Enrolling in the Rainbow DJ Lab

How enrollment works from start to finish, who can join, what it costs, and what still has to happen before the first class.

Before you start: an honest status note

The Rainbow DJ Lab is a proposed program. Ras Tafari Inc. has written the full curriculum, and it already runs in our class app. Several things are still pending:

The Chicago Park District has not yet approved or permitted the program.
No class dates are set.
No staff are hired yet.

No class runs until every launch requirement is checked off. You can read the full list on the launch checklist. It covers Park District approval, insurance, background checks for every adult, mandated reporter training, first aid/CPR certification, an emergency plan built with park staff, forms in English and Spanish, a board vote adopting our safety policies, music licensing, a published class budget and a conflict-of-interest disclosure.

You're welcome to read everything here and ask questions now. You don't need to commit to anything until dates are posted.

Right now: an interest list, not enrollment

Until launch, the online form is an interest list. It asks only what we need to contact you:

your child's first name and last initial, age and age group
your name, email and phone
your permission for Ras Tafari Inc. to contact you about the Lab

It does not ask for health, allergy, pickup, custody or emergency-contact details, consents, or free-text notes. Joining the list is not enrollment and doesn't hold a place. If the Lab hasn't started within 12 months, we delete the list. You can ask us to remove your entry at any time.

Full registration (health and allergies, two emergency contacts, authorized pickup, a custody note, and each consent separately) opens only when every launch-checklist item is complete. We'll contact families on the interest list when it opens.

What it costs

Nothing. There's no tuition, and all equipment is provided: controllers, laptops, headphones and earplugs. You will never be asked to buy gear.

Who can join

Group	Ages	How it works
Little DJs	5–7	A parent or guardian stays and learns alongside the child.
Junior DJs	8–11	Drop-off is allowed with a signed authorized-pickup list. A 9-year-old joins this group.
Teen DJs	12–17
Grown-Up & Elder DJs	18 and up
Empress Decks	about 9–17	Proposed. A girls-only track taught by women DJs, running the same curriculum. Rainbow Beach Park staff welcome the girls' focus (girls' participation has long trailed boys' across the Park District); written confirmation will be part of the park agreement.

Every group learns the same core curriculum, adapted by age group and by the Mild, Medium and Spicy challenge levels.

No experience is needed. Kids don't need to own any music gear, and they don't need to read music.

Class size

A class has no more than 12 children. Kids work in stations of 4 that share one controller, and a class has at most 3 stations. There's always a ratio of no more than 6 children per screened adult, and at least two screened adults are present at all times. See About the Lab and Safety.

How enrollment works, step by step

Read up. Start with this section, the FAQ and the safety pages.
Join the interest list (optional). The interest list takes a few minutes and lets us contact you when registration opens. It is not enrollment.
Wait for dates. Dates are posted only after every launch requirement is complete. We'll post the schedule here.
Complete full registration. It opens only after launch. It takes about 15–20 minutes, and the form explainer covers what each question is for. If you'd rather use paper, the printable forms are for full registration after launch.
Get a confirmation email. It's sent automatically when your registration goes through.
Talk with us if you'd like. If your child has allergies, medication, or needs any accommodation, Stephen Henry will follow up with you before the first class. Families with medication will need to provide a signed authorization and, for allergies, a Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan. See the medical and allergy plan.
Get your private family link. When a coach approves your child for a class, we email you a private family link to the class app. It shows only your own child, never other children. If you lose it, or it gets shared by mistake, ask and the coach will re-issue it. Families don't use a class code.
First class. Arrive 10 minutes early so you can sign your child in. See arrival and sign-out. We'll email you every time your child is signed out.

Forms you'll complete at full registration

All of these are part of full registration, which opens after launch. The interest list asks for none of them. Each one has its own explainer page:

Questions?

Contact Stephen Henry, President of Ras Tafari Inc., at 872-255-9333 or stephen@selassiefest.com.