Frequently Asked Questions

Late Arrivals - When your child is not in his/her classroom by 8:40 AM,  he/she must be accompanied into the school by a parent or guardian and signed in at the front office.  Late students may not come into the building without a parent.

Changes to Regular Dismissal, Plans for Late Arrival, Plans for Early Dissmissal - email your child's homeroom teacher.  Dismissal starts at 3:10 PM each day.  If you need to pick up your child early, please arrive by 2:55 pm to prevent disruption to the bus arrival.  If your child has a change in the afternoon dismissal, send an email or note to the homeroom teacher on that morning before 8:30 AM. Any change after 8:30 AM should be communicated via phone call to the office.  For each day your child has an after school activity, email or send a note to the teacher the morning of that activity. 

Missed Day of School - Email all student attendance notes to clesabsence@hcpss.org to ensure that your student's absence is marked as excused and they will have the opportunity to make up work. The email should have the student's full name as the subject line, and the message should include the student's full name, their grade/teacher, the date(s) of absence, the reason for absence, and the parent/guardian full name. Please remember that you have up to 5 days after your child's return to school to submit an absence note. When emailing a note, you will receive an automated message to verify that your email was received. Please do not send attendance notes to your child's teachers. If you have any questions about your child's attendance, please email clesabsence@hcpss.org.

Discretionary Absences:   For absences of up to 3 days per year, the principal may determine whether the absences will be lawful/excused or unlawful/unexcused.   The link below takes you to the form to submit to the school in advance of the absences.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oVAt71woLh--X4FgxUQ01NUh86gI02n-/view?usp=sharing

Family File (Emergency Cards) - Howard County public school requires each family to complete the family file through their Synergy account each year for each student.  The file updates emergency contact information for your child.  To complete this family file log onto your Synergy account and click on the "Family File (Emergency Form)" button the the left hand side of the home screen.  https://www.hcpss.me/

As a new parent, how can I get ready for CLES - If you are new to CLES and would like to be informed and involved, here are some things you can do to get ready: 

1.  Create a sign up genius account - almost all of the volunteer opportunities for parents are advertised through this website.

2.  Canvas/Synergy - these are the online methods that HCPSS uses to communicte with parents and teachers.  Create your password and log onto the site to familiarize yourself with the format.  Complete your family file (Emergency Card) - See other FAQ.  You can also set your preferences on your account for the notifications you want to receive from school.

3.  Create your OSP account (Online Student Payment) - HCPSS encourages parents to pay for field trips and other student expenses via the Online Student Payment system.  It allows credit card payments for school expenses.  Of note there is a surcharge for using this system of payment.

4.  Create an account for your child to purchase school lunch and school snacks.  HCPSS uses the myschoolbucks website to pay for food in the schools.


For a more detailed description of the above services please visit the glossary.


Before and After care - There are few options of daycare for your child for the hours that they are not in school.  

The following centers have drop off and pick up options for students to and from the school:

Expectations for coming into the school building -  When you arrive at CLES during school hours you will find the front doors locked for safety.  There is a buzzer/doorbell in a box on the right wall by the locked door.  Push the silver button to call the front office.  After they answer the call please state your name, your child's name and the reason for your visit.  You will then be buzzed in the door (you will hear a buzz and the door will be unlocked).  After entering the school please proceed to the front office - the glass windowed room by the front door.  If you are visiting or a volunteer you must sign in and print out a nametag for yourself at the small computer to the left of the secretary's desk and printer.  A drivers license or valid form of identification is required to sign in.  If you are there to drop your child off late to school or to pick your child up early from school, sign in with the sheets by the identakid computer.

Lunch with your child -  Parents and visitors may have lunch with their student during the school day.  Arrive at school during lunch time and sign in at the front office as described in another FAQ.  Parents may enjoy lunch with their child.  Of note, parents may not attend the recess block associated with lunch or go back to the classroom once lunch has ended.  

Communicate with teachers - The structure for communicating with your child's teacher is through the parent teacher (PT) conferences that are held in November and February.  Look out for the CLES published newsletter (Dolphin Detail) with the dates for the PT conference and how to sign up for a conference online.  To contact your child's teacher at times other than the PT conference, email is the preferred method.  A list of the teacher's emails at CLES can be found here.

Dismissal procedure - Kindergarten walkers must be picked up by their parent or approved adult  as a walker.  Kindergarten walkers are dismissed 5 min before formal school dismissal. Walkers are dismissed on the blacktop behind school.

Placement decisions

Placement decisions for both English Language Arts and Mathematics are determined by the teacher, team and administration in reviewing multiple data points.   Only in Grade 3 and Grade 5 does a single data point (CogAt) determine placement.   A passing score on CogAt in 3rd grade can place your student in Gifted and Talented Mathematics in 4th grade.    A passing score on CogAt in 5th grade can place your student in Gifted and Talented classes in middle school.  However, as a best practice, we always want to use multiple data points to determine placement in a specific instructional level. Even when obtaining a passing score on CogAt, the teacher may recommend to the parent another placement option if other data points do not indicate readiness for a higher level class. The parent would then collaborate with the teacher to determine next steps. For students not passing CogAt, teachers  can also conduct placement reviews to determine if a student's data indicates that they would benefit from the Gifted and Talented Mathematics program at the elementary or middle school level. In middle school, a parent can waive their child into Gifted and Talented classes. However, it is strongly advised that the parent and teacher collaborate to review data and make informed, data driven decisions. A parent can always request a meeting to discuss any concerns or questions they have about their student's instructional level. Parent- Teacher conferences are a great opportunity to discuss such concerns or questions.   

Enrichment opportunities

Special curriculum and services are provided by one or more G/T Resource Teachers in every elementary school. General education teachers also provide instruction to allow for accelerated learning in Language Arts and Mathematics.

For more information on enrichment opportunities, please see the HCPSS website page here.

After School Activities 

If you are signing your child up for after school activities taking place at CLES, you will NOT need to send a note to the homeroom teach about the change in dismissal. If you enroll your child in the program, you are only responsible for telling your child's homeroom teacher if your child is NOT going to attend a given day. If CLES receive no notice that they will NOT be attending, then they will send your child to the after school program. Recreation and Parks is responsible for notifying you of cancellation. Exception - If you sign up 3 days or less prior to the start of the class, you must send a note sharing that your child will attend and change dismissal. We receive a roster typically a week in advance so any registrations after that need to notify the front office via the parent. 

Getting to school - Depending on the distance away from the school, children are either assigned as a bus rider or a walker.  If your child is a bus rider, the bus will be the same bus (designated by a bus number) and will drive the same route every day for pick up and drop off near your home.  To find out how your child will be going to school click here.

Finding out your child's teacher

Parents will be able to find out their child’s teachers by logging into HCPSS Connect and will receive an email from their homeroom teacher. The day teachers are announced changes each year but will be advertised numerous times by the school administration.   Please be sure to update your Family File from this date in order to receive this information. Our teachers will be using the emails from the Family File. Even if you do not have any information to update from last year, please attempt to log in to make sure you remember your username and password. If not, there is an option to reset it through the online system. Please review the emergency contacts, phone numbers, and email addresses to be sure they are current and correct. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. The safety of your children is our first priority.

HCPSS School News - All CLES and school system newsletters are sent through HCPSS News. Parents and guardians of currently enrolled HCPSS students automatically receive HCPSS News emails from the district and their child’s school, based on contact information submitted through the Family File last school year. Subscription information for parents of newly enrolled students and students changing schools will be automatically added to and/or updated in the system before the school year begins. For more information:

First Day of School

August 30 at 8:45 a.m. marks the first day of the 2021-22 school year! Our daily schedule begins with morning announcements at 8:45. Doors open at 8:33 a.m. Please make sure your children arrive at school by 8:33 a.m. so they can be in their seats, ready to learn, no later than 8:45 a.m. **Remember, we highly encourage you send your students to school the way in which they will arrive and dismiss all year. This allows them to start their routines immediately. Kindergarten students will all meet in the cafeteria and will be assisted in the transition from the bus to the building. The teachers will walk them to their classrooms.