HCECF - Homeschool Cooperative

Homeschool Cooperative Educating in Central Florida

HCECF membership

 

Click to join HCECF

HCECF's membership dues are $24.00 per FAMILY, per year. Our membership year runs from November 1st - October 31st. All HCECF memberships expire at the same time on October 31st.

Membership fee payments made AFTER August 1st, will be good through the following October. (Pay August 15, 2008 and your membership extends until October 31st, 2009 - not 2008)

Be sure to read, sign and return HCECF's membership agreement. Membership fees are non-refundable.

Included with the $24 dues will be a FREE Enchanted Learning membership ($20 value).  This expires October 31, when the HCECF membership year ends.
 
Other OPTIONAL benefits to membership include:
  • Florida Parent Educator Association (FPEA) memberships will be available for $18 instead of the normal individual $28 price. All  FPEA memberships expire on September 30. HCECF members whose FPEA membership qualifies the group for a rebate from the FPEA have the choice of voting how that rebate will be used.

    HCECF uses the following mailing dates for FPEA memberships to coincide with their Almanac mailing dates. Be sure your payment has arrived BEFORE these.

    • September 7
    • October 7  (as long as there are at least 3 submissions)
    • November 7 (as long as there are at least 3 submissions)
    • December 1 (any number of submissions will be sent to meet the last mailing date of the first issue of that years Almanac)
    • March 1 (for  anyone who needs to register for the FPEA Conference at the discount rate)
    • Any other time by request, as long as we have 3 submissions
  • Secular Home Educators Association of Florida (SHEAF) memberships will be available for $15 instead of the normal individual $25 price. All SHEAF memberships expire on September 1, 2009.

Homeschoolers whose primary group does not offer the discounted FPEA and/or SHEAF memberships are welcome to join these organisations via HCECF.

  • $10 Edventures memberships through our classroom accounts available while supplies last - expire March 28, 2009. This allows  kids participating in our BRICKschoolers FIRST LEGO® League program to begin training with Edventures as soon as registration opens.The Edventures cost for an individual family membership is $70. Edventures membership is required for participation in any of the BRICKschooler Lego programs and STRONGLY recommended for SECME, Science Olympiad and Odyssey of the Mind.
  • $12 PE shirt (gold) - required to participate in PE classes which have an additional cost of $1 each.  Ask about HCECF's PE class discount card!
  • $15 BRICKschooler shirt  (purple) - required for participation in any of the Lego programs.
  • $15 HCECF shirt (sapphire) - required for participation in any of the non-Lego teams (SECME, Science Olympiad, Odyssey of the Mind, etc) and STRONGLY suggested for fieldtrips.
  • Yearbook - Cost TBA.
NEW RULES BEING IMPLEMENTED STARTING NOVEMBER 1, 2007:
  • HCECF will begin to require a deposit of $3 per member of your family in the form of a separate check held un-cashed for fieldtrip, class, coop or event cancellation penalty.  Your check will be cashed only if you do not attend something that you RSVP'd for. You will also not be permitted to sign up for nor attend ANY HCECF event (including classes and coops) until you have replaced your check after it has been cashed. This new rule is to deter anyone from not showing up for fieldtrips and other activities that they have signed up for. Payments for fieldtrips are NON-refundable because we have to RSVP and pay the site. The $3 per person is in addition to the non-refundable cost of a paid fieldtrip.
  • Not paying for an activity after you have given your firm committment with your RSVP to do so is grounds for removal from HCECF.
 
 

Why we charge

By having a paid membership base, HCECF has the ability to afford its members many opportunities that are simply not available in many of the no-fee groups. Please compare our calendar of events and fieldtrips offerings to other homeschooling support groups' offerings - both those with a fee and those without, so you make the best choice for your family. (Folks often ask why we would put a link to other support groups on our site - our goal is that you are informed enough to make the best choice for your situation.There are LOTS of great support groups out there, only you know what you are seeking from one.)

Our fees are comparatively low, especially considering to what members get for them. They help cover lots of the little things that are often taken for granted - website, plates, cups, flatware at our various parties and events, underwriting cost of various programs - BRICKschoolers, SECME, Odyssey of the Mind just to name a few, group memberships to Enchanted Learning and Edventures, professionally printed membership cards, etc. The fees work out to only 2 bucks a month. HCECF members will tell you that the accurate information you'll find on our members-only discussion list  and the time you'll save looking for it all yourself is well worth that.

Membership fee waivers/scholarships will be granted for specific limited circumstances only. Please consult with Denny if you feel you qualify for a waiver and eligibility will be determined at that time.


Someone once said, "It's the little things that HCECF provides that makes them unique. Little things do make a difference. Yes, any group could provide notebooks with their science classes, but as far as I know HCECF is the only one that actually goes that extra step and does."

Since its inception in 2001, HCECF has built up a strong community of supporters allowing us to offer our members unique opportunities in the homeschooling community. We also have a strong commitment to give back to the larger overall home educating community and offer several activities per year to all homeschoolers. Every year we add a new one of these "service to the community" projects to our list of things we do. Perhaps, the one we are best known for is our Annual Drum Building Campout with the Learning in the Park Engineering Workshops. If you haven't been to this, you don't want to miss next year's!

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