Policy of Nondiscrimination NCE welcomes students of any race, color, sexual orientation, religion, disability, gender expression, and national or ethnic origin, and does not discriminate in the administration of and admission to its educational programs. Registration A $10 non-refundable registration fee is due once per session. We do not offer trial classes. You are officially enrolled as soon as your payment is processed and you receive a confirmation email. We do not offer trial classes or prorate tuition. If a class you want is full, sign up for the waitlist! We will contact you by email or phone if a spot opens up, and no payment is collected until you officially enroll. Your confirmation email contains important class information like the class location, needed supplies, and when the class occurs—so be sure to check your email. Access All of our programs are open to everyone from all communities (not just Newton) so long as they meet the age, grade, or prerequisite courses. Grade requirements for kids’ programming are listed per program. When choosing summer camps, please use your child’s grade as of the fall following summer camp. Adult classes are open to students 16 years of age and older, except where noted online and in the catalog. We do occasionally make exceptions; call the NCE office to inquire. We do occasionally make exceptions; call the NCE office to inquire. Email/Text Communications NCE uses email as the primary means of communication to send details such as class reminders, cancellations, parking information, supplies, online class links, and teacher updates. If you do not receive an email from us, please check your spam and promotions folder and mark us as a safe sender. You also have the option to opt-in to receive SMS texts. We will only text important, last-minute communications such as weather cancellations or teacher absences and not for marketing purposes. No Class Dates & Alternate Schedules Classes will not be held during Newton Public Schools’ vacations or holidays. Some classes may have additional “no class” dates beyond the NPS calendar; these dates will be listed online with your course listing. Withdrawals & Transfers You may withdraw from an adult program three business days before the start date and from a school-year kids’ program seven business days before the printed start date to receive either a refund minus a $15 processing fee or a credit-on-account (no fee). We may be able to offer transfers between classes in the same term for a $15 processing fee, as long as the transfer is requested before the start of class. For language classes, we do not charge fees for transfers between levels within the first two class meetings. If you withdraw from a summer camp by June 1, we will issue a refund minus a $50 cancellation fee (per camp, per student). After June 1 we are not able to offer refunds. A transfer to another NCE summer class may be possible for a fee based on when you make your transfer request: $30 by noon on June 26 $45 after 12 PM June 26 if your camp hasn’t started $75 once the week of your child’s camp starts No credits or refunds will be given beyond these dates. We cannot offer separate makeup dates for individual schedule conflicts. We do not provide refunds for weather-related date changes. All refund and transfer requests should be emailed to nce-staff@newton.k12.ma.us. Requests sent after business hours will be based on the next business day. There are no partial refunds for student absences or late arrivals. Financial Assistance Financial assistance is available for everyone, regardless of age or residency; however, priority is given to Newton residents and NPS students. Applicants are asked to submit an application at least three weeks before the program start date. If you have questions, contact us at nce-scholarship@newton.k12.ma.us or click here. Accessibility & Student Support We are committed to an inclusive and accessible environment for all students. Individuals with disabilities or specials needs are encouraged to contact NCE to request reasonable accommodations to access and fully participate in our programs. Changes & Cancellations NCE reserves the right to change instructors, locations, times, and prices due to unforeseen circumstances and/or typographical errors and cancel under-enrolled classes. Any such changes would be communicated with enrolled students and updated online. Please double-check course listings online at newtoncommunityed.org before registering to confirm the class details and schedule. We do not offer refunds for date or instructor changes beyond our control, e.g., rescheduled class dates due to instructor illness or NPS closures (weather). Should circumstances necessitate, a limited number of sessions of your in-person class may be moved online. You will be notified of any such change, and no refunds will be offered for temporary format changes. If your class must be moved online permanently, you will be offered the option for a refund. Online Classes Your registration in an online class is just for you; please register individually if more than one person will be using your screen. We strongly recommend that you test your meeting platform in advance, as we cannot offer refunds for last-minute technical difficulties or late arrivals. The meeting link for an online class is emailed at least one business day before the class starts. Students are also asked to follow standard Zoom protocols. Photo/Video Permissions We may post photos and videos of students in NCE classes as well as student work in our digital and print materials. You can give or revoke consent in your student profile or when registering for a course. To preserve privacy, we do not allow students to take video or audio recordings of our classes (including recordings of online classes). Behavior Policy We want our students to be successful and safe in all of our classes. We ask our instructors to be clear with expectations and to deliver curriculum in an engaging way. We ask that students be respectful to their peers, instructors, class materials, and class space whether online or in-person. If a student is having difficulty engaging appropriately, we will work with them to support re-engagement and address any concerns. If challenges persist, we will collaborate to identify the best path forward and aim to reach a positive solution, which may include pausing or withdrawing from the program if necessary. Refunds are not given for withdrawal due to an inability to engage appropriately. We also ask all students to follow the NPS Technology and Online Acceptable Use Policy. Gift Certificates & Credit Gift certificates are available in any amount and can be used to redeem on-account credit to your account. Gift certificates and on-account credit do not expire. A gift certificate cannot be redeemed without the verification code. On-account credit is shared between members of the same family account. Contact us to purchase a gift certificate. If you have an NCE credit, it will automatically appear in your shopping cart and can be applied at checkout. The following policies apply only to our kid programs. Self-Dismissal Students in the third grade and up can self-dismiss from our classes. Students younger than third grade can be picked up by adults on the authorized pickup list or by a sibling who is in the third grade and above. Written permission from a parent/guardian is required and can be done through the registration process. Students 6th grade and above areassumed to self-dismiss unless the guardian specifies otherwise. Late Fees Please respect our staff and pick your child up on time. A fee of $25 will be charged for each late pickup. After two late pickups, you will be asked to have a conversation with our office staff, and action may be taken up to and including withdrawal of your child from the program with no refund. For summer camps and vacation week programs, a fee of $25 will be charged on the first late pickup. After that, your child will be enrolled in extended day, and you will be charged the difference. Snacks, Lunch, & Water Newton Community Education does not provide food or snacks for our kids’ programs. Families are responsible for providing enough snacks for the length of the child’s program. For full-day summer camps or vacation programs, students should come to camp with a refillable water bottle, multiple snacks for each half-day session, and lunch for full-day programs. Students will not have refrigerator or microwave access. You must let us know at registration if your child has an allergy requiring emergency medication. Parent Access, Policies, Records We recognize that parents may have questions about our policies and procedures. Parents also have the right to request copies of health care and discipline policies as well as procedures for filing grievances. For summer camp, parents may also request a copy of the camp’s written policies on staff background checks from the camp director and ask the Board of Health to confirm that background checks were completed at the camp. Please note, however, that parents are not authorized to review any staff person’s actual CORI or SORI report.
