REAL Activities program Instructor Handbook
Welcome
On behalf of the REAL Activities Program, I welcome you to our REAL Team!
Every year, we run hundreds of classes for our FIS Community members from age 3 to adult. Our instructors are dedicated to creating wonderful experiences for our community in a wide variety of activities.
Should you have any questions regarding the information in the Instructor Handbook, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for giving your time to REAL!
Martha Boston-Majetic
Activities Director
A. Overview of Activities Director and Adminstrator's Role
The Activities Director’s and Frankfurter Gesellschaft zur Förderung von Bildung und Erziehung mbH (FGFBEmbH) Administrator’s Role
A1. The Activities Director’s role is to organize a quality program of activities for the Primary School, Elementary School, Upper School and the FIS adult community (which may also include Non-FIS members of the local community); arrange for qualified instructors; advertise the activities; run all registration operations; distribute class lists to all instructors and homeroom teachers; arrange the rooming facilities on and off campus, and distribute needed resources. The Activities Director will also be responsible for establishing an annual budget in cooperation with the FGFBEmbH administrator.
A2. The FGFBEmbH administrator’s role is to provide overall accountability for the program, both in terms of quality programming for student and adult participants and proper budget and accounting systems for ensuring a self-sufficient auxiliary program.
A3. The FISW REAL Coordinator’s role is to manage the REAL program at FISW under the guidance and direction of the Activities Director.
B. Overview of Instructor Responsibilities
B1. The instructor is responsible for all matters pertaining to the class. This includes well-organized content and delivery of instruction, pre-planning, purchasing and collection of needed materials in conjunction with the Activities Director and communicating with parents. Further responsibilities include awareness and understanding of accident procedures, keeping a list of class participants, their telephone numbers, and attendance.
B2. Additional class instructors for a given class need to be approved by the Activities Director. All additional instructors need to provide the same documentation as an Instructor.
B3. All instructors must be legally able to work in Germany.
B4. All instructors must abide by the FIS Health and Hygiene Policy.
B5. All instructors must provide a current Erweitertes polizeiliches Führungszeugnis, extended Police Report, which is available at the instructors local Town Hall.
B6. All instructors must sign a Service Agreement Agreement with the FGFBEmbH.
B7. All instructors must complete Child Protection Training through an FIS authorized program.
B8. All instructors must complete the FIS Online Consent Agreement pertaining to data privacy.
B9. All instructors who are born in or after 1970 must submit proof of two (2) measles vaccinations.
B10. All instructors should possess a 1st Aid/CPR/Emergency 1st Responder certification that is less than two years old.
B11. Instructors must be competent English speakers as that is the language of instruction at FIS.
B12. Instructors are forbidden from transporting students in their personal vehicles.
C. Day-to-Day Instructor Responsibilities
C1. Instructors will be provided with a class list of participants by the Activities Department at the beginning of each term.
C2. Attendance must be taken each class session via Veracross, our school information system.
C3. The instructor is responsible for the student participants in the class until they are picked up by their parents or other designated persons. Students Grade 5 and below must NOT be left unsupervised. If a parent is later than five (5) minutes for class pickup, instructors may take the child(ren) to Kids Club. All children taken to Kids Club must be signed in with the Kids Club supervisor.
C4. All students participating in REAL Activities are covered by the State Student Activities Insurance (Unfallkasse Hessen). Instructors, in conjunction with the School Nurse and Activities Department, must complete an accident report for any injury that might require a doctor’s visit. Accident reports must be completed within 24 hours of the accident.
C5. If an instructor is required to deal with a minor accident then he/she should go to the nearest First Aid box. First Aid box locations are listed in each classroom. In the case of a more serious incident, instructors should contact the School Nurses in either room 506 (Primary School until 16:00), room 242 (Elementary School/Upper School) or room 714 (FISW) until 16:30. After 16:30 the instructors should contact the Activities Department.
In the case of a more serious incident instructors should:
Oberursel: Contact the Activities Director’s office at extension 497 or the main switchboard at extension 100.
Wiesbaden: Contact the FISW Coordinator at extension 730 or the administration office at 711.
Instructors delivering an activity off campus are responsible for confirming appropriate first aid supplies at their venue or bringing first aid supplies with them.
D. Cancellation of Class
D1. If the instructor is absent, the instructor will find a suitable adult substitute or cancel the lesson. The instructor must inform the Activities Director prior to the class.
D2. The instructor must inform the Activities Director of any change of venue.
D3. If the instructor cancels the lesson, s/he will inform the parents of the participants and their homeroom teachers as early as possible (preferably via e-mail) and copy the Activities Director/Coordinator.
D4. If the class session is cancelled, the instructor will not be paid for that class session. No makeup class sessions will be arranged.
E. Program Costs and Payment
E1. Class price is calculated at a rate of approximately 8€ per class/per session/per student. An exception will be made for some activities, which require smaller groups or more specialized instruction.
E2. A supplementary cost for materials, transportation, hiring of a facility or other costs, may be levied, as agreed to by the Activities Director.
E3. To ensure transparency and to protect instructors from having to handle money, the FGFBEmbH centrally collects fees. All participants/parents are issued course confirmations. Payments should be made by bank transfer to the FGFBEmbH.
F. Duration of Instruction and Class Size
F1. Each session will normally be forty-five (45) minutes (Primary Students) to one hour of instruction time, approximately. Some classes may be longer.
F2. In order to enhance the quality of instruction and encourage individual participation, and because of space available, the advised class size is set at 12 participants. However, some flexibility is allowed.
F3. A minimum of six (6) participants must be registered for a given activity for the course to be offered. Any exceptions can be made only with the permission of the Activities Director.
F4. Some team sports/outdoor activities/dance and fitness activities taking place in a large area may require and be able to accommodate larger numbers of students.
G. Payment and Reimbursement to Instructors
G1. The FGFBEmbH aims to provide proper incentive for instructors to offer a wide range of courses to students and adult participants.
G2. Instructors will be paid once per term by the FGFBEmbH in the last week of the term. Payment will not take place until all requested documents are received. Depending on the number of classes offered by a given instructor, the Activities Director may approve more frequent payment intervals.
G3. All instructors are responsible for their own tax declaration and applicable payments.
G4. The pay scale for lead instructors is based on instructor qualifications, expertise and the number of registered students and is as follows:
Number of Students Amount in € (per session*)
4 - 5 30 €
6 - 7 40 €
8 - 15 50 €
> 15 55 €
*Each class will be forty-five (45) to sixty (60) minutes of instruction time, approximately. Class length may vary according to age of students and complexity of class.
Payment is determined on a class by class basis.
G5. Select courses require an additional instructor, in which case the additional instructor pay shall be agreed upon with the Activities Director.
G6. Payment will only be made for class sessions held. School closure will result in cancellation of REAL Activities.
G7. Travel Costs - Any instructor who specifically drives to the attendance center (either Oberursel or Wiesbaden), from a distance farther than 50km each direction will receive an additional five (5) euros per session. Proof of home address needs to be provided.
G8. Reimbursement for supplies or equipment for your course require the following: Original receipt and completed Reimbursement/Expense Form. Please note: All online purchases and invoices must include the following: Frankfurter Gesellschaft zur Förderung von Bildung und Erziehung mbH, An der Waldlust 15 D-61440 Oberursel. Failure to complete the above will result in no reimbursement. All supplies and equipment must be approved by the Activities Director prior to purchase.
H. Student Helpers
H1. Student helpers are not allowed to be solely in charge of a class. Each class requires an adult responsible for that class. Student helpers are to be encouraged, but will receive no monetary payment. Student helpers (Grades 11-12) can ask for and receive CAS experience and project credit.
I. Kids Club
I1. An after-school childcare service will be offered to students (First Steps through Grade 5) who must stay at school prior to their activity beginning or after their activity is finished but prior to their pick-up by parents. Parents will be required to sign up for this service in order to ensure their child is properly supervised. Same day drop off is authorized when the Activities Department is notified before 11:00. Parents will be billed at the end of the term for the total number of hours their children have attended Kids Club; to a maximum of two hours per day. Kids Club staff are responsible for the participants in the Kids Club until they are picked up by their parents or other designated persons.
J. Independent Business Contractors
J1. Independent businesses working on behalf of the Frankfurter Gesellschaft zur Forderung von Bildung und Erziehung will be outsourced for a cost of 50€- 75€ per hour including VAT. This hourly rate earned by independent businesses is due to operating a business and to the introduction of established quality programs to our after school activity program. The addition of such programs is conditional upon meeting the remainder of the REAL Program Guidelines (i.e. program costs, student payment and class size). Independent businesses are responsible for their own business taxes. An invoice for services rendered will be submitted to the FGFBEmbH for each term and payment will be made in the last week of the term.