Teacher Responsibilities

Communication

There are four ways that parents can communicate with faculty and staff: letters, telephone, e-mail and voice mail. It is expected that teachers will make use of school email and voicemail in order to respond to parent communication in a timely manner. Teachers are expected to initiate parent contact if a student has a sudden drop in performance placing them in danger of failing. For students with special needs, teachers should consult with the identified student’s case manager regarding concerns on a consistent basis.

Aspen / X2 Parent Portal

Teachers are expected to update their teacher page on a weekly basis with current assignments and projects that are to be completed outside. Grades must be updated on a bi-weekly basis in Aspen X2.

Attendance Procedures

Taking attendance is an important priority. It is expected that teachers will be consistent about taking attendance as a daily procedure. Attendance data for each class is extremely important and may seriously affect whether or not a student receives credit for a class. Official school attendance is based on the attendance taken at the beginning of the first block of the day. First block, period attendance will be taken within the Aspen system.

Teachers will notify the Asst. Principal when a student has accumulated three unexcused tardies in a first block class. (A teacher should notify the office by phone if a student who has previously been identified by the administration as having a chronic issue with leaving school without permission is unaccounted for.) Teachers who choose to use attendance cards for after block 1/period 1 should mark them in the following fashion: a single vertical line if a student is absent, a T if a student is tardy, and an upside down T if the student is dismissed. Students who have an early dismissal should be reminded by their teacher to sign out before they leave the building.

Teachers should insist that students arrive promptly and be ready to work at the start of each class. Establishing a reputation for beginning class immediately at the start of each new block or period will only help to promote a behavior of minimizing lateness.

Ten half days of unapproved absences denotes truancy. Please contact and administrator once the truancy threshold has been surpassed. A truancy intervention plan needs to be developed to address student truancy. Please refer to the policy section of this handbook for further guidance in addressing student absences.

At the high school level, penalties for unexcused absences may result in loss of credit. Ten unexcused absences are allowed in a one-credit course; five unexcused absences will be allowed in a one-half credit course; two unexcused absences will be allowed in a quarter credit course. In order not to be marked absent, the student must be present for 60 minutes or more of the class. Three "tardies" to a class will be recorded as one unexcused absence. (Students have the opportunity to "buy back" one of these unexcused absences caused by tardiness by serving one two-hour session of Saturday Detention.) Upon the third tardy, the teacher is expected to give a detention and document the tardiness/detention on a pink Discipline Notice.

** It is imperative that teachers alert the Assistant Principal's secretary when a student has reached the halfway mark of allowable absences for a given course so that notice may be given to the student and parent that the student is in danger of losing credit.

Students have 48 hours from the day of their return to school to make up missed work. A teacher may grant a one time definitive extension to make up work deadlines.

Discipline Referrals:

Teachers should complete discipline referrals when students chronically disrupt the education of others and/or prevent the teacher from teaching. If a student continues to disrupt the education of others it may be necessary to remove the student from class/send the student to the office. The protocol for sending a student to the office is as follows:

Suggested procedure for a first offense: Student is asked to go outside the classroom for a private discussion with the teacher. The teacher articulates clear expectations. If the student meets the expectations, the student remains in class.

If the student does not meet the expectations:

Suggested procedure for a second offense: Student is asked to go to the office. The teacher calls the office (dial 0) and informs the office staff if, after processing the behavior, the student can return to class. The Assistant Principal, Principal, Behavior Specialist(s), or SAP will process the behavior with the student. If the student accepts responsibility for the behavior the Assistant Principal, Principal, Behavior Specialist(s), or SAP are confident the student will be successful in class, the student will be sent back to class. After class, the teacher documents the behavior on a pink slip; the consequence is established taking into account the behavior that caused the removal from class and the behavior after the student returned.

If there is less than 15 minutes remaining in class, the student will remain in the office.

Food and Drink/Cell Phones

No food or drink (except water bottles) will be allowed in the classroom or the halls for faculty, staff or students. In addition, faculty members are asked to make use of personal cell phones in a classroom, the office, or in the teachers' room. Cell phones should not be used in the hallways.

Cleaning

At the end of each day, please have students place chairs upside down on desks and pick up any litter that may be on the floor. Faculty members are urged not to allow gum in their classrooms. If faculty members choose to allow gum in the classroom, it is the teacher's responsibility to have students check under the desks frequently as this has presented a problem for the custodial staff. Also, please lock the classroom door when exiting for the day.

Fire Drill Procedure

Fire drills are an essential part of school safety. Students will meet their Academic Advisory teacher at their assigned muster location for attendance purposes once outside and clear of the building. The following procedure is to be followed during fire drills:

1. Teachers should confirm that each classroom has an evacuation plan posted near the door.

2. Teachers should lead their class out the proper exit from each room. The classroom door should be closed.

3. Teachers should bring their rank book/attendance register with them in order to take attendance in the muster area. The muster area is the area behind the school, beyond the maintenance garage on the dirt road.

4. Once attendance is taken, the Office Manager (Principal’s Secretary) will go to each muster area to get attendance from teachers.

5. Teachers should remain with their advisory until entry back into the school is announced.

6. Teachers without an Academic Advisory class will be designated as sweepers.

7. In the event that teachers must leave the building during the day, they should leave the name tags given to them for fire drills as well as a list of students to be accounted for with the Office Manager.

8. Teachers should provide their fire drill procedure and their period one/block one class list as part of their substitute plans. (Please review this procedure with your Academic Advisory.)