Mostly yes but also no.
The rule is that each student at Cascade should have a supervising adult on campus. This is an important rule because our teachers don't supervise kids once they walk out the classroom door. Even the youngest of our students sign up for their classes a la carte and do not move from classroom to classroom as a cohort. Many parents of younger kids drop off and meet their students at the classroom door and help them get to their next class. Some kids outgrow this earlier than other kids.
Cascade doesn't have staff members responsible for monitoring kids in the halls, on the playground, in the Commons (our lunch room), or in the play courts. We have an open campus, so no one is monitoring whether students remain in the building or on the property. Parents & caregivers fill this role for our students.
That said, there isn't an expectation that you are in the building ALL THE TIME with your kid. Almost every family has supervision agreements that allow other caregivers to be the person responsible some of the time so they can run an errand or take another kid to an appointment. Some families do this more systematically and take turns being the adult in the building for a group of kids.
There's a track in the park next to the school and we consider it part of the Cascade campus, so some families walk or run on the track while their kid is in class. Many people work from common areas of the school or from their cars. Some people stagger their kids schedules so that they can work 1:1 with one kid while others are in class.
Talking to other adults at school is a great way to learn about how other families are doing Cascade. There are as many ways to do Cascade as there are families here. It's always interesting to learn more about curriculums that are working for others or to learn about unschooling or outside classes that other families enjoy. Cascade families are a great support network for one another.
Lastly, aside from the standard form that designates someone else as your student's adult in the building, there are two additional forms that you can use if you cannot be at school with your student - if your student doesn't need direct supervision between classes. The first is for kids who are age 12 or older. With this form, they are allowed to be responsible for themselves as long as they can do so without causing issues for themselves or others. And there is also a form for families who have a need for an accommodation to be away from campus while their kid is in class. The accommodation form probably won't be offered to you because adults are such an important part of their child's support at school, but if you have a need to be elsewhere and your child does ok with that, it is permissible.
