Our heart is to come alongside, connect, encourage, lift up and give a unified voice to homeschooling families.

We believe that God has equipped you with everything you need to educate your children at home.

Our mission is to help you build up a community of other Christian homeschoolers that will help you go the distance.

A cooperative, or "co-op", is a collaborative organization that is jointly staffed by all of our members.

At FCCP, we count on all of our members to contribute their time, energy and talents by helping implement our programs, events and activities.

The co-op has a Board of Directors who oversees the ministry and offers help and support where needed.

While we offer a tremendous amount of support to homeschooling families, we are not a support group in the traditional sense of the word.

The Friday School co-op program relies entirely on the active involvement of its members and cannot function without it. There are many different ways you can become involved!

Friday School is the main function of First Class Central Portland.

Co-op classes provide opportunities for fellowship and encouragement as well as academic and spiritual growth.

Our classes, which include Nursery through High School, are taught in two 8-10 week semesters each year.

One semester runs in the Fall, and the other in the Spring.

If you are homeschooling already, you have figured out something wonderful about your calling: You are a teacher!

Twice each year, you will have an opportunity to submit a class idea.

Parents who enroll their children in the co-op are NOT required to teach, but we are dependent on parents' willingness to teach in order to offer a variety of classes.

Our class day begins at 8:30am with chapel (mandatory to attend), and ends around 12:30pm after three blocks of classes.

Because our classes are taught primarily by co-op members, this list varies from semester to semester.

The parents involved in the co-op share their gifts and passions with enrolled children in a safe and structured environment.

See the last page of this handout for a sample of classes that past members of First Class co-ops around the country have enjoyed.

No, but they are required to stay on campus and will be assigned a ‘volunteer job' somewhere during class hours.

Of course, we strongly encourage parents to teach.

After all, it's what makes Friday School able to offer so much!

Because First Class Central Portland operates as an outreach ministry, anyone may attend, but only those willing to sign the Statement of Faith may teach.

See the Parent Handbook for a complete Statement of Faith, or you can visit Central Bible's website.

Background checks are also run on each participant in the co-op.

When dealing with issues that differ between denominations, students will be directed back to their parents for answers.

Examples would be details of baptism, speaking in tongues, etc.

First Class Central Portland is a ministry of Central Bible Church and operates under their safety policies.

Background checks are run on each participant in the co-op and accountability is insured through two adults being present in every class, especially with younger children.

Discipline issues are rare, and they are dealt with according to the Discipline Policy listed in the Parent and Student Handbook.

A hall monitor system is also employed.

Hall monitors have class schedules and help the children find their classes, as well as keep an eye on the bathrooms and facility for safety.

Yes. On occasion, a teacher may offer their services for a fee, but the co-op will remain mindful of keeping costs low for our participants.
We encourage parents to teach, and we believe this promotes unity and participation in the co-op.

Yes!

If the older children want to teach, it's because they love to do it.

Husbands teach classes too!

Yes. The main incentive to teachers is that they are able to register their children first (sort of a go to the head of the line pass) on registration day.

We are able to keep costs affordable partly because we do not pay parent teachers.

They are volunteers, just like the coordinators.

Our parents who volunteer to teach are very valuable to us.

One of the benefits is that they get to sign up for classes an hour before the rest of the co-op. Classes do tend to fill up quickly so it is advised that you arrive early.

We highly recommend that every student list three class choices per block of classes.

If the child's first choice is not available, they will be assigned their second choice and so on.

We try very hard to keep the costs low in First Class.
The main costs involved, are annual membership dues of $50 to First Class Central Portland, and semester class fees for Friday School.

The minimum class fee is $4 per class, but can be higher depending on the materials needed for any specific class.

An example might be a cooking class with a class fee of $15 because of the ingredients the teacher would need to purchase.

Dues allow First Class Central Portland to have a budget from which to operate.

Some of the costs involved in our operation are:
♦ Facility fees (hospitality and cleaning supplies, licenses)
♦ Special events (BBQ.s, special speaker fees, library resources)
♦ Supplies (paper, ink cartridges, postage, etc.)
♦ Scholarship funds for those who are unable to afford membership or class tuitions

Yes, for the entire year, August 1st through July 31st.

Members who join after January 1st, 2009 will receive their dues prorated through July.

First Class Central Portland is first and foremost a ministry to homeschooling families.

As such, we never want money to stand in the way of you taking part in this program.

If you are experiencing financial hardships, we ask that you contact the Treasurer or Chairman to apply for a scholarship.

The Board meets quarterly to pray, discuss budget, review how things are going and implement new ideas for the co-op.
We invite couples to be involved on the Board together.
We ask each board member to serve an interim term originally for 3-6 months, and then we re-evaluate for fit.
We want to avoid hurt feelings and burnout.

Board meetings are once a month during startup of the co-op, then quarterly thereafter.

Member applications are available to download here, or you may contact the Membership Coordinator directly.

Teacher applications are available to download here, or you may contact the Friday School Coordinator directly.

All contact information is listed on the contact sheet, in the parent handbook or on our website

You will find specific categories to help you know who to direct your questions/comments to.

We always want to hear new ideas and appreciate your input!