Ridgefield High School

Ridgefield High School

Student Life Office

Policy on Clubs

Initiating a proposal:
Proposals for new clubs should be the initiative of the students and represent the interest that a group of students has in the formation of and activities surrounding the club. In addition to addressing student interest, new club proposals should address a gap in club offerings. Students interested in initiating a club should first check to make sure that the mission of the proposed club will not be redundant to one currently offered. Information about club missions and activities is located on the Student Life website and exists in duplicate on the Club Board outside of the Student Life Office.

To formalize the process of proposing a club, interested students must first complete a club charter-hard copies of which are located in the Student Life Office.

Criteria:
No club can operate without an advisor. The securing of an advisor ensures that students and student activities are properly supervised on school grounds and off (for the purposes of activities in which the club might be engaged off-site). Advisors must be employees of Ridgefield High School, and are not expected to satisfy the criteria above and beyond those indicated by the professional standards of a certified teacher.

No club can operate without having first completed a charter to initiate an approval process. Clubs discovered to have been operating without the proper paperwork will be disbanded until the paperwork is submitted and the club can undergo the review process. This process of documentation ensures awareness of the school's club offerings, addresses equity issues among club advisors, and sanctions at the Board of Education level, the operation of the club on and off campus.

A list of criteria reflected on the club charter include:

• The goals and objectives of the club should reflect awareness and understanding of the school's mission statement, and the policies and procedures put in place by the Board of Education.* Students proposing to initiate a Ridgefield arm of a national organization should make sure that the mission statement of the national organization is also in keeping with the one that governs Ridgefield High School, and state laws and statutes.
• Fund raisers must be approved, documented, and kept on the proper forms in the Student Life Office.
• All money must be kept in the organization's official school club account; the handling of club funds is the sole responsibility of the club. Please note that money received during a fundraiser must be deposited on a daily basis to the high school bookkeeper.
• Meeting times and locations, as well as student and advisor contact information must be on record with the Student Life Office and updated as necessary.
• Field trip procedures (forms, permission slips, etc.) must be followed when leaving school grounds on a trip of any kind.
• At the end of each quarter, the club must submit a roster of regular attendees (as well as attendance for each meeting), and minutes for each meeting. These documents are reviewed to ensure that the club is active and that student interest is maintained-a club must keep an active membership of 15 students to remain viable.
  
  

The Club's Charter must be renewed every year to reflect changes in: Club name, mission, leadership, and advisor. The most current information will be forwarded to the Director of Human Resources at the Board of Education.

Logistics/process:
Students interested in proposing a new club should first speak with the Student Life Coordinator about the idea, and obtain and complete a blank club charter.

New club proposals should be completed before the end of September to ensure timely review by the Principal and Board of Education, and to secure funding as necessary. All new club proposals will be reviewed by the Principal and Student Life Coordinator for student interest, filling need in a particular area, and ensuring that the mission and club activities are in accordance with the school's mission statement. Proposals approved at the high school level will be forwarded to the Board of Education for review. A comprehensive list of clubs, advisors, missions, number of active students, and club level designation will be kept on file with the Director of Human Resources at the Board of Education.

Club proposals that come through the Student Life Office after the Board of Education review process, will be reviewed on an individual basis by the Principal and Student Life Coordinator. The clubs will be approved provisionally pending available funding (clubs initiated after Board Approval will be funded as funds allow; stipends will be prorated to reflect start time) and review by the Board of Education at the beginning of the next school year.

All new clubs begin at the F-level. Clubs will be reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure that their activities are in keeping with the specifications and expectations established in the memo of understanding about club activities and stipend categories***. To aid in the regular review process, all clubs must submit current information to the Student Life Office (see criteria above). If paperwork and interest in the club are not maintained, the club will be notified that it is at risk of being disbanded. If the paperwork and student interest remain out of place, the club will be disbanded, and the advisor will be compensated on a prorated basis for time served to the club.

Sanctioned clubs will be invited to participate in two recruitment fairs: "Life After Academics" in May, and a club fair day early in September. Only clubs approved by the Principal and Board of Education are entitled to the use of school space and resources for communication. Groups, clubs, and organizations not officially designated as Ridgefield High School clubs must seek the approval of the Superintendent of designee to communicate meetings and events.**

The Student Life Office discourages the use of the morning announcements to inform the school community about club meeting days, times, and locations. Clubs are encouraged to use the Club Board outside of SLO for the purposes of regular communication, and are welcome to provide updates to SLO for posting on the website. Any signage that students wish to generate must be provided for with club resources and with the approval of the Student Life Coordinator. Signs that are not stamped to indicate approval will be removed.

Other documents to reference:            
Board of Education policy: P6145.22 re: Clubs*
Board of Education policy: 1140 re: Distribution of materials by students**
Memo re: Clubs and activities stipend categories***