Elementary School Teacher/Staff Handbook

Elementary School Teacher/Staff Handbook DAWSON ISD 199 N. SCHOOL AVENUE DAWSON, TEXAS 76639 254-578-1416

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction & Mission Statement 3 Announcements 4 Attendance of Students 5 Attendance of Teachers 5 Cell Phones 6 Child Abuse/Welfare Report 6 Classroom 6 Communication 6 Counseling and Guidance 7 Dress Code 7 Drills 8 Field Trips 8 Fund Raisers 8 Grading Policy 8 Leaving Campus 9 Lesson Plans 9 Liability 9 Lock Down 9 Nurse 9 Phones Student sent to Office 10 Security 10 Textbooks 10 Announcement Form 13 Attendance Correction Form 11 Grade Correction Form 15 Acknowledgement of Receipt 17 Teacher Contact Log 19

INTRODUCATION The purpose of the Dawson ISD Elementary School Teacher/Staff Handbook is to provide an overview of the essential policies, procedures, protocols, and general information in order to facilitate a successful school year for all stakeholders. This document does not include all district policies or procedures, and those included herein are summarized. This handbook is neither a contract nor a substitute for the official Dawson ISD policy manual. It is not intended to alter the status of at-will employees. It is rather intended to serve as a guide and brief explanation; for more detailed information, employees should refer to the Dawson ISD Board Policy Manual available on campus during regular working hours or on our website at dawsonisd.net. 4

ANNOUNCEMENTS Elementary School announcements are made over the public address system located in the front office. Most of the announcements will be made at the beginning of each school day; between 7:50 and 8:00. These general information or daily announcements must be submitted on the proper form with a teacher s or administrator s signature. This form is located in the back of the handbook. It is important to get these approved announcements to the Elementary Office on the day before they are to be announced. Occasionally, some announcements will be made during the day; the Elementary School Secretary and/or a Dawson ISD Administrator will make these announcements. Emergency announcements may be made at any time during the school day at the discretion of Dawson ISD Administration. 5

ATTENDANCE OF STUDENTS The Texas Education Code indicates that a student s absences may be excused for the following reasons: a. Parent Conference b. Personal Illness c. Suspension d. Illness or death in family e. Court appearances f. Quarantine g. Weather or road conditions making travel dangerous h. Religious Holy Days: Members of some religious faiths observe certain holy days that are not school holidays. Students belonging to such faiths who are absent from school on these holy days shall be excused upon advanced written request of the parents. These excuses must be presented to the Attendance Office prior to the religious holiday. A student should not be allowed back into class without an admittance slip from the office if he/ she has been absent or is tardy. A student must be given the opportunity to make up work due to an absence. The teacher will determine all make-up work. Each teacher will post make up work guidelines in the classroom for each student s information. Work that has been made up shall be averaged with other grades as if the student had been in attendance. ON THE OCCASION OF THE 9TH ABSENCE, A STUDENT MAY LOSE CREDIT FOR THAT ENTIRE SEMESTER. However, a student s parent may request an Attendance Hearing to dispute days of absences. Parents will be notified by mail when the student has accumulated five absences during a semester. If necessary, another note will be sent after the 6th absence, on the 7th absence Saturday School will be assigned. A teacher may not permit a student to leave the campus for any reason without official permission from the parent and proper authorization through the attendance office. A teacher may not request a student be release from another class for any reason other than approved field trips. Fund raising, performance practice, and etc., are not appropriate release activities. ATTENDANCE/DUTY OF TEACHERS/STAFF All faculty and staff should be on campus no later than 7:30 a.m. Unless you have 7:20 a.m. duty, then you need to be here by that time. You are required to be at your DUTY POST AND MONITOR YOUR AREA, this means walking around keeping an eye on students, not sitting down. Teachers and staff are NOT to leave their Duty Area to Take care of business. You are assigned Duty to help look after students, not run copies or make phone calls. Classes begin at 7:50 a.m. and end at 3:20 p.m. Faculty and staff are to leave no earlier than 3:30 p.m. If you are unable to do your morning duty, please call and make arrangements to have it covered. Teachers who need to leave their duties prior to the end of a given school day must arrange to have their remaining time in class covered through the Elementary School Secretary and get approval of principal. 6

Each teacher should prepare a folder that contains the following information for their substitute teachers: a printout roster of her/his students for the sub to take attendance by (this can be done through Gradebook), schedule of classes, special duties, fire drill instructions, seating charts, accommodations/modifications for students with special needs, lesson plans, materials, and etc. Teachers that have knowledge of an absence ahead of time for such things as; workshops, personal day, funeral, appointments, and etc. must first check with the principal for approval. Then they should notify the Elementary Secretary so that a substitute may be arranged. Teachers who are unable to attend school as a result of illness must inform the Elementary School Secretary ASAP. You are also asked to call the office by 2:30 p.m. to let the secretary know if you will be returning the next day. Aides are required to use monthly time sheets. These must be filled in daily and signed by campus principal. These and kept in a blue notebook and the table by the office. All staff members are required to sign in and out when enter and leave the building, this is for safety reasons. The sign in sheet is located on the table by the office. CELL PHONES The use of cell phones should be limited to conference periods and lunch breaks (non instructional time). Please refrain from having cell phones visible when students are present. CHILD ABUSE/WELFARE REPORTING A person who has cause to believe that a child s physical or mental health or welfare has been or may be adversely affected by abuse or neglect by any person shall make such reports as are required by law. Reports shall be directed to any of the following: 1. Any local or state enforcement agency 2. The Child Protective Services division of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. If a professional has cause to believe that a child has been abused or neglected, that person shall make an oral report as prescribed above not later than 48 hours after the hour the person first suspects that the child has been or may be abused or neglected. In all instances, a written report shall be made within five days to the same agency or department. CLASSROOM RULES Classroom rules and motto are to be posted in each room. COMMUNICATION Mailboxes * Teachers need to check their mailboxes in the morning, during conference periods, and in the afternoon before leaving school. 7

Electronic Mail Teachers are to check their e-mail during their conference period and before they depart for the day. Internal messaging Internal messaging system. Please keep this up on your computer, this is a fast and easy way for the office to send information and updates about students and how there may be changes in how they are getting home. Try and make it a practice to check it periodically throughout the day, especially at the end of the day when parents call with arrangements on how children are getting home. Monthly Calendar School events will be recorded on the master calendar in the elementary office. Please give dates of all upcoming events as soon as they are scheduled. All events and activities must be cleared with the principal. The Elementary Secretary and/or Counselor will then publish all events and dates of school activities on a single page calendar the first day of each month, and also on the district website. * Remember be careful when writing messages to parent, peers, friends, and family. Any type of school communication can be subpoenaed in a court case. COUNSELING AND GUIDANCE The counselor is available to counsel with students about schoolwork, personal problems, pier pressure, aspirations and any other issues or concerns that may arise. Counseling and guidance services are available both to the students and parents. Students may see the counselor by pre-arranged appointments. Parents may call for appointments. DRESS CODE Student A student whose clothing violates the dress code shall be sent to the office for the remainder of the day or until a parent or designee brings a acceptable change of clothing to the school. Parent contact will be attempted. If a parent cannot be reached, the student will be sent to the nurse for proper clothing. Continual dress code violations will result in disciplinary action. Employee Dress Code The dress and grooming of Dawson ISD employees shall be clean, neat, in a manner appropriate for their assignments, and in accordance with any additional standards established by their supervisors and approved by the Superintendent. Dress and grooming shall conform to the following guidelines: 1. Clean and neatly pressed shirts, slacks, and suits shall be considered acceptable attire for men. 2. Clean and neatly pressed dresses, slacks, skirts, and blouses shall be considered acceptable attire for women. 3. All skirts shall come to the knee. Pants/capris may not be shorter than 5 above the ankle. 8

4. Wind suits shall not be permitted. Principals may make exceptions for workdays (not for professional staff development days), field trips, or other school activities or specific job assignments or conditions when informal attire is deemed more appropriate. 5. Jeans shall be permitted on Fridays and should be free of holes and scoff marks. 6. Women s clothing should not be revealing in cut, style, or material, and will have sleeves. Tight fitting clothing is not permissible, and cleavage must be covered at all times. 7. Coaching shorts without cover-ups shall be worn only during physical education instructional periods. During classroom instruction, PE/coaching staff must follow the employee dress code. 8. Hair shall be clean and well groomed. Moustaches and beards are allowed if neatly trimmed. Moustaches shall not extend past the corners of the mouth. Sideburns shall not extend beyond the middle of the ear. Hair length for men shall be above the bottom of a dress shirt collar. 9. Hats and caps shall not be worn in District buildings. 10. Keds-type shoes and sandals are allowed if they are clean and well kept. Dress casual shoes are appropriate. Rubber or plastic footwear and flip flops are not permissible. Flip flops are considered to be shoes which have a thong between the toes, sole of ½ inch or less, and are rubber or plastic. If your shoes meet two of the three criteria, they are flip flops. Crocs are not acceptable footwear for employees. 11. At all times, staff members should be in professional-looking attire, not casual. 12. Principals shall determine if dress and grooming are professionally appropriate. DRILLS During Fire Drills, Disaster Drills and Tornado Drills; teachers must always carry their class rolls and Emergency Class Kits with the class. In case of an obstructed fire drill in which an exit is blocked, the first person to reach or detect the blockade should raise his/her right hand clearly above his/her head and turn about-face. Each succeeding member of the file should repeat this gesture, and the students should proceed to an alternate exit. FIELD TRIPS All field trips must be scheduled at least 10 days prior to trip. Teacher must check district calendar before scheduling trip. Transportation requests must be filled in by the teacher and approved by the principal. Teachers should have copies of all Medical/Field Trip forms. Field trip check off list must be completed and turned into the office with a contact number and a list of all students before the trip The cafeteria is to be notified of field trips and the number of lunches that will be required at least 10 days in advance. Each grade level is allowed 1 field trips each year. Field trips must be for educational purposes and must be related to the appropriate TEKS objectives. All field trips requiring Dawson ISD transportation will be completed by the May. 9

LESSON PLANS A copy of each teacher s lesson plans needs to be placed in your box in the principal s office each MONDAY BY NOON. Please identify TEKS covered, activities and modification for special needs children. FUND RAISING ACTIVITIES The principal must approve all fund raising activities. Money collected from fund raising activities must be handled by the sponsor only and turned into the business manager DAILY. Sponsors are responsible for security of products being sold and for all moneys collected. It is up to the sponsor to be responsible to collect funds; this means make contact with the parent by phone calls, certified letter, etc. GRADING POLICY For grades Pre-K K: Student assessments are based on mastery or non-mastery of the TEKS covered for that grading period. All assessments are weighted the same and are documented as an E, S, I, N or U. For Grades 1 2 An average of a minimum of 12 daily grades and at least three assessments for each six weeks For Grades 3 6 75% of the grade will be the average of a minimum of 12 daily grades each six weeks; 25% of the grade will be the average of at least three assignments considered assessments. Tests may include TMSDA, benchmarks, weekly test and/or projects. Administration will be verifying adherence to this policy. Teachers may provide opportunities for students to retake failed test. On the retest, any passing grade will be recorded as a 70. No higher grade should be recorded. Should the retest grade be lower than the first test grade, the higher of the two will be recorded. Teachers may also offer students an opportunity to improve a grade on their daily work. However, no grade higher than a 70 may be recorded for the reworked assignment. Grade Posting At least two grades in each subject each week need to be posted by every Monday afternoon. First and Second this will be different for Science and Social Studies. This means the first week of the six weeks will have 2 grades in each subject, the second week of the six weeks there would be 4 grades in each subject, by the third week there would be six grades and etc. Parents are continually checking the Parent Portal, grades must be current and up to date. LEAVING CAMPUS For security purposes, all staff will sign in each day upon arrival to campus and sign out when leaving campus at the front office. Please refrain from leaving school during school day (7:30 3:30 school day for teachers) unless you have an emergency. Please make the principals aware of any situation for which you may need to leave campus. Everyone is to enter and leave through the door by the office. DO NOT USE CAFETERIA DOORS. 10

LIABILITY We are responsible for the safety and welfare of the students at Dawson Elementary School. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE STUDENTS UNATTENDED. It is important that you arrive on time for classes and all assigned duties. You should not leave your classroom or other duties to take care of personal matters. Should an emergency arise, please notify the office immediately. Supervision during recess should be proactive. Teachers should continuously be watching for inappropriate behavior that could lead to difficult situations. If necessary, teachers should move closer to problem areas so interventions will be made before trouble start. Board Policy States: Any District employee who receives notice that a student has or may have experienced bullying shall immediately notify the campus principal or designee. LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES If at time any you here a call for we are on LOCKDOWN. This means to lock all doors and hold students in the classroom until further notice. NURSE In non-emergency situations, students should obtain permission from the teacher before seeing the nurse. The nurse will keep a record of each visit. If an illness or problem is an emergency, students should go immediately and report the situation to the nurse or nurse s assistant. The school nurse and administrators are the only school personnel authorized to call the paramedics. If a student experiences fainting, seizure, serious injury, uncontrolled bleeding, respiratory problem, and etc., the following procedure should be used: The teacher should remain with the student at all times. If needed, send another student for help. The teacher will tell the nurse/administrator the nature of the emergency and the location. The nurse/administrator will go to the emergency site immediately. Someone will be posted by the front door to guide the paramedics to the site of the emergency. At different intervals, students may be called to the nurse s office for health assessments and/or verification of immunizations. PHONE CALLS- STUDENT USE OF PHONE Students should not be sent to the office to use the phone unless it is an emergency. A note from the teacher must accompany students sent to the office. Do not send them to the office to make arrangements for spending the night, play dates, etc. They should not be sent to the office to call for homework. If they are missing homework, this should have been taken care of before the beginning of the school day. SECURITY Doors All exterior doors need to be kept shut and locked at all times during the day, including the cafeteria doors. Please do not open the door for people trying to get inside. All visitors must enter through the front doors. 11

Keys Keys should be kept secure at all times. Facility and staff are responsible for keys issued and should never duplicate building keys without permission from administration. Faculty should not loan their keys to anyone not employed by the school district. Visitors Each staff member should do the following when a visitor enters the building: 1. Greet the visitor and check visually for visitor s pass or name badge. 2. Ask the visitor if he/she needs assistance. 3. If no visitor s pass is seen direct the visitor (including anyone who wishes to visit with a particular staff person or persons) to the main office for a visitor s pass. 4. Continue to observe that the visitor is proceeding to the proper destination. 5. Go to the nearest telephone to report to an administrator/security the refusal of a visitor to comply with your directions (indicate his/her destination or if any doubt exists about the visitor s intentions). Go to the nearest classroom and ask a student to notify an administrator if contact is not made by telephone. TEXTBOOKS Textbooks and library books are loaned to students for their use during the school year. Each textbook must contain the student s name, teacher's name, and current year. It is the student s responsibility to take care of his/her books. The student must pay for a lost book. Each teacher must submit his or her NOT CLEAR LIST to the principal at the end of each six weeks period. In the classroom, the teacher is responsible for a. Assigning textbook to the students and making notes about damage already present. b. Conducting periodic textbook inspections for damaged and lost textbooks, and requisitioning replacements if needed. A NOT CLEAR list of missing books must be submitted to the office upon request. c. Returning all surplus textbooks to the bookroom in a timely fashion. d. Collecting textbooks at the end of the year and verifying students are turning in their previously assigned textbook. Teachers must notify principal of lost textbooks. e. Returning all textbooks (not covered) to the book room at the end of the year for annual inventory. DISCIPLINE Teachers should handle minor classroom discipline in the classroom. Students should be written up, assigned detention or other consequences, etc. NO STUDENTS should be sent to the office for continuous disregard of classroom rules. A major violation of Student Code of Conduct should be reported immediately, unless the teacher has had a conference with the parent regarding the problems concerning the student. 12

ATTENDANCE CORRECTIONS Date: Please correct the attendance report for: (Student Name) Grade Level: Pre K; K; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6 Date(s) to be corrected Teacher: TYPE OF CORRECTION: 1. Marked absent but was present 2. Marked absent but was tardy 3. Was absent but not marked absent 4. Marked as tardy in attendance, should be absent 5. Other: Signature: Date: 13

ANNOUNCEMENT FORM Please use the following form for submitting announcements. It is helpful if this sheet is turned in before 7:50 a.m. From : For: Date of event: Date(s) announcement to be made: ANNOUNCEMENT: 15

Grade Change Form Student s Information Name ID Number Dawson ISD 199 N. School Ave Dawson, Texas 76639 254-578-1416 Phone 254-578-1342 Fax Grade Change Information Teacher s Name Semester Cycle Course Name Course Number Section Number Exam Grade Incomplete Previous Grade New Grade Reason for Grade Change? Teacher s Signature Date FOR PRINCIPALS USE ONLY. DO NOT WRITE IN THIS BOX. Principal s Signature Date Approved Not Approved FOR OFFICE US ONLY. DO NOT WRITE IN THIS BOX. DATE RECEIVED DATE CHANGED IN RSCCC Changed by 17

Dawson ISD Teacher/Staff Handbook Acknowledgement Name: Department: I hereby acknowledge receipt of my personal copy of the Dawson ISD Elementary School Teacher/Staff 2014-2015 Handbook. I agree to read the handbook and abide by the standards, policies, and procedures defined and/or referenced in this document. The information in this handbook is subject to change, and I understand that changes in DISD policies may supersede, modify, and/or invalidate any or all information contained herewith. I understand that all Dawson ISD Board Policies are available in the district administrative offices. I accept responsibility for becoming familiar with and abiding by any changes that are effected by the Board of Trustees and/or Dawson ISD Administration during school year 2014 2015. I understand that I have an obligation to inform my principal concerning any changes in my personal information, e.g., mailing address, phone number, and etc. Furthermore, I am aware that I need to make two copies of this form; one copy is to be signed, dated and returned to the principal no later than, August 22, 2014, the other copy is to be kept in my notebook. Signature: Date: 19

Teacher Name: Six Weeks Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dawson Elementary School Teacher Contact Log Date Contact/# Reason for Call Notes