Parent and Student Covenant for Cornerstone Academy



Policy Handbook for Cornerstone Academy

A service offered through Heritage Builders Home Educators, Inc.

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Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,

a firm and tested stone.

It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.

Whoever believes need never be shaken.

Isaiah 28:16

Revised 5/7/12

This policy handbook is to ensure all students will be able to enjoy a safe, uplifting and academic environment while attending Cornerstone Academy. This policy handbook is for all parents and students enrolled in Heritage Builders Cornerstone Academy.

Cornerstone Academy is an extension of Heritage Builders with courses designed for high school students, grades 9-12. Although we welcome all students, most of the courses are designed for the student who aspires to post-high school education, whether it is a vocational, technical or academic school. The courses meet only once a week, but students are given assignments to be completed during the rest of the week as part of their course evaluation. There will be approximately 5-10 hours of academic work for each course per week outside of course meetings. This is an estimation of outside study, and will vary from student to student. To complete a course, the student must do both home course assignments which will be turned into the instructor and attend course meetings on a regular basis.

Parental Oversight: Parents are expected to be responsible for their children’s education and are expected to actively supervise them as necessary in all aspects of Cornerstone Academy courses, including deadline management and academic performance. In addition, parents are expected to be aware of and responsible for their children's behavior during course meeting times and in any correspondence with instructors or adult supervisors.

Mission Statement: Cornerstone Academy exists to help meet the needs of home educators by offering core high school courses led by qualified Christian instructors, promoting a spirit of excellence, from a Christian perspective consistent with a Biblical world view.

School Colors

Bronze and Blue

School Mascot

Bricklayer

Eligibility

Students whose families are members in good standing with Heritage Builders Home Educators, Inc. may be enrolled in Cornerstone Academy.  Registration and financial payment is made through Heritage Builders.  Courses at Cornerstone Academy are open only to 9th-12th grade, except for Algebra I which is open to 8th-12th grade.  8th grade students registering for Algebra I must be 13 years old by September 1 and will be required to pass a placement test.  All other students must be registered as 9th-12th graders and be 14 years old by September 1 when registering for courses.  Our registration process is an honor system which assumes a parent will not register a student for a course which he or she is not eligible.

8th graders enrolled in Algebra I at Cornerstone Academy

Eighth graders may not spend the day at Cornerstone Academy. They may arrive up to fifteen minutes prior to Algebra I and must be picked up within 15 minutes of completion of Algebra I. If an 8th grader enrolls in Algebra I they must be 13 by September 1 of the school year.

Arrival and Attendance

All students should arrive 5-10 minutes before their scheduled course meeting time in order to be ready to start on time. If you must miss a course meeting for a vacation or other commitments of which you have prior knowledge, you must contact the instructor before the course meeting for that week. Failure to inform the instructor(s) of your absence may result in receiving a zero for the assignment due the day you miss. If you miss because of illness or an emergency, please contact your instructor(s) or one of the Cornerstone Academy committee, and they will let the appropriate person(s) know. If you are ill, have an emergency or have an excused absence, you may turn in your assignment to the instructor when you return with no late points deducted but when you return you will be responsible for the assignments missed as well.

Students must be in their seats by the scheduled start time. If a student is late, the instructor may penalize the student’s grade per course policy. In emergencies, please contact one of the committee by phone.

Student Dress

All students should dress neatly and modestly according to the following guidelines:

• The length of shorts/skirts/dresses should be at least to the mid-thigh.

• Pants, skirts and shorts should not be sheer, too tight or have inappropriate holes.

• No halter-tops, crop tops, spaghetti straps, tube tops, low-cut shirts, tight, form fitting shirts, skirts or pants. No skin should show at the waist.

• Do not wear any clothing with degrading material, (logos, emblems, phrases, etc.)

• Boys will not wear pants that fall below the waistline and should not have inappropriate holes.

• Shirts should not be sleeveless, sheer, tight, short or low cut. Stretch, bend and lean to do a self-check; no midriff should be showing and no shape too obvious. 

• If you are unsure if an article of clothing is appropriate, please err on the side of caution!

If the student is dressed inappropriately a parent may be contacted to bring appropriate clothing so the student can change.

Student Conduct

Respect those in authority. Romans 13:1

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.

• Speak respectfully to instructors, adults and other students.

• Come to Cornerstone Academy with a spirit of cooperation.

• Do not back talk, disrupt the class, or disobey an instructor.

• No use of foul or offensive language, or language that is abusive toward others including harassment or disrespectful talk to those of the opposite sex.

• Do not cheat or copy other student’s work or use any answer keys to which you may have access

o For a first offense in cheating, the student will receive a zero on the assignment that is due on that day

o For a second cheating offense, the student will be expelled from Cornerstone Academy

• Do not gossip, lie, exclude, hurtfully tease others, or use mean-spirited remarks. Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Grading

Instructors will assign a percentage score for the course. They will provide parents with a mid-term report 9 weeks after the semester has begun, and a final percentage score for the semester within three weeks of the semester ending. Cornerstone Academy considers 60 percent or less as failing. The parents, however, will assign a letter grade according to their home school grading scale. Please be advised individual instructors may have a letter grade scale for their course. This will be included in his/her course policy. Parents are not required to use this letter grade assigned by the instructor but may use the percentage to assign their own letter grade for the student’s transcript.

Additional Information

The purpose of attending Cornerstone Academy is to promote learning. Therefore, no personal iPods, audio cassette/CD-players, boom boxes, or any other musical devices for recreational listening will be allowed in the course meetings, but may be used during study hall. Laptops may be used for course work while in study hall.

Cell phones must be turned off while in course meetings at Cornerstone Academy. You may return emergency calls during lunch or between course meetings, if necessary.

There will be a student sign in/sign out sheet. If you leave the building, you must leave the property. You may return to the property if you need to for another activity, such as another course meeting time, however, you must sign in and sign out. Cornerstone Academy is not a hangout for the students.

Come to Cornerstone Academy prepared. You are responsible for obtaining your textbooks before courses begin. You won’t have time to wait to order books after courses start. The student WILL fall behind.

No siblings (unless attending Cornerstone Academy) will be permitted to stay during courses. No non-student friends will be permitted on campus.

Fees

Student participation fee: $50.00 per student fee payable to HBHE (non-refundable)

Tuition

$136.00 for a 1-hour course per semester

$204.00 for a 1 ½ hour course per semester

*Some courses also require additional copy &/or lab fees.

Additional costs include text books and supplies such as binders, folders, paper, etc.

Students in 2-semester courses are automatically reregistered in the 2nd semester of that course by Cornerstone Academy. When a student registers for a two semester course, it is assumed the student will take the 2nd semester of that course.

Parent Volunteers and Visiting

All families are encouraged to volunteer on special lunch days. Parents are needed to help set up, serve and clean up lunch. Special lunch days are held several times throughout the year. Parents can bring younger siblings with them when the parent volunteers. Those younger siblings however, need to be quiet and respectful of the high school students in meetings.

Parents are strongly encouraged to visit any course meetings throughout the year. Instructors welcome parents. Younger siblings are not allowed to visit with a parent, however. Please make other arrangements for younger siblings during a visit.

Student Volunteers

Students in individual rooms will need to tear down after the last course meeting in the afternoon. All students are needed to help clean up the lunch room each week. Cornerstone Academy values its students and wants to make them a part. Their participation is needed to make the event work.

Field Trips

An instructor may schedule an off-campus field trip. The student will provide his/her own transportation. Neither Cornerstone Academy nor the instructor is responsible for transportation. Parents may organize carpooling; however, written permission is required for a student to ride with another student who is not a family member.

Field trips will only be scheduled during course meeting times or on a day other than Tuesday.

Disciplinary Procedures

Each adult at Cornerstone Academy should lovingly and directly speak to the students who are violating the following guidelines. If the student does not respond in a respectful manner or continues to disregard the guidelines, the adult will speak to the student’s parent and notify the Cornerstone Academy committee. The committee will keep a written record of any needed disciplinary action.

The following are just some examples of actions which may require disciplinary action:

1. Cheating

2. Use of profanity

3. Smoking, drinking or drug involvement on church property

4. Intentional vandalism of church property

5. Inappropriate dress

6. Disrespect toward instructors, students or other adults involved at the Academy

7. Physical fighting

8. Late arrival

Disciplinary action is based on Matthew 18:15-17 and will be as follows:

• Instructor or responsible adult will speak to the student.

• If behavior remains unsatisfactory, instructor or responsible adult will speak to the parents.

• If behavior continues to be unsatisfactory, the student and parents will meet with the Cornerstone Academy committee to determine the course of action.

If the behavior cannot be resolved, then the Cornerstone Academy committee will take the appropriate action. The committee reserves the right to expel any student who violates these guidelines or who commits any serious offense. All expulsion decisions will be made on an individual basis at the committee’s discretion. In the unfortunate event a student must be expelled, that student will not be allowed to return, nor will tuition refunds be given.

Withdrawal Policy

If for any reason you withdraw from any class, the instructor and the Cornerstone Academy committee must be informed in writing to the HBHE PO Box (address listed below).  E-mail is not an acceptable means to inform the instructor or the HBCA committee a student is withdrawing from course. Withdrawal may include

• Failure of 70 percent or lower in the class

• Moving out of the area, relocation

• Illness which results in not being able to attend course meetings

Address to send withdrawal notification:

Cornerstone Academy

P.O. Box 784

Brownsburg, Indiana 46112

No refunds will be issued for any courses after registration closes.  This policy is consistent with HBHE policy. Instructors count on the number of students that sign up for their courses and plan accordingly.   In light of this, please carefully consider your choices to ensure you do not have to pay for a course you don’t want to take.  Failure to pay for a course once registration is closed will result in not being allowed to participate in Cornerstone Academy that semester and possibly in the future.  Please ask ALL questions you may have regarding the course and its cost prior to registration.  Remember that when signing up for a two semester course you are required to pay for both semesters.

Instructors

Instructors have been chosen who are professionals and have knowledge in the subjects they teach. They should be treated with the respect due to someone who is in a position of leadership. This is based on Romans 13:1

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

Instructors are encouraged to develop and choose their own curriculum, as long as it follows the mission of Cornerstone Academy.

Instructors are encouraged to develop course meeting policy and Cornerstone Academy will support those instructors and the policy in their individual meeting rooms. If there is conflict with an instructor, we encourage each student to approach the instructor outside of course meetings and try to solve the conflict. If a satisfactory solution cannot be reached between instructor and student, then the parents should meet with the instructor and the student. The Cornerstone Academy committee will step in after the first two steps have been taken if a solution cannot be reached.

We encourage each family to follow the procedure listed above as stated in Matthew 18: 15-17

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

In the event an instructor is unable to fulfill his/her contract, Cornerstone Academy will find a qualified replacement.  The course will continue to be held with the replacement instructor, and the students will still be expected to attend course meetings for the school year.   No refund will be issued.

Responsibility Toward Property

As guests of our host building, the students and parents of Cornerstone Academy are to abide by these rules involving the host site. The purpose of these rules is twofold: Respect for the building which allows us to use its facilities and recognition that if we meet in a church, this is God’s house throughout the week and not just on Sundays.

1. There is to be NO smoking, alcohol or drug use in or on church premises.

2. Food and drink is restricted to the fellowship room and kitchen. This includes snacks and candy.

3. No running, jumping, throwing, chasing, screaming, yelling, etc. is permitted within the church building at any time. This is a study area, and because of the close proximity of the meeting rooms to the fellowship/study area, quiet voices need to be used at all times.

4. Please use furniture appropriately. Chairs are for sitting and tables are for books and paper.

5. Use common sense and good judgment when in the church and remember that you are a guest. Cornerstone Academy wishes to continue to use this facility. Everyone’s behavior matters.

6. Respect for restricted areas.

7. No “guests” of a student are permitted without prior permission.

In the event there is damage to the host building or its contents, cost of repairs will be made by the particular student who causes the damage, to the satisfaction of the host facility. Infractions of these rules will be dealt with by Cornerstone Academy and the host facility and may include the denial of the person(s) from use of this facility.

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