An African proverb goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” 

At Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County (UUCDC), parents/guardians, caring teachers, and other volunteers are a village that cooperates to educate, enlighten, and enrich our children and youth on Sundays and throughout the week. 

First, to keep parents/guardians informed about our great programs and for planning, staffing, insurance, and medical reasons, registration is required for all Religious Education programs. Signups for Sunday school and youth programs are at the beginning of sessions in September or when a new family joins the church. Start here. You needn’t be a church member to register your child. 

Religious Education Newsletter

To keep up with religious education news and announcements, sign up for our e-newsletter, which comes out on Tuesdays during the church year and contains all important information for religious education families. Also check out UUCDC Connections, which is emailed to congregants each Thursday. Sign up for both here.

Fees

Our yearly registration fee is $25 per child with a maximum of $50 per family. Please contact our Director of Religious Education if you need scholarship assistance. Financial support is always available for those who request it.

Cooperative Religious Education 

At UUCDC, religious education is a cooperative endeavor among parents/guardians and the church. As such, parents/guardians are expected to volunteer as teachers, assistants, or for other roles. There are many ways you can get involved, such as helping with social service projects, participating in intergenerational activities, working on craft day, making reminder calls to teachers and assistants, helping with fundraising, chaperoning field trips, and more. The success of our program depends on volunteers and their contributions. Let us know about your specific talents, skills, or interests.

Teacher and Assistant Requirements

All religious education volunteers are required to have been attending UUCDC for at least six months, to have taken part in a teacher orientation class in the fall, and to have criminal background and child abuse checks on file with the church office. (Background checks are paid for by the church.) In addition, those working with older youth must attend specialized training. Please see the Community Safety Covenant for further details.

Attendance Expectations

Parents/guardians who sign up for religious education are expected to regularly bring your children to church on Sundays. Your child receives the greatest benefit when this happens, as opposed to skipping activities. Regular attendance fosters a sense of community, camaraderie, and continuity in the classroom, and helps your children understand and process the curriculum being presented. Plus, they make close friends. When you encourage regular attendance you send your child a powerful message: that Unitarian Universalism and religious education are important in your child’s life as well as your own. Strong attendance also honors teachers and other volunteers who devote their time and talent to the programs. They prepare carefully to make classes exciting and enriching. If you cannot attend one Sunday, but your children would like to come, consider contacting another parent and perhaps they can escort your child.

Healthy Classroom Behavior

Our teachers and church leaders spend a lot of time and energy creating a safe, supportive, nurturing, and positive atmosphere in the classroom. We expect all children to behave in a manner that fosters these feelings for themselves and their classmates. Each teaching team is encouraged to develop a classroom code of conduct or covenant with the children. Among the goals of our religious education program are openness, tolerance, honesty, fairness, and respect for the needs of others. Classroom covenants encourage these values. Parents can help by discussing appropriate behavior with their children and reinforcing classroom covenants. When a situation requiring discipline occurs, teachers and the Director of Religious Education will work with the child and the parents/guardians to create a constructive plan for participation and ensure acceptable class and group behavior. 

Model Behavior

The best way to instill Unitarian Universalism values in your children is to model them. Share your ideas and beliefs with your kids. Make UU a way of life by discussing the Principles and Purposes, intergenerational worship themes, and the theme of your child’s Sunday morning lesson.

Permission Slips

Parents/guardians may be asked to sign permission forms for certain activities, for example, a nature walk in the neighborhood on Sunday morning. If parents/guardians did not register or haven’t signed permission slips, children can’t participate and are returned to the parents/guardians during the activity. 

Photo Release

From time to time, parents/guardians are asked to grant permission for photographs of children participating in UUCDC activities to be used on the church website and in other church materials. These are renewed yearly. This release is entirely optional.