Parents are very important to The Beach School. Though no parental participation is required many parents play an active role in the school through their membership in the school's Assembly. This voting membership of the school is comprised of all parents, students, and staff members, as well as invited members of the public. The Assembly sets the broad financial policies of the school, as well as having a voice and a vote over the school budget, the staff pay scale, the tuition, the basic school structure and the awarding of Diplomas. Assembly members help the school in many ways. They manage the school's public relations and help with facilities repair. If need be, they serve on committees that study important policy matters. By performing these services and attending meetings and social functions, many parents become important parts of the school community.
Occasionally, parents also work with students on a volunteer basis. Usually this is for a specific purpose, such as baking bread, discussing animal rights, dissecting a rat, etc. Some interested parents are also elected by the School Meeting to become staff at the school. The School meeting which is responsible for the day to day running of the school includes staff and students, parents would only attend these meetings if a specific request were made and granted.
If parents are formally involved in a specific activity or mentoring role, their presence at The Beach School is most welcome. However, in order to protect all students sense of freedom, parents are asked to get approval from the Campus Meeting if they wish to spend "non-service related" time at The Beach School.
Staff members are not necessarily certified to be teachers. The qualifications for staff members at the school are life experience, the ability to work with kids of all ages, sharing their knowledge and areas of expertise, the ability to model healthy and appropriate behaviour, mentor students and of course, to understand and commit to the philosophy of The Beach School. The ability to successfully work with students of all ages is of the utmost importance.
The Main responsibility of staff members is to give
students the space to develop and grow unhindered by adult interference. Staff
members practice "availability without continuous presence", listening and
responding to students needs but otherwise leaving children to find and create
their own way.
Boredom is integral to the process of personal growth and not offering direction
to a very obviously bored student is the clearest demonstration of trust that a
staff member can offer.
The child will not be supervised constantly and as such the parent and the child must decide if they can be responsible for their own behaviour.