A-Z Information For Parents

The only excused absences are religious holidays listed annually by the Commissioner of Education and college visits (for 11th and 12th graders), and children whose parents or guardians provide written notice of their child’s plan to be absent on the Commissioner’s announced day for “Take Your Child To Work.”

Per District Policy #5200, the educational program offered by this district is predicated on the presence of the pupil and requires continuity of instruction and classroom participation. The regular contact of pupils with one another in the classroom and their participation in a well-planned instructional activity under the tutelage of a competent teacher, are vital to this purpose.

In accordance with this policy, parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of each child or from an adult pupil who has been absent from school or from class for any reason shall provide a written statement of the cause or causes of such absence. The Board reserves the right to verify such statements and to investigate the cause of each absence. The Board may report to appropriate authorities, infractions of the law regarding attendance of pupils below the age of sixteen. Parents/guardians should consult the relevant District Policies for other information regarding student attendance.

The parent/guardian must notify the appropriate school office on the day of the absence. Upon returning to school, students must present a written excuse. The excuse must consist of a note signed by the parent/guardian indicating the date of absence and the reason. Parents/guardians are requested to schedule family vacations in accordance with the school calendar.

Emergency Contact Information

Parents/guardians may access current Emergency Contact Information in the Parent Portal and should print, correct, provide signature and return to the school office, any changes. If there are changes in the information during the school year, parents/guardians should advise the school office immediately.

Emergency School Closing

In the event of a severe storm or other emergency, the Bloomfield Emergency Notification System will place calls to the emergency number provided to the district. In addition, up-to-the- minute school closing information can be found at the following sources.

TELEVISION: Channel 5 “Good Day New York WNBC-TV 4 Morning News

BETV: Comcast Cable Channel 34 . BETV: Fios Cable Channel 32

Cable News 12

INTERNET: Visit our website at www.bloomfield.k12.nj.us

TWITTER: @07003schools

FACEBOOK: Bloomfield Public School District, New Jersey

Emergency Notifications

As with the Emergency Notification System for inclement weather, we must now consider notification for terrorist threats. Emergency phone messaging will be implemented only when a threat to the school has been reported and students have been dismissed. The reason for the implementation of our Emergency calling under these circumstances will be to provide clear, concise information to parents/guardians and to immediately squelch rumors. The process will be as follows:

Principal notifies Superintendent of threat.
Superintendent decides whether or not it warrants activation of the Emergency Notification System.
If activated, Superintendent will notify Principal and communicate message. (i.e. A terrorist threat has been called in to School X.)
Message is then communicated to parents via Emergency Notification System. The Emergency Notification System will leave a message on Voice Mail or an answering machine, if no one answers the phone. Emails are delivered to all valid addresses. In addition, Principals will notify parents of the emergency situation by letter.
The District Emergency Management Plan has been implemented to insure the safety of all students and teachers. Students should report to school normal time unless otherwise notified. For additional information, please contact your child’s Principal or the Superintendent’s Office.

Equal Education & Employment Opportunities

Nicholas J. Dotoli, Ed. M. Esq., Affirmative Action/Sexual Harassment Officer

Vicky Guo, Contract Labor Agreement and Contract Purchasing

Nicholas Dotoli, Employment Practices and Procedures

Joseph Fleres, School and Classroom Practices

Note: Affirmative Action policy plans and grievance procedures are available from Central Office.

Fire Exit Drills/Emergency Drills

The School Laws of New Jersey require that each school hold a fire exit drill twice every month. These drills are held at various times and under varying conditions. At times exits are purposely blocked to test student and teacher reactions. The students are taught to leave the building quickly, quietly and safely. In addition, there are required school safety drills. An explanation of these drills can be found on the district website on the School Safety and Security Information Webpage.

Homework

Homework in the Bloomfield Schools is a necessary extension of the classroom experience. It is assigned with regularity and has a clear relationship to curriculum. The nature of the assignments varies with the needs of the student and the type and level of the lesson. In some programs, it may be reinforcing of skills; in others, it involves exploring new or related subject matter. Homework assists the students in learning how to organize time, to work independently or in groups, to use good study skills, and to develop self-esteem.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title Programs

The Bloomfield School District receives federal funding for six elementary schools, Bloomfield Middle School and Bloomfield High School. These Title IA programs are a part of the reauthorization of ESEA that is known as Every Student Achieves Act or ESSA. The funding is earmarked to address the achievement gap. Schools use this entitlement grant money to prepare and present programs such as after school help or Saturday activities for students. Parents play an integral role in their child’s education and their involvement is crucial in the planning and evaluating of our Title 1a programs. Principals will seek input from stakeholders for the purpose of the identification of student needs and integrate them into the decision-making process.

No Smoking Zone

In order to be in compliance with State mandates, smoking is not allowed anywhere on school property. This includes e-cigarettes. This policy is also adopted by the Board of Education. Thank you for not smoking.

Photo ID

All Bloomfield employees and students are issued an ID. All students in grades 7 to 12 are required to wear a photo ID when school is in session. The use of ID’s is part of the districts’ on- going efforts to maintain a safe environment for students and staff. In addition, the student ID card with unique barcode for each student is an integral part of our media center circulation system, our cafeteria point-of-sale system and our transportation system.

Public Notices

The district curriculum guides, school goals and child services are annually adopted by the Board of Education. Interested parties may review adopted programs by contacting the Office of the Superintendent or the building Principals or by visiting our website.

As required by federal and state health and environment regulations, any member of the community may review the Asbestos Management Plan. This document is on file in the Board of Education Office at 155 Broad Street, Bloomfield, NJ.

Student Accident Insurance

The Board of Education has authorized an insurance company to offer student accident insurance to cover accidental injury during school time or “round the clock”. Information relative to this voluntary coverage is available from the school office. The Board maintains a general liability policy covering the acts of all employees but does not provide accident insurance covering all students. The Board of Education does provide sports insurance for all students in the high school who participate in interscholastic sports, marching band and cheerleading.

Technology

All students in grades K-12 are assigned an email address and are given access to the Bloomfield School District network for use. An Acceptable Use Policy must be signed by all students and parents/guardians and is kept on file. A copy of the AUP is available on the district website. The Bloomfield School District is in compliance with CIPA. Both the students and parents of those participating in the District 1:1 initiative must complete a “Device Home Loan Permission Slip”.

Use of School Facilities

Organized community groups who wish to use school facilities may apply at the office of the Board Secretary. Approval of such requests is determined by Board of Education policy.

Visiting the Schools

Parents are invited to visit the schools and observe their children at work. You are requested to contact the school beforehand to determine whether or not it will be convenient to visit on any particular day. According to school policy, all visitors must report to the principal’s office upon entering the building and must sign in. During the school day, all school buildings are locked down to ensure the safety of our students.

Voting Information

The annual school election will be held on the November general election day. Voters will be given the opportunity to vote for members of the Board of Education.

To be eligible to vote, residents must be at least 18 years old on the date of the election and citizens of the United States. Residents must have been living in the state and county for 30 days, and must have registered at least 30 days before the elections. Anyone registered to vote in the general elections may also vote in the school elections.

Absentee ballots may be obtained from the Office of the County Clerk, Essex County, Hall of Records, 465 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Newark, NJ

Working Papers

Any child between the ages of 14 and 18 may be legally employed in New Jersey providing he/she has working papers. These working papers are issued online. By law, the papers must be secured before the student starts working.

Website

The PowerSchool Student and Parent portal gives parents and students access to real-time information including attendance, grades and detailed assignment descriptions, school bulletins, lunch menus and even personal messages from the teacher. Everyone stays connected: Students stay on top of assignments, parents are able to participate more fully in their student's progress, and teachers can use their gradebook to make decisions on what information they want to share with parents and students.

For further information on activating parent/guardian accounts on the PowerSchool Student and Parent portal and for information on individual schools, visit our website at: www.bloomfield.k12.nj.us

For more information about PowerSchool, please click here