Policies
For the majority of our sites, the following policy applies. Please note that some sites have to abide by the policy of their school. Please check with your site coordinator.
- Registration
- Can I register my child mid-year?
- Tuition
- Late Payment
- Discounts
- Reimbursement Policy
- What happens if I am late to pick up my child?
- Class cancellations
- Trial Classes
- Visiting the Classroom
- Feedback
Registration
EFBA's school year runs from September to May-June (according to the sites). We do not offer half year registrations, only full year. Registrations open in June-July each year.
Once you register your child for the year, we will charge you a $200 first payment to save his/ her spot. The second payment is due October 1st, and the last payment is due February 1st.
The tuition will vary according to the school site and the class (see School Sites). A waiting list will be created as needed. We strongly encourage you to register your children in June or July in order to ensure space for them in the class.
Can I register my child mid-year?
We do not offer half year registrations, only full year.
However, if your family moves to the area in the middle of the year, and/or if your child has already taken French classes, it could be possible to register him/her in the middle of the year. Please check with the site coordinator of the school site you are interested in. Tuition payments will be pro-rated.
Tuition
Tuition fluctuates from one school to another depending on each site's structural cost. A first $200 payment will be charged to you as soon as you register your child for the year in order to save his/her spot. The second payment is due October 1st and the last payment is due February 1st.
Please see the list of our school sites to know the exact tuition of the class you are interested in.
Being a non-profit, we are aiming to price our classes as affordably as we can, without sacrificing quality or our financial sustainability.
Late payment
A late fee of $25 per week will be applied if your payment is late. Moreover, your child may not be allowed to participate in the class.
EFBA is a non profit organization. The site coordinators and the board members are volunteers who use their free time to help run this organization. However, we do have suppliers, teachers and teaching assistants to pay. Consequently, we ask that you do your best to make tuition payments on time.
If you are facing serious financial difficulties, please do communicate your situation to your site coordinator so we may discuss a solution.
Discounts
If you enroll multiple children from a single family, we will offer a 10% sibling discount to each child.
Parents who meet certain criteria and commit to volunteer in an EFBA class on a regular basis will be offered a discount of up to 50% off their child's tuition. This discount may not be combined with the sibling discount. Please contact your local site coordinator for more details.
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Reimbursement Policy
Refunds on tuition will be given up until the end of the 2nd week of class. If you wish to cancel registration during the first two weeks of class, we will pay you back the $200 first payment minus the price of the classes that your child already attended.
To cancel registration and be reimbursed during the two first weeks of class, you must make the request by email to your site coordinator.
From the third week of class, you will not be reimbursed the $200 first payment if you decide to cancel registration.
If you drop the classes in the middle of the year, the semester will not be reimbursed.
If you wish to make a free trial class, please see Trial Class.
If your child's class is canceled due to lack of enrollment or your child is denied a spot due to a full class, we will refund your $200 first payment.
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What happens if I am late to pick up my child?
Please plan on picking up your child on time. The teacher has the right to collect a late fee of $5 for each 5 minutes that you are late. A child will not be discharged to anyone other than a custodial parent without prior advance notice to the teacher.
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Class Cancellations
Classes may be canceled as early as September if enrollment is not sufficient, if no teacher is available, or if there is no available classroom. In this unlikely event, we will refund you your $200 first payment.
If a class needs to be canceled during the school year for exceptional reasons, we will reimburse you the remaining tuition.
Trial Classes
If you would like to observe or schedule a trial class for your child, please contact your site coordinator. For security and insurance purposes, you do need to register your child online before trying the class, but you do not have to pay the $200 first payment.
Please note that, by waiting after the trial to make the $200 first payment, you take the risk that there will be no spot left in the class.
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Visiting the Classroom
While we welcome parents into the classroom for short periods of observation at the beginning of the year, we ask for your understanding that EFBA classes are by necessity not set up for parent participation. We seek to create an immersion learning experience with only French language being spoken in the classroom. Please also be aware that your presence may be a distraction to the students, especially your own child, so you may not be able to see the typical behavior or teaching that would go on in a normal class.
If you would like to visit the classroom, we ask you to follow your school's standard process for school visitors, usually signing in at the office. Please also arrive early to the classroom in order to introduce yourself to the teacher before class starts. Please also be aware that the teacher will not be able to stop the class to answer your questions. You may contact your local site coordinator afterwards if you'd like to discuss the class you observed.
If you'd like to be present in your child's class on a regular basis, speak French with some degree of fluency and are able to commit to attending class for an entire year, we suggest that you contact your local site coordinator concerning the possibility of becoming a parent volunteer for the class. You must be present every week and commit for the entire year.
Feedback
If you have any feedback on our program, teachers or curriculum, please contact your site coordinator first. If you feel your concerns have not been sufficiently addressed, you may contact the EFBA Board at board@efba.us.
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