School Night) and nine payments to be made September through May.
Families have the option to pay monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually, on the 10th, 20th, or 30th of the month when payments are due. Tuition amounts collected by SMART (net of the $38 per family administrative fee) are transferred into the church’s main operating bank account three times per month.
Tuition from the previous year must be paid in full by all school families before enrollment is accepted for the current year, unless specifically approved by the Board of Education. (The school year runs July 1 to June 30).
School families are required to pay their tuition on a timely basis. A 10-day grace period is allowed before any individual payment is considered past due, after which a $10 late fee is assessed. If a family falls behind in their payments, the following steps will be taken:
a) 40 days past due (including the 10-day grace period): - SMART will send a letter to the family indicating the delinquency and urging payment.
b) 60 days past due (including the 10-day grace period) – SMART will send a second more urgent letter to the family requesting payment and indicating that further delinquency in payment may require direct review and further action by the Board of Education. The second letter also requests direct communication with the school if payments cannot be brought current.
c) 90 days past due – The family will be considered to have a delinquent payment history. All over 90-days-past-due accounts will be individually reviewed by the Board of Education to determine appropriate actions necessary to resolve the delinquency. School families with a delinquent payment history will be required to pay 1) any previous year tuition due, as stated above, 2) current year registration fees and 3) current years tuition in full, by Back-To-School Night to be enrolled in the current year of school. Church – School families must consult the Board of Education concerning their individual situation.
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Tuition Refund/Credit Policy
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Tuition Refund Policy. Due to the limits placed on class sizes and school fixed costs, voluntary or non-hardship withdrawals of students from St. John’s at any time after the beginning of the school year are not eligible for tuition refunds or credits. Any and all tuition paid prior to the student’s withdrawal is non-refundable. However, tuition refunds or credits may be granted in special or extenuating circumstances only, such as medical issues, family moves, and extreme special needs situations, with the express approval of the St. John’s Board of Education.
Parents of students who are withdrawn from St. John’s after the school year begins must make a formal request for tuition refund or credit before consideration of the request can occur, clearly stating the reasons why a tuition refund should be granted. The request should be made to the school Principal or to the Board of Education. The Board of Education will, at its next regularly scheduled Board meeting, consider and act on the refund or credit request on a case-by-case basis.
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Other Costs
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Children are expected to provide or purchase their own Bibles (NIV Version) in grades two through eight, and Luther's Small Catechism (1991 copyright) in grades six though eight. A St. John’s Lutheran School T-shirt or sweatshirt is required for grades 1-8 to be worn for field trips and athletic events when uniforms are not issued..
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Sport Fees
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St. John’s charges a sports fee for soccer and basketball to help offset the cost for tournament entry fees, officials, and in the case of basketball, facilities. The soccer sports fee is $10 per athlete and the basketball fee is $25 per athlete.
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