Frequently Asked Questions

Who can join the School House Curriculum Centre ?

The SHCC is open to all teachers from K-12. Whether you are a beginning teachers or seasoned veterans, we invite you to join.

What are the different kinds of memberships ?

There are 4 different kinds of membership plans:  a free bronze membership for everyone, a silver membership for schools and a premium gold membership for teachers.

What does it cost to join the consortium ?

A bronze membership is free to all teachers and student teachers. However, the School House Curriculum Development Centre offers a premium gold membership to teachers who want extra benefits for  $29.99 for the year. A silver membership is available  to schools for $99.99. For a more detailed account of each of the options, please review our memberships.

Why would I purchase a silver or gold membership  when I can get a free bronze membership ?

A bronze membership is free for all teachers and all of the same resources and services are available and we encourage teachers to take a free membership. However, there are a few differences in the memberships. First, teachers who opt for the free membership receive free downloads of worksheets from our curriculum bank. However, if they wish to receive additional material beyond the regular mailings, they must make one or more contributions to the SHCDC. For every contribution sent to the centre, the member receives 5 school house dollars ($5.00)which can be used to purchase additional  resources from our curriculum bank. 

On the other hand, paid memberships come without any requirement to contribute to the SHCDC to obtain resources beyond the basic package. A silver membership is an excellent opportunity for all teaching staff at a school to become members for one extremely low price without any obligations to send in any contributions. Every silver member receives fifty school house dollars ($50.00) immediately to spend on resources. 

A gold membership is a premium membership and offers teachers the best deal possible. Gold members are not required to send in any contributions and they receive one hundred fifty school house dollars($150.00) worth of resources and services.  All memberships offer tremendous value. It is up to the subscriber to determine which one best suits his or her needs.

What does a School House Curriculum Development Centre member get ?

Every teacher that joins the School House Curriculum Development Centre has access to thousands of curriculum resources every year. These resources encompass all grade levels, all subject areas and all levels of ability.  Secondly, all members may receive a monthly newsletter that is filled with innovative ideas, practical suggestions and teaching tips that will improve classroom instruction and foster the learning environment. Thirdly, all members can take part in a variety of programs offered by the SHCDC, such as our E-pal exchange program. Our organization is growing and as we grow, new services and resource options will continue to be developed for the benefit of our membership.

What is expected from members ?

The old adage “many hands make lighter the work” is the raison d’être for the consortium. All members  have the option to contribute resources to the School House Curriculum Centre. Every contributor will receive five ($5.00) bonus dollars for each submission which can be used to purchase additional school house resources. Bronze members must make contributions to the SHCDC in order to earn consortium dollars that will allow them to access  the resources and services beyond the basic package .

How do I get funds deposited into my account ?

The SHCDC deposits five school house dollars ($5.00) into your account as soon as you make a contribution and your submission is posted on our site. Members can send in as many contributions as they like. The more contributions that each member submits, the more each and every  members benefits.

How long is a membership ?

All  memberships are for one year unless a longer term is selected when registering. At the end of the membership period, any funds that are unspent in a bronze membership expire automatically. If a gold or silver membership is renewed prior to expiration, any unspent funds are rolled over into the new membership year.

How do I pay for my membership ?

 Silver and gold memberships can be paid by cheque, purchase order or money order.

How do I send and receive my  resources ?

You can send your contributions by fax or by e-mail with an attachment in Microsoft Word.  All curriculum documents that we send to you will be in either Word or in a Portable Document File format which can be viewed using Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this software on your computer, it is available as a free download from Adobe. 

When can I begin downloading resources and accessing services?

Once we have processed your application, you will be issued a membership number , a user name and a password. At this point, you can begin downloading resources and using the services of the School House Curriculum Development Centre. 

It is very important that you keep your user name and password confidential. These are important and are needed to access your accounts, process your contributions and to make changes to your membership information. We will not be responsible for unauthorized use of your account.

When do I send in my contributions to the School House Curriculum Development Centre?

Members may send in their contributions any time - day or night, 7 days a week.

Who gets a newsletter ?

Members may purchase a subscription to The Best Things Happen in Our Classrooms  or send in contributions to receive a free copy.

What happens if I run out of funds in my account and I want to receive more resources?

If a member runs out of funds, he may do one of two things. He may participate in the bonus program  and send in contributions and earn extra school house dollars for every contribution sent to the SHCDC.   Alternately, a member may wish to upgrade or renew his membership. 

What can I send to the School House Curriculum Development Centre?

You can send in anything that pertains to the curriculum and to the general operation of your classroom. However, all contributions must be original. No work from commercial sources or copies of copyrighted curriculum material are acceptable.

Here are some areas to which you may contribute. This list, however,  is not meant to be all inclusive or exhaustive. 

What happens to any unspent funds at the end of the membership term ?

Any  unspent funds will be forfeited upon the expiry of the membership. However, if a gold or silver member renews before the expiry date or if a bronze member upgrades to a silver or gold, any unspent funds in the accounts will be rolled over and added to the new account totals.

Who can use the resources that I get from the School House Curriculum Development Centre ?

All the documents that you receive from the The School House Curriculum Development Centre are for your exclusive use. As a member , you may keep the resources that you download and use them for as long as you like. However, you may not sell them, use them for any commercial enterprise or share them with non-members. When you contribute to The School House Curriculum Development Centre, you are relinquishing all ownership rights and giving the SHCDC the right to amend, edit, reproduce and disseminate the documents that you submitted in any manner it deems appropriate.

Can other members identify who the contributors are ?

All the work that comes to our office must clearly identify the school and the contributor so that we assign the school house dollars to the correct accounts . However, when the document is professionally laid out by our staff, all identifying indicators are removed before it is posted. Therefore, other members of the School House Curriculum Development Centre  can not determine the identity of the original composer of a curriculum document.  In fact, there may be times when there is not a single author. In some instances, an amalgamation of ideas and efforts may be used to produce one document instead of two or three.

Can I get copies of older documents

Yes, all our curriculum documents are kept on active file for one year. After that period of time, these documents can be obtained from the archives.

What do I do if I find an error on a resource document ?

We hope that our editing will weed out any errors. However, if you do find an error, send us an e-mail indicating its exact location and the correction required. (Example: there is a spelling error on the sheet entitled “The Water Cycle” page 3 paragraph 7, line 4.  The error is the incorrect use of there.  It should be their.)  We will correct the error and send out a revised copy of the resource to our members.  

If you have any other question, please feel free to contact our resource department.

If you are happy with our service, the School House Curriculum Development Centre invites you totell a friend about our organization. If you are not satisfied, please tell us so that we may rectify any problems you are encountering with our service.