1. Educators and Assistants
  • “Director of Lifespan Education” (DLRE) has primary leadership and executive responsibility for the creation, implementation, integration, and oversight of religious education.
  • “RE Teacher” is a person aged 25 and up who is hired to assist the DLRE and teach Children’s RE at least once a month.
  • “Youth RE Assistants” are persons aged 14 and up who are hired to assist the RE Teacher or DLRE. Persons under age 18 must always be in the room with an adult and must not be left alone with children.
  • RE Teachers are screened by the Director of Lifespan Religious Education which includes a criminal background check.
  • Youth RE Assistants are screened and supervised by the Director of Lifespan Religious Education. An assistant age 18 or older will have a criminal background check.
  • It is recommended that RE is taught by the DLRE or RE Teacher. Parents, guardians, volunteers, and/or a Youth Assistant may assist the DLRE or RE Teacher, as long as they aren’t left alone with a group of children.
  • A group of children may be taught by two non-related or partnered adults over the age of 25 who have been background checked and are supervised by the DLRE or his/her designee.
  • Chaperone drivers for fieldtrips are screened by the Director of Lifespan Religious Education which includes a criminal background check.
  1. Program Times and Pick-up
  • All children/youth, age 4 and up, begin in the church sanctuary. After the Message For All Ages, the children/youth leave the sanctuary with the Religious Education (RE) Teacher and proceed to their respective classrooms.
  • Multigenerational services are all ages. Children 4 and over remain in the sanctuary.  Nursery is available for children 3 and under.
  • The RE Program runs approximately 15 minutes after the start of service to 15 minutes after the end of service. Parents/Guardians are invited to visit their child’s class at any time.
  • Parents/Guardians must sign-out children 5th grade and under from the RE classroom.
  • There is no supervision for children after they leave the RE classrooms. The expectation is that children and youth will not leave the building without expressed parental consent. Families are responsible for communicating these expectations.
  1. Registration and Attendance
  • All children and teens must have a registration form on file with the Director of Lifespan Religious Education.
  • All children and teens attending Sunday RE or a RE-sponsored event must have a responsible adult in attendance.
  • In a divorced parent or blended family situation, both parents can be informed of Religious Education schedules, events, and classes regardless of parent attendance at Olympia Brown UU Church. Parents are responsible for providing contact information to the Director of Lifelong Religious Education.
  1. Snacks
  • Snacks will be provided each Sunday. Snacks are not to be considered a meal.
  • Parents/Guardians are responsible for alerting the program to special allergies or dietary needs. There is a place on the registration form for this information. If information changes throughout the year, parents/guardians are to contact the DLRE. Families of children with special dietary conditions should bring their own snack or communicate easy to purchase alternatives to the DLRE. The DLRE may ask the family to supply the snacks if the dietary needs are complicated.
  1. Health and Safety
  • If an incident results in an injury, the DLRE or RE Teacher will issue a Child Injury Report. One copy of the report goes to the parent of the injured child, and one copy remains on file in the church office.
  • Children who manifest a fever or other signs of possible infectious disease should not attend RE classes or events. If the DLRE or RE Teacher sees signs of illness, the parent/guardian will be notified and asked to remove the child from RE.
  • If a child comes down with a communicable disease (i.e., ringworm) shortly after attending RE, a parent/guardian must notify the Minister or Director of Lifespan Religious
  • To keep each other healthy we recommend that children participating in Religious Education are up to date on vaccinations.
  • Children and teens should be free from fever or vomiting for a period of 24 hours before participating in Religious Education.
  • In the event a child has a visible skin rash, pink eye, ring worm, or lice the child should refrain from participating in Religious Education or other OBUUC activities, until seen by a doctor.
  • If a child or a child’s household member is experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, a Positive Covid19 test or Covid exposure, all household members should refrain from attending Religious Education or other OBUUC activities.
  1. Behavioral Guidelines
  • We are a covenanted community with our children and youth agreeing to behave in ways which respect the feelings, opinions, and actions of others, as well as any property belonging to others and to the church community.
  • Teachers, assistants, or volunteers who see children or youth making choices which break our covenant shall discuss it with them. Alternate choices may be offered. If necessary, the child or youth may be separated from the group and brought to their parent/guardian. If this occurs the DLRE will be notified.
  • Teachers, assistants, or volunteers should bring to the attention of the DLRE any patterns of behavior on the part of a particular child or youth, that continually breaks covenant. The DLRE will intervene to address the behavior and call the child or youth back into covenant. If necessary, the DLRE will meet with a parent/guardian and/or minister about the child or youth.
  • We will make reasonable accommodation as appropriate to meet the needs of children and youth with special needs.
  • Teachers, assistants, and volunteers shall bring to the attention of the DLRE and the parent if the child/youth leaves or “disappears” from a class, meeting, event, or activity.
  1. Supervision
  • Groups of children and/or youth shall not be left unattended in a RE classroom, or meeting room.
  • If a child or youth leaves or “disappears” from a class, meeting, event or activity, a reasonable attempt will be made to find him/her. If a child in 8th grade or under has not been found within 10 minutes, parents will be contacted and, if necessary, the police will be called. If a youth in 9th grade or older has not been found within 30 minutes, parents/guardians will be notified.
  1. Guests
  • Guests (children and youth who are not registered) are welcome to visit. After three visits, the guest’s Parent/Guardian must complete and submit a registration form.
  • Guests are expected to conform to the same policies, procedures, and covenant as those who are registered for OBUUC programs.
  • Guests must register before attending overnights for children or youth.
  • Guests may only attend off-site church sponsored RE events with written consent from the parent/guardian, and permission from the DLRE.
  1. Field Trips
  • A Field Trip Permission Slip and form to obtain emergency medical treatment if needed must be signed by a parent/ guardian, for each child or youth to participate in an off-premises event. (Note: the registration form includes an “ongoing” permission slip for short walking trips away from church on Sundays.)
  • The destination, time of departure, and expected time of return shall be included on the permission slip and included in the church calendar.
  • A list of children/youth attending, drivers, and chaperones, along with vehicle descriptions, and license plate numbers, shall also be maintained by the DLRE.
  • Children 60 pounds and under shall be restrained in age-appropriate car/booster seats. All passengers and drivers must wear seat belts. If the front passenger seat is equipped with an automatic air bag, young children shall not be seated there. (To be safe, front seat passengers need to be tall enough to see over the dashboard, or approximately 4 to 41/2 feet tall, depending on the vehicle.)
  • Drivers must be at least 25 years old with a confirmed valid driver’s license and record clear of violations.
  • Each driver must show proof of license, registration, and insurance coverage upon request.
  • Drivers must require that seat belts be used at all times and the number of passengers must not exceed the number of seatbelts.
  • Recommended practices call for two adults in every vehicle. At minimum there must be two adults when the group arrives at the destination.
  • An adult should never be alone in the car with a youth who is not their child.
  1. Fire Emergency and Drills
  • In the event of a fire or fire alarm, the DLRE or RE Teacher will lead children and youth out of the building, taking the Sign-In Sheet with them. They shall ensure that all children are out of the building. Teachers, children, and youth shall gather in the designated meeting place outside. The DLRE or his/her designee shall check in with all teachers and caregivers prior to a return to the classroom or, in the event of a serious fire, at a designated safe location.

 

  1. Youth Group Policies and Procedures

The following criteria are for middle school and high school youth registered in RE.

A parental consent form is needed for a RE church sponsored event held outside of regular church hours. No youth may participate in any event unless a RE registration form and parental permission slip is on file with the DLRE.

A field trip permission slip is needed for every church sponsored youth event away from the church. The RE registration form has an ongoing “open” permission slip for short walking trips away from church on Sunday mornings.

All RE church-sponsored events must have adult chaperones in attendance at all times. A chaperone is an adult who is over age 25 and serves in the role of chaperone. The ratio shall be one adult to every 10 youth, with a minimum of two adults. Any social event occurring off-premises with church youth in attendance that does not have these designated chaperones is not a church-sponsored event. Parents are responsible for their Youth in these situations.

Rules for all youth overnights include the following:

  • All youth will stay in the church building during an overnight event. There will be no leaving or entering the building without permission.
  • All youth will respect the property of others and the church.
  • Youth will not engage in the use of weapons, drugs, alcohol or tobacco, nor bring these things, nor paraphernalia related to these things, onto church grounds.
  • Youth will not engage in sexual activity on church grounds.  There is a line between affection and sexualized behavior. Affection: Okay. Sexualized: Not okay. Neither non-consensual nor consensual activity is appropriate in a church setting.
  • All youth will help clean up the church so it will be left as it was prior to use.
  • All youth will follow all reasonable requests of chaperones.
  • All youth will be respectful of one another.
  • Quiet time and sleep curfews in specific rooms are established at each of the overnight events by the chaperones.
  • If a youth attending RE church-sponsored or UUA events (such as General Assembly) does not follow the accepted covenant, parents/guardians will be contacted, and the youth will be removed/sent home if necessary. If the event is on the church premises, the parents/guardians will be contacted and may be requested to pick up the youth from the event. A group may be formed at each event (size to be decided at event) of adults and youth who will help decide consequences.

Any youth not registered in the OBUUC RE program are considered “guests” and are expected to conform to the same “Group Covenant” as church youth. Guests are not permitted to attend youth overnights unless prior arrangement has been made with the DLRE.

If any youth leaves or disappears from any event, a reasonable effort will be made to find the youth. If he/she is not found within 30 minutes, parents will be notified. If necessary, police will be contacted.

It is recommended that adults over the age of 21 provide transportation for youth to church-sponsored events, as well as to events at other churches, youth conferences, and district events. Anyone of legal age may drive youth, however, written parental permission is necessary for a youth to ride to/from a church-sponsored event with any driver under the age of 21.

Youth group gatherings provide an opportunity for the sharing of experience, thoughts, and concerns. For that reason, information shared in this forum should be considered confidential. Under most circumstances, such information will not be shared with parents. However, if information pertaining to mandatory reporting of suspected abuse is disclosed, such information will be reported. If a youth discloses behavior or intent that constitutes a risk of significant harm to him/herself or others, this information will be shared with parents/guardians or the appropriate authorities.

Youth and youth advisors choosing video/movies for the group to watch should keep in mind the following criteria:

  • Choose movies that are PG-13 or under, that support Unitarian Universalist ideals and principles.
  • Movies rated R may be shown to only to youth in 9-12th grade with permission from a parent or guardian (not middle school or younger). These movies may only be shown if they deal with a social justice issue that can be discussed by the group and if they do not contain extreme violence or overt, crude or violent sexual content. No movies that contain blood, gore, or violent action may be shown.
  • The DLRE should approve all movie choices requested by the youth.

 

  1. Social Media Policies
  • (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc.) as well as emails, phone calls, video chats, text messages, webinars, and any other communications that do not happen in person: Groups and witnesses – It is always better to have multiple people (particularly multiple adults) present for virtual communications, to preserve a “group-appropriate” standard and to provide for corroboration should future questions arise. Examples are closed Facebook groups, webinars, video chats or Google+ hangouts with three or more people. Documentation – Written evidence or a recording of a communication offers proof should future questions arise. Examples of documented communications include email or recorded video chats, whereas one-on-one phone calls or automatically deleted text messages (such as SnapChat) should not be used. Parental permission – Parents or guardians of youth should be notified and consulted about communication expectations, such as Facebook, email or phone calls, and be given the opportunity to limit their youth’s participation if it is appropriate. Parents and guardians should also know who their youth is talking to or with and have the opportunity to meet these people (virtually or in person).