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We are a dedicated group of families who co-labor to provide a safe place for home-school families to learn, grow and make new friends. Our co-op can only be successful when each family makes a significant contribution of time, energy, and skills. For this reason, we have specific expectations regarding families’ commitments. This includes teaching/aiding, subbing, and cleaning. Beyond specific job requirements, we need all of our families to come together as a community to create a supportive environment for all.

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No, we are not a school.  We provide supplemental classes for homeschool families.  Although we offer both academic and elective classes, they are not meant to be a complete curriculum.High school families can pick from an array of classes that can be accredited toward their high schoolers transcript if they choose.

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A homeschool co-op provides parents and students with friendship, a support system, social activities and educational opportunities.  Some families come mainly for academic classes while others come mostly for electives.  For various reasons a homeschool co-op is not always the best fit for everyone.  If you find Learning Tree is not the best fit for your family you may want to check into one of these other Cincinnati area co-ops.

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We are fortunate that Cincinnati has a strong homeschooling community and many wonderful support systems.  We strongly encourage you to check out Christian Home Educators of Cincinnati (CHEC).  CHEC offers a wide range of support, encouragement, and activities to the Christian home-educating community in the Cincinnati area, benefiting both experienced home educators as well as those just beginning to investigate home education as a viable option for their family.  They hold monthly meetings, field trips/ outings, social events, and an annual home education

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We are not a drop-off program, but on occasion can make an exception for some high school classes. We are a co-op, which means we co-labor with each other and God to achieve creative excellence by serving each other through our strengths.  We require all members to serve as part of the co-op. A drop-off family is required to be on a cleaning rotation (typically somewhere between 5-7 consecutive weeks) or pay a cleaning fee of $10/wk with a $60 cap.

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Our teachers agree to present materials in accordance with a Christian worldview and in accordance with the statement of faith. Many of our classes incorporate prayer, scripture, and Christian theology in their curriculum.

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Our classes are intended for Kindergarten through 12th grade. We do provide preschool for younger siblings of K-12th grade students participating in our co-op.  Our preschool is not a complete program and is meant to be supplemental for younger siblings. We typically do not admit families until their oldest child is in Kindergarten (5yrs old).

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We provide nursery care for our teachers and our aids during the hours that they are working in classes. We do not provide nursery care beyond this.

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We meet 30 Mondays starting the first Monday after Labor Day and ending before Memorial Day.  We have about a month off from mid-December to mid-January and also the Monday after Easter.  We meet Mondays from 10:00am-2:35pm (3:00pm for science labs), with an optional hour at 9:00am for high school and middle school.

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The majority of our students take 4 one hour long classes from 10:00am-2:35pm (3:00pm for science labs), with a 30 minute lunch from 12:00 to 12:30. Some families enroll for an additional 5th hour. This is available primarily for high school and middle school students at 9:00am.

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An adult representative from each family is required to work at co-op as part of their family membership. We require 2 hours of teaching or aiding for families who have a child enrolled in 3-4 hours,  3 hours of teaching or aiding for a child enrolled in 5 hours, and 1 hour of teaching or aiding if a child is enrolled 1-2 hours. The adult must remain on the premises at all times. All families are also required to help with one 5-7 week cleanup rotation after co-op each school year.  Additionally, each parent is required to be on call during their free hours for our sub rotation for several weeks each semester.

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We do sometimes still run with a waiting list, but it is typically not long.  New members are admitted when space becomes available.  We do also take into consideration the prospective member’s willingness to teach and help in areas of co-op need, and ages of children and how much space we have in those age groups. We typically do not admit families until their oldest child is in Kindergarten (5yrs old). We also take into consideration Learning Tree member referrals, returning Learning Tree members, and family affiliation with the Vineyard. For example, we may have room for a high schooler, but not a preschooler.  So the family with only a freshman, whose parent is willing to teach, may be admitted before the family with younger children, even though the family with younger children completed an application first.

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Curricula that is used varies and is up to the teacher. With the exceptions of high school math (McDougall Littell), and most high school sciences (Apologia), we do not use one specific curriculum.  The same goes for our families at home.  We have a variety of goals, teaching and learning styles, and curriculum.

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Yes and No. We offer a variety of classes in social studies, language arts, science, math, fine arts, and PE each year. The subject of classes do change year to year depending on the needs/interests of the co-op and the availability of teachers.  However, for our high school, we try to offer many of the same needed academic classes yearly, or have them on a rotating schedule. Check out our schedule to see this year’s class offerings.

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Our co-op can only be successful in offering classes when everyone is involved.  Therefore, we encourage people to teach.  We usually accept teachers into our co-op before accepting non-teachers.  We do, however, understand that some years individuals are not able to teach and may need a year or two off until they are ready to teach. Teachers agree to present materials in accordance with a Christian worldview and our Statement of Faith.

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Every family registering is required to pay a $150 non-refundable Annual Family Membership Fee. Yearly tuition is $140 per student (3 or more hours of classes). Nursery is provided free of charge while you are working in a classroom. Families pay for a maximum of 3 children. Teachers and leaders receive one child’s tuition free. Co-teachers receive half a child’s tuition free. Some classes (including high school science, preschool, art, handcrafts) may charge an additional fee.  High school students pay an additional $120 charge per student per year.

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Yes, we require every member to get a background check. These cost $30 and is good for around 7 years.

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The $150 non-refundable Annual Family Membership Fee and for new members a $30 background check fee is paid before registration. After registration, tuition invoices are sent out. We have several payment options with the most common plan being to pay a minimum of 1/4 of your balance by the end of May, 1/4 in August, 1/4 September and then the final payment by the end of October. Once co-op begins, tuition is non-refundable and you will be responsible for full year tuition even if your family drops from co-op.

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We are located in the Children’s Ministry area of Vineyard Community Church in Tri-County in the Cincinnati area.

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Learning Tree is an all volunteer community.  We have a leadership team that is passionate about homeschooling and making Learning Tree a success. We are a non-profit organization who has a Board of Directors that oversees major policies and decisions.

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No. Learning Tree is not affiliated with VCC, although we are grateful for their support and use of their building.  Some of our families do attend VCC, but the vast majority do not.

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We hold occasional Open Houses in the late winter and early spring.  During this hour you will be able to learn more about us, take a tour of the facility, have your questions answered, and learn about our new application process.  By contacting us we can notify you of our upcoming Open Houses.

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First, we highly encourage interested families to come to an Open House. At the end of the Open House, we provide visitors with the next steps on how to proceed with the application process. If you inquire about joining when Open Houses aren’t an option, we ask that you reach out to the co-directors at [email protected]