Family Handbook

Arete Upper School · For Parents

Arete Upper School Parent Orientation

Parents of students entering grades 6–10 should watch this video to understand Arete’s academic expectations, tutorial process, study methods, family responsibilities, and communication procedures.

For parents: This video explains shared Upper School expectations and does not replace the separate student orientation. Watch directly on YouTube.

1. Mission, Faith & Educational Partnership

Scale How School is a classical Christian tutorial for Latter-day Saint homeschool families. We seek rigorous learning in the light of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and aim to help students grow in faith, wisdom, intellectual discipline, humility, courage, gratitude, and charity.

Scale How School is not affiliated with or sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our teaching nevertheless supports the doctrine, ordinances, proclamations, and moral teachings of the Church.

2. Programs, Grade Placement & Readiness

• Course pages and syllabi state the intended grades, prerequisites, materials, schedule, and workload for each class.
• Arete is a grade-sequenced program. Students apply for the course designated for their current grade level.
• Upper School placement also considers academic readiness. A readiness assessment, teacher recommendation, or prior work sample may be required.
• Placement in a course intended for older students is not available by parent preference alone.
• Admission is selective, and returning enrollment is not automatic. Previous participation does not guarantee continued placement.
• Each Arete class is limited to seven students unless Scale How School announces otherwise in writing.
• All classes and program offerings are contingent upon teacher availability and sufficient family interest. A course listing, posted schedule, or application option does not guarantee that a class will run. Families will be notified if an offering must be changed or canceled.

Which requirements apply?

3. Application, Acceptance & Enrollment

1. A parent or legal guardian submits the current enrollment application.
2. Scale How School reviews grade placement, readiness, available seats, and the family’s ability to support the program.
3. An application is not an acceptance and does not reserve a seat.
4. Accepted families receive written confirmation and payment instructions. Payment is requested only after acceptance and seat confirmation.
5. Enrollment is not complete until the parent or guardian submits all required forms and acknowledges the Student Code of Conduct and Host-Home Agreement.

Parents must provide accurate emergency, health, behavioral, academic, and contact information. Material information that could affect safety, participation, or placement should be disclosed before the first class.

4. Tuition, Fees & Payment

Arete and Paideia tuition amounts awaiting final handbook confirmation

• Current tuition, registration fees, and any class-specific charges are confirmed in writing before an accepted family commits to a seat.
• Do not send payment with the initial application. Payment instructions are provided after acceptance.
• Accepted families may pay through the approved method stated in their acceptance materials, including Venmo when offered.
• Families are responsible for required textbooks, binders, commonplace journals, and other personal supplies listed on the applicable course page or syllabus.
• Payment deadlines, installment arrangements, nonrefundable amounts, and late fees are governed by the written terms provided for the current enrollment year.

For current cost information, contact rachel@scalehowschool.com.

5. Parent & Guardian Responsibilities

6. Attendance, Punctuality & Absences

Because classes meet only once each week, regular attendance and punctuality are essential. Families should notify the teacher as early as possible when a student will be absent or late.

• Students should arrive ready to begin at the scheduled time and be collected promptly when class ends.
• Absence does not remove responsibility for assigned reading, practice, notes, or other work unless the teacher gives an exception.
• Quizzes, laboratories, and final assessments may not ordinarily be completed at home. Any permitted make-up must be arranged with and supervised by the instructor.
• Repeated absence, tardiness, or early departure that prevents meaningful participation may affect continued enrollment.

If a student arrives and no class is present

1. The student must not set off alone, walk to a relative or friend’s home, or leave the tutorial neighborhood without direction from a parent or approved adult.
2. If the student has a phone, the student should call the parent or guardian immediately and wait at the designated safe location.
3. If the student does not have a phone, the student must go directly to one of the privately designated nearby host-family residences, knock, speak to the approved adult, explain that no class is present, and ask to use a phone or have the adult contact the parent.
4. Students must be willing to approach and speak to approved host-family adults when they need help. A student will never be penalized for seeking assistance from an approved adult.
5. The parent or guardian must collect the student promptly. Parents should make sure their student knows the approved host families and knows or carries the parent’s telephone number.

The names and addresses of approved nearby host families will be distributed privately to enrolled families and reviewed with students on the first day of class.

7. Preparation, Participation & Academic Integrity

• Complete assigned reading, RRC work, review, Anki practice, Moodle work, notebooking, or other preparation before class as directed.
• Bring all required materials and mark questions or areas of confusion before tutorial.
• Participate in narration, discussion, recitation, demonstrations, laboratories, and review with attention and good faith.
• Submit original work. Cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized answer sharing, falsified data, and use of AI or outside assistance in violation of an assignment are academic dishonesty.
• Ask before recording a class, photographing student work, or sharing teacher-created materials.
• Course-specific requirements in the current syllabus take precedence over general examples in this handbook.

Upper School Arete courses use Anki and Moodle as assigned, and parents are responsible for helping students establish access and reliable routines. Lower School courses may use Anki or other digital resources as assigned; Wayfarers does not use Moodle. Lux and Paideia digital requirements will be stated in their program materials.

8. Student Conduct & Rules of Decorum

Students are expected to help create a reverent and serious house of learning. They will:

• Address teachers and classmates respectfully and follow directions promptly.
• Listen without interrupting, wait to be recognized, and disagree without ridicule, hostility, or personal attack.
• Use clean, truthful, and charitable language. Bullying, harassment, threats, profanity, sexualized conduct, and demeaning speech are prohibited.
• Come prepared to work, participate fully, and persevere through appropriately challenging material.
• Keep hands, feet, objects, and unkind humor to themselves.
• Respect books, laboratory equipment, furniture, property, and the work of others.
• Follow all safety directions immediately and never handle equipment, chemicals, specimens, tools, or demonstrations without permission.

9. Host-Home Agreement

Many classes meet in private homes. The privilege of learning in a host residence requires exceptional care.

• Students may enter only at the designated time and use only the classroom, restroom, entry, and other areas specifically authorized by the host or teacher.
• Bedrooms, offices, storage spaces, yards, closets, refrigerators, cabinets, personal items, pets, and family belongings are off limits unless permission is given.
• Food and drink are allowed only as directed. Students must clean their area and take belongings and trash with them.
• Running, rough play, climbing on furniture, and careless use of the property are prohibited.
• Families must follow parking, drop-off, pickup, and neighborhood instructions and protect the privacy of the host-home address.
• Damage caused by a student should be reported immediately. The family may be responsible for repair or replacement.

10. Mobile Phones & Personal Electronics

• Parents must indicate during enrollment whether the student will bring a mobile phone to class.
• A student who brings a phone must place it in the designated phone basket at the beginning of class. The phone remains there until class ends.
• The only routine exception is teacher-approved use for a student presentation or class activity.
• Other personal electronics, earbuds, smart devices, games, and distracting items must remain put away unless specifically authorized.
• Scale How School and the host family are not responsible for loss, damage, or theft of personal devices.

11. Dress, Grooming & Presentation

The student dress standard is business casual, clean, modest, and suitable for a serious learning environment.

• Students should wear a collared button-up or polo shirt, preferably in a plain color without distracting writing or graphics.
• Modest shorts are allowed. Jeans, sweatpants, pajamas, clothing with holes, and excessively casual or distracting clothing are not allowed.
• Younger girls should wear shorts beneath dresses or skirts.
• Hair should be neat; hands, face, clothing, and general hygiene should be clean.
• Unnatural hair colors and facial piercings are not part of the tutorial dress standard. Visible tattoos should be covered when possible.
• Laboratory days may require closed-toe shoes, secured hair, protective eyewear, or other safety clothing regardless of the general dress policy.

12. Health, Illness, Laboratory & Emergency Safety

• Keep a student home when the student is contagious, has a fever, is vomiting, or is too unwell to participate safely and attentively.
• Parents must disclose allergies, medical needs, or restrictions relevant to class activities and provide any required emergency plan or medication instructions.
• Students must wear assigned protective equipment, follow written and verbal procedures, and immediately report spills, breakage, injury, or unsafe behavior.
• A teacher may remove a student from an activity or require pickup when safety, illness, or behavior makes continued participation inappropriate.
• In an emergency, Scale How School will contact the parent or guardian and may contact emergency services when reasonably necessary.

13. Communication, Schedule Changes & Concerns

• Families are responsible for staying current on official email, GroupMe announcements, course-page updates, Moodle notices when applicable, and messages in the designated family communication channel. Parents or drivers must check GroupMe before every drop-off, especially when a cancellation or schedule change has been announced.
• Weather, materials, class progress, instructor availability, or student needs may require schedule or lesson changes. Families will be notified through the usual communication channel.
• Questions about a class should ordinarily begin with the teacher. Policy, placement, payment, safety, or unresolved concerns should be directed to the Head of School.
• Concerns should be raised privately and respectfully. Families should not use students, public posts, or group chats to resolve confidential disputes.

14. Withdrawal Policy

• The email must identify the student, the course or program, and the requested effective withdrawal date.
• Verbal notice to a teacher, a text message, a group-chat message, or simply ceasing attendance does not constitute withdrawal.
• Withdrawal becomes effective when Scale How School receives the written email, unless the email specifies a later date.
• Any tuition, fee, credit, or refund question will be resolved according to the financial terms provided to the family for the enrollment year.
• All withdrawals are final unless Scale How School approves a new application and a seat remains available.

15. Correction, Probation, Suspension & Dismissal

Teachers will ordinarily begin with clear correction and redirection. When conduct, preparation, or attendance problems continue, Scale How School may contact the parent, require a conference, establish a written improvement plan, place the student on probation, suspend participation, or dismiss the student.

Serious misconduct—including conduct that threatens safety, involves harassment or dishonesty, deliberately damages property, or substantially disrupts the class—may result in immediate removal or dismissal. Repeated misconduct may also result in dismissal even when no single incident would otherwise require it.

Placement and continued enrollment decisions are made by the Head of School in consultation with the teacher and family as appropriate.

16. Handbook Acknowledgment & Revisions

Parents and students are expected to read this handbook together. Required enrollment acknowledgments, including the Student Code of Conduct and Host-Home Agreement, are part of the enrollment record.

Scale How School may revise this handbook when program needs, safety considerations, or operating practices change. Families will be notified of material revisions. Course syllabi and written acceptance terms may contain additional course-specific requirements.