Frequently Asked Questions
You will find answers to the most common questions our membership team receives from new and prospective SAIL members here.
Expand each question below to get answers for the most common inquiries we receive from new and prospective members.
Application for participating and voting Membership is open to any* homeschooling family in Collin County and surrounding areas that is currently homeschooling at least one child and supports the purpose and mission statements found in Article I, Sections 2 and 3 of the By-Laws. Click here for information about joining SAIL.
*Exceptions: While SAIL strives to be an inclusive group, there are rare situations that would require the Board to decline a family’s application. Due to potential safety concerns, it is our policy to deny, restrict, or revoke a family’s membership in SAIL if we find out that an immediate family member is listed on the Sex Offender Registry.
Eligible families may join SAIL at any Online Information Meetings.
Please refer to our How to Join page for further details regarding SAIL membership as well as the date and location of the next meeting. If you still have questions about joining, please contact our Membership Team Leader (Membership@SAILHomeschoolers.org).
Every activity, program, party, event, etc. is planned by one or more SAIL members. Some SAIL activities are for kids of all ages while others are for specific age groups such as preschool-age, 7-9, teens, etc. Members hosting activities choose how often to get together, the included age groups, and how many people can attend the activities. All members are encouraged to work together to create social and educational opportunities for SAIL families.
Any SAIL member can easily set up a SAIL field trip by completing a calendar request form on our members-only website. Before making the request, the member can check the level of interest within SAIL our internal forum, but this is not required. The SAIL Calendar Team will let you know when your field trip is ready to be announced to the members so they can sign up.
Some SAIL activities are for kids of all ages while others are for a specific age group. Most SAIL field trips are planned for all ages, but occasionally there will be a specified age range. The members hosting the activity or planning the field trip specify all details of the event, including the age group, when they submit the event information to the SAIL Calendar Team. All SAIL activities, field trips, clubs, and teams are coordinated by our members.
SAIL is a non-profit organization, governed by member-created By-Laws and a Code of Conduct and is led by an elected Board of Directors. Teams of members work together to create, manage, and maintain all SAIL’s programs and benefits.
Annual dues of $30 are collected in person upon joining and during Membership Renewals in August. Those who join during April and May pay prorated dues of $12 upon joining and the regular $30 during Renewals in August. Those who join during June and July pay $30 and are not required to renew until the following year.
Official requests to the Board can be made by email to one of the following addresses:
- Co-leaders: Leaders@SAILHomeschoolers.org
- Secretary: Secretary@SAILHomeschoolers.org
- Treasurer: Treasurer@SAILHomeschoolers.org
- Director-At-Large: Director@SAILHomeschoolers.org
Unless specified on the calendar and/or the messages announcing them, SAIL activities are not drop-off activities, and children should be accompanied by a parent at these activities. Occasionally, a host may choose to allow drop-offs for certain participants if he/she knows them well, but that is entirely at the host’s discretion.
SAIL events are only open to current SAIL families. However, you may bring the occasional guest to an activity with the approval of the coordinator or host of the event. Due to liability concerns, the guest may not be someone whose membership has been revoked. The following points apply to SAIL members and the guest they bring to events:
- The person bringing the guest is responsible for ensuring that the guest understands and abides by the SAIL Code of Conduct and other policies.
- Any guest who is repeatedly brought to an activity may be encouraged to join the group or the member inviting the guest will be asked to stop inviting that guest due to liability concerns.
The ages for each SAIL activity are set by the coordinators based on what ages are best suited to their activity. Please do not request exceptions to the set age. This puts the host in a difficult position of making exceptions and potentially having way too many people at his/her event. In most cases, siblings will be able to attend an activity; however they may not be able to participate in the activity. If they are not able to participate, the host will have a separate area for them to be during the activity. In some cases, you will be asked to make other arrangements for siblings.
- Fever of greater than 100 under the arm or 101 orally.
- Diarrhea, vomiting, or any non-allergic rash.
- Viral or bacterial conjunctivitis or “pink eye”.
- Any confirmed viral infection, bacterial infection or communicable illness, unless the member has been taking an antibiotic for 48 hours prior to the SAIL activity.
- Lice: Please do not attend any SAIL events until an effective treatment has been completed.
If you are no longer homeschooling and therefore no longer eligible for membership in SAIL, please send an email to Membership@SAILHomeschoolers.org The membership coordinator will remove you from our roster and our members-only website. If you start homeschooling again, you can rejoin SAIL at any Online Information Meeting.
SAIL Co-op is a subset of SAIL member families that meets six times during each fall and spring semester in order to provide enriching, educational classes in a group setting. Classes are taught by co-op members. For more information about SAIL Co-op, contact our Co-op Team.
No, SAIL members are not required to participate in SAIL Co-op.
Yes, participation in SAIL Co-op is only available to SAIL member families in good standing who have been SAIL members for a minimum of 4 months.