Parent Information & Policies

• Students will grow academically through working with their academic coach
• By way of intentional collaboration with local schools, we seek to build strong learners in the early years of their education, support their right to quality education and promote equal access to the tools they need to be successful
• Students will grow socially through interaction with their peers, working in pairs or teams to use observation and problem-solving skills
• Through participation in recreation and enrichment activities, students will develop and improve their fine motor skills

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE

ARRIVAL

Prior to Arrival at Step Up:

1. Please take note of the drive up drop-off and pick-up map.
2. Read the confirmation email to learn which building your student will be in.
3. Check campus and parking maps to determine the best location for parking. It’s a busy time, try to arrive early. 
4. Take note of Step Up policies.

Parent/Guardian Drop Off:

1. Please take note of the drive up drop-off and pick-up map.
2. Drive Up: You can drive to the correct area and drop off your student with our staff who will escort them to the correct building or area.
   Walk Up: You can walk your student to Step Up after parking. Summer Step Up is in the Pine Grove behind Graves Hall. Academic year Step Up is in Vanderwerf.

Step Up Transportation (Bus):

1. A Hope College Bus will pick up your student right after school and bring them to Step Up.
2. Remind your child to get on the right bus after school. Our vehicles say Hope College. 

Departure

Parent/Guardian Pick Up:

1. Please do not arrive late to pick up your student(s). 
2. Please pull up to Graves Hall, 263 College Ave, Holland, MI 49423
3. Please pull up to the curb, next to the Hope Arch, so that your student can safely enter your vehicle. 
4. If the student must cross the street, please get out of your vehicle and cross the street to pick them up.

Step Up Bus Transportation:

1. We require that a responsible adult be present at the drop-off location at the time listed for your school in the table below.
2. A Step Up rider as well as the vehicle and driver will remain with students until parents/guardians pick them up.
3. If the adult picking up the student is not there at the time of drop off, Step Up staff will begin calling parents/guardians within minutes of the established drop off time.
4. If we are unable to reach the parents/guardians, Step Up staff will contact the emergency contacts.
5. Step Up will not drive students to other locations to meet parents/guardians or drop them off at home.
6. If we are able to reach a parent, guardian or emergency contact, Step Up staff will remain with the student no longer than 10 minutes after contact with an adult is made.
7. Students will lose riding privileges after one (1) late pick-up per semester (two total a year).
8. If Step Up is unable to reach a parent, guardian or emergency contact, the student(s) will be taken back to Hope College at Campus Safety and parents will be notified. Parents/guardians may pick up their student(s) at Campus Safety (178 E. 11th St, Holland). Step Up’s Program Coordinator will be contacted and will return to Campus Safety to be with the child until an adult arrives to pick them up.
9. If after multiple attempts Step Up is unable to reach a parent, guardian or emergency contact to pick up the child, Step Up staff will call 911.
10. After such an incident, Step Up staff will determine if a student is dismissed from the program on a case-to-case basis. 

WHAT TO BRING AND NOT BRING TO Step Up(Personal Property Policy)

• Medications prescribed by a licensed doctor (insulin, epi pen, etc.) for students that have special health needs (e.g., diabetes, seizure disorder, severe allergies) are allowed at Step Up after completion of health form and informing the Step Up administrative staff. The medications must be able to be administered by the student (or parent/caregiver) and be kept with the student at all times.
• Alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, nicotine, marijuana, electronic cigarettes and/or vape are not allowed on the campus of Hope College or at Step Up.
• Personal mobile phones are allowed, when necessary, at Step Up, but we can not guarantee their safety, and we respectfully request they are set to silent mode for the duration of Step Up.
• Please leave personal computers/laptops/tablets home unless requested for use for Step Up purposes. We can not guarantee their safety.
• Animals/pets are not allowed on campus without the express written consent of the Animal Care and Use Committee.
• Weapons of any kind are not allowed at any time during the youth program.

PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY AND SPECIAL NEEDS

PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY
Step Up is for students in middle school (6th–8th grades). Please contact our office if you have any eligibility questions: stepup@hope.edu

SPECIAL NEEDS
Step Up does not discriminate on the basis of disability and will provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. However, Step Up cannot guarantee that all requested accommodations will be reasonable and granted. For more information, please feel free to contact the Step Up office at 616.395.6876 or by email at stepup@hope.edu. 

FOOD DURING STEP UP

SNACK

• Step Up students will have a break for snacks in the middle of the session.
• Step Up will provide the snack for free to all students.
• Please no peanuts/peanut oil/tree nuts from home! We frequently have students with allergic reactions to these products. Some are life-threatening.

INCIDENTS, HEALTH, AND MEDICATIONS

INCIDENTS

Incidents fall into four categories: near misses, illness, incident resulting in injury, and behavior incidents.

• Near Misses: You will be notified of any near misses of accidents by a staff member at pick up time.
• Incident Resulting in Injury: Sometimes students have an accident that results in an injury. In this instance, we will help your child wash and dress the wound and fill out an incident report. A staff member will notify you of the incident and you may request a copy of the report at the Step Up office if desired.
• Illness: Any illness or accident that renders a child unable to continue with Step Up will be documented and you will be called at the emergency number provided to pick up your student. We will provide you with a copy of the incident report if requested. 

HEALTH

Healthcare Policies, Procedures and Limitations

Scope and Limit: Step Up staff and administrators are not qualified to provide healthcare to students beyond the scope of general first aid, for example, cleaning a wound and applying a bandage. Any incident beyond a scrape or cut may require staff to contact a parent/guardian and Campus Safety. Campus Safety will assess the incident and determine whether emergency personnel (local EMS) are required. Step Up staff and administrators are trained in general first aid and CPR including the use of AED through Safe Colleges’ online trainings. Step Up staff and administrators are not qualified to give medications to students. It is the parent’s/guardian’s responsibility to ensure the students have the medications necessary to participate in Step Up activities. 

EMERGENCIES: In the case that a student cannot breathe or loses consciousness, CPR will be administered and/or AED used until emergency personnel arrive. In the case of all emergencies, call 911 first and then Campus Safety. Notify the Step Up office, where someone will call the parent/guardian.

1. Healthcare Administrator: Step Up does not have a designated healthcare administrator or provider. In the case of incident or illness, parents are expected to pick up their student and/or Campus Safety is enlisted, as is the policy of Hope College.
2. Responsibilities of Step Up Staff (healthcare and emergencies): Step Up staff are allowed to give general first aid to campers for scrapes that may happen during the course of Step Up. Staff are required to complete an incident form and notify administration of all illnesses/injuries. Step Up staff are not allowed to dispense medication to students. Step Up staff/administrators are encouraged to call Campus Safety for any and all incidents in which they are unsure what to do.
3. Guidelines for when to call for external resources: Step Up staff/administrators should call Campus Safety for help for any incident or illness that requires medical attention beyond the training of the staff/administrator. Students that require non-medical assistance (mental health) beyond the training of staff or administrators, will be taken to a quiet location until a parent/legal guardian can assist and possibly remove the student from Step Up for the remainder of the day.
4. Healthcare Treatments Allowed: Step Up staff and administrators are not qualified to provide healthcare to students beyond the scope of general first aid, for example, cleaning a wound and applying a bandage. Any incident beyond a scrape or cut may require staff to contact a parent/guardian and Campus Safety. Campus Safety will assess the incident and determine whether emergency personnel (local EMS) are required. Step Up staff and administrators are trained in general first aid and CPR including the use of AED through Safe Colleges’ online trainings.

Illness: If a student becomes too ill to continue with Step Up, we will call you at the number provided to us during registration and ask that the child be picked up. We will keep the student in the office until pick up. We will document the illness and you can request a copy at the Step Up office if required.

MEDICATIONS

1. Our staff is not qualified to administer any medications to your child.
2. If your minor child requires medication (i.e., allergy medication) during the Step Up, we require you or a designated adult, come to Step Up and administer the medication.
3. We are not equipped to store students’ medications on site.
4. Students with EpiPens or diabetic medications are allowed and required to have their medications with them at all times. We assume students will be able to self-administer such medication. Feel free to contact the Step Up office regarding any concerns about this matter.

Allergies

We run Step Up in campus buildings in which we can not completely control the environment, but we keep the classrooms and snack spaces clean. Please inform us of all allergies for your child so that we can watch out for exposure and be prepared. Forms are provided for you to alert us to any issues.