Please review the following terms and conditions for receiving an Environmental Volunteers program.
1. Confirmation & Scheduling
Teachers who have requested a program will be sent an auto-reply acknowledging our system received your application. Our School Programs Manager will contact you within one week to confirm your programs and schedule dates/times.
Please contact SchoolPrograms@environmentalvolunteers.org if you do not receive confirmation of your registration within one week to ensure we did receive it.
2. Cancellations and Rescheduling
If for any reason you make the decision to cancel or reschedule a program, a $75 fee will be charged. An exception to this is rescheduling a field trip due to inclement weather. On rare occasions, the EV may reschedule a program if there are not enough volunteers available. Should this occur, you will be notified three business days before your program. We will make every effort to reschedule your programs as soon as possible. A change fee will not be charged in these situations.
3. Fees
For the 2023-2024 school year, our program fees are:
24 students or fewer: $280 per class / $420 with field trip
25 – 32 students: $330 per class / $495 with field trip
Classrooms larger than 32 students will be split into two classes and charged at the <24 rate.
These fees represent about half of the actual cost of providing our programs. The remainder of these costs are subsidized by Environmental Volunteers.
Scholarships are available. Please see Term #5 for more details.
4. Payment
Invoices are mailed to the teacher who has scheduled a program at the end of the month in which the program is provided. Payment is due 30 days from the date of invoice.
We gladly accept payment from any source (school district, school board, parents’ association or other group). However, it is ultimately the teacher’s responsibility to ensure that our fees are paid in a timely manner. If you submit your invoice for payment to another source, please follow up to make sure that your invoice is paid. Non-payment or late payment could affect your chances of receiving programs in subsequent years.
5. Scholarships
Schools with greater than 40% of their students qualifying for the Federal Free/Reduced Lunch Program as reported by the California Department of Education may request a scholarship that can reduce their program to $125 per classroom/$185 with field trip for classes of 24 or fewer students, or $145 per classroom/$215 with field trip for classes of 24-32 students.
Requests for scholarships must be made when submitting an application for programs.
6. Class Size
Environmental Volunteers teaching model is designed so that each student experiences a “hands-on” adventure, so we strive to maintain a low volunteer-to-child ratio.
For classes of up to 24 students, Environmental Volunteers provides three learning stations and three volunteers.
For class sizes 24 -32, four learning stations and four volunteers are required. Due to the related increased expenses, class sizes over 24 students are assessed a higher fee. Please see fee details above under Fees.
Classes larger than 32 students must be split into two groups.
If you are planning on bringing students from a different classroom in for the EV program, they must be included in your originally reported classroom size. Other students we aren’t expecting will be asked to return to their own classroom. We do, however, often provide programs to more than one classroom in a school on the same day, as a matter of convenience for both teachers and volunteers. We also allow multiple classes in a school to go on field trips simultaneously in order to take advantage of bus occupancy.
7. Discipline
Environmental Volunteers are in the classroom to teach, not to administer discipline to children. California Law requires teachers to remain in the classroom to provide supervision during all classroom presentations. Unaddressed discipline issues may result in not receiving a program in future years.
8. Field Trip Chaperones
On field trips, each class is divided into small groups of 8 children or less. Each group requires an adult chaperone provided by the school to assist with supervision. Please advise all adults to dress appropriately for any outdoor activities. They will be expected to fully participate with their group.
9. Transportation
Environmental Volunteers provides no transportation to field trip sites. Our volunteers will meet you at the field trip site. Arrangements for buses or carpools for children, teachers, and parents are the sole responsibility of the teachers.
10. Questions?
All questions about applications, billing, scheduling, or any other administrative issues should be directed to our Director of Programs & Partnerships, not our volunteers. If you have any questions, please contact Programs@environmentalvolunteers.org or by phone at (650) 493-8000 ext. 3.