Curious Cardinals is committed to building a community of trust and safety for optimal learning experiences.
Policy violation and unprofessionalism will result in your de-prioritization from being matched with new teaching opportunities and potential deactivation from our platform.
Radical transparency is a core value at CC. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Lucy Chen (lucy@curiouscardinals.com).
Teaching professionally
Dress appropriately for lessons. Do not wear revealing, lewd, or distracting clothing (ie pajamas) and look well-kept (ie brushed hair).
All teaching must take place on a computer (no tablets or phones).
Teach for the entire time that is scheduled for the lesson. Do not show up late to your lesson.
(Note: We encourage mentors to arrive at least 2 minutes prior to the start of your lesson to allow for an on-time start.)
Ensure that your mentee can easily hear you by limiting background noise.
Ensure that you are only teaching through a Zoom session provided through our Curious Cardinals platform unless you have received strict approval to do otherwise. Only accept students into your Zoom room that have signed up for your lessons. Keep your Zoom camera on at all times.
Ensure you have a high-quality camera as well as good classroom lighting.
(Note: Always teach with the strongest light source in front of you. Teaching with a window behind you will create a shadow where your face should be.)
Ensure that your Zoom background does not have movement or anything inappropriate such as alcohol, distracting posters, nudity, etc.
(Note: Zoom backgrounds are the best way to ensure that you are presenting yourself in a professional manner, free of distractions and in an environment conducive to mentoring. Here are zoom backgrounds provided by Curious Cardinals.)
Ensure that you are not using your computer in other ways during your session (e.g. checking emails, sending texts, etc.). Unless there is an immediate emergency, you should not be texting/ on your phone at any point during your lessons. In the case of an emergency, please notify the student that you need to communicate with someone else before muting yourself.
Do not teach while impaired by alcohol or drugs, and do not model any behavior that a student age 18 or younger is restricted from doing.
Create learning spaces that are welcoming and inclusive. See Inclusivity Policy for details.
Communicate with respect and care
Email is the medium for communication with your clients. Do not text unless you receive parental approval.
Emails should exhibit proper grammar, complete sentences, and appropriate language. Think of every email you write to a client as an email you are writing to a manager in a workplace. Curious Cardinals has prepared you with a diverse set of templates and we highly encourage you to use them.
Respond promptly to parent questions and requests (ie within 24 hours).
Following students on social media is strictly prohibited.
(Note: We recommend that you set your social media accounts as private or remove publicly available photos of you participating in behaviors that may be detrimental for your mentees and their parents to see. These include but are not limited to: drinking alcohol (red solo cups), photos exhibiting lewd or malicious behavior, and disparaging/vulgar language towards groups of people.)
Scheduling, Cancellation, and Rescheduling
(** for 1:1 engagements)
You are responsible to confirm the lesson time with students and log all sessions on app.curiouscardinals.com at least 48 hours before the scheduled time (unless you agree to an urgent request)
You must provide at least 48 hours of advanced notice to your client (and copy class@curiouscardinals.com) prior to cancelling/rescheduling a lesson (exceptions will be made in the case of an emergency).
If your student does not show up to your scheduled session, you must email your client (and copy class@curiouscardinals.com) to confirm that the session is still happening. We also recommend that you call the guardian. You must stay for the first half of the lesson in case the student comes late. You will be paid for the full rate of the scheduled lesson and the client will be charged. You are not required to extend the duration of the scheduled lesson if your student is late.
If a client cancels a lesson more than 24 hours in advance, you must immediately update this on the platform by marking the lesson as canceled. You will not be paid for the lesson and the client will not be charged.
If a client cancels a lesson within 24 hours of the scheduled lesson, you must mark the session as missed on the platform. You will be paid for the full rate of the scheduled lesson and the client will be charged.
If your session goes overtime beyond the scheduled period, you will only be paid for the scheduled time. Even if your mentee is late, you are only required to go until the originally-scheduled time. If the parent agrees to prolong the session, you must add a new session for the agreed upon time to app.curiouscardinals.com.
Create and upload learning materials
All materials presented to students should respect factors of identity, age appropriateness, and be free of bias.
(Note: We recommend you use the Curious Cardinals template slides, template syllabus, and teaching rubric when creating materials.)
All materials that you prepare and create should be shared with Curious Cardinals upon completion of each engagement.
All teaching materials that you create for Curious Cardinals clients must be uploaded to the Google Drive folders that you are provided with.
All learning materials must respect students’ diversity and identity. See Content Policy for details.
Physical and Mental Well-being
If you have concerns regarding your safety and wellbeing, please reach out to Lucy (lucy@curiouscardinals.com)
In the event that you are concerned that a student is unsafe and/or unwell (e.g. mental health concerns, signs of self-harm, signs of physical abuse, etc.), you must report this to safety@curiouscardinals.com.
If a learner initiates a conversation about a sensitive topic (like depression, suicide, or abuse), please gently explain that CC classes are not the appropriate venue for these discussions and redirect your learners to a new topic. If you don’t know if you should share with parents, please escalate to safety@curiouscardinals.com to get support.