MEMBERSHIP
Participation Requirements
Parent participation requirements consist of:
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Workdays: Each family assists teachers at school for 2-6 days each month (the exact number varies, depending on the number of days per week the child attends ANS, the number of families at ANS, and the number of school days there are that month). Workdays are a critically important part of ANS's educational philosophy and community, nurturing both parents and children alike.
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Snack: Provide snack 1-2 times each month. Each day, two ANS families coordinate to provide a balanced snack for our children.
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Parent Education: ANS offers a series of parenting classes throughout the year on a variety of topics, and all families are required to attend at least one class (or a similar outside activity) each year. New families are also required to attend "How We Talk Matters", our annual class focusing on welcoming, constructive, and respectful communication.
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Workshops: ANS hosts monthly workshops for cleaning and maintenance/improvement of our campus. Two-parent families are required to participate in four workshops each year; one-parent households need only participate in two.
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Fundraising: ANS holds a number of fundraising events each year, but participation is only mandatory for the Orange Sale, an annual sale of oranges and grapefruit that has sustained ANS since 1953. Families do have a fundraising goal that they are expected to meet, but they are also given contact information for longtime customers of the Orange Sale to help them on their way to that goal.
About Workdays
Parent workdays are a central underpinning of ANS's community, the primary means by which ANS brings together parents and teachers in respectful, child-centered education and parenting. The loving and carefully-designed environment of ANS offers parents opportunities to grow in their understanding of child development in general and of their own child in particular, while building community between parents, children, and teachers alike.
Things To Know About Workdays
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Workdays are from 8:30 AM-12:30 PM. Parents assist in welcoming children to participate in activities, assisting in transitions (e.g. washing hands before and after snack), participating in snack time, and cleaning up after snack and at the end of the day.
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Immediate family members of parents (i.e. aunts, uncles, and grandparents) are also welcome to participate in workdays.
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Workdays are assigned via monthly sign-up, sent out near the end of each month by the Participation Chair. The time the sign-up will go live is announced ahead of time; parents with tight schedules often set a reminder for themselves.
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Parents are welcome to trade days as needed after the sign-up period.
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Parents may also hire substitutes from among the other qualified parents and (in some years) experienced alumni parents, but hiring subs is limited to 1/3 of a family's workday participation over the course of the year. The current sub fee is $40.
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Parents of newly attending children are not required to work during their child's first few weeks of attending school. This allows children to complete the process of separating from their parents. Families are not expected to make up these days.
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Families expecting a new baby take parental leave, which exempts their family from six weeks of workdays. Families are not expected to make up these days.
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All workday adults are required by state law to have:
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Proof of negative tuberculosis test
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Proof of MMR vaccination or immunity
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Proof of TDAP vaccination or immunity
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Proof of flu shot or a completed flu shot waiver
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COVID-19 notice: In addition to the above, ANS requires that all workday parents be vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19. We also require that parents arrive at 8:15 AM to perform a rapid test on-site, or arrive at 8:30 AM with a rapid test performed that morning to show the directors.
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About the Orange Sale
Every year since 1953, ANS parents have banded together to run the Orange Sale, a local institution through which we sell over four tons of oranges and grapefruit each year. This fundraiser helps us raise approximately 35% of our annual operating budget, and is a wonderful way for our current families to connect with alumni, friends, and community supporters of ANS.
The Orange Sale takes place each January. Each family has a sales quota they are asked to meet, but families receive contact information for past customers of the sale to help them to that goal. Many returning customers are longtime and enthusiastic lovers of ANS and our wonderful fruit! After getting a good boost from these loyal customers, reaching out to friends, family, and local businesses helps families get all the way to their goal, which can be a combination of sales for delivery to customers, sales that will be donated to Foothill Unity Center (a food bank serving the San Gabriel Valley), and donations.
The first Saturday of February, an absolutely enormous amount of oranges and grapefruit are delivered to ANS, and families will drive through and pick up the fruit that they need to deliver to customers, with a goal of completing those deliveries as soon as possible over the course of the week. Several weeks later (in non-COVID years), we then have an absolutely fabulous party, celebrating our accomplishments and giving out prizes!