Rand
Road
Parent/Student
Handbook
2006
- 2007
Table of Contents
Welcome Letter 1
Daily Schedule 2
School Academics
Agendas, Tuesday Folders, Report Cards 4
Conferences, Homework Policy 6
Accelerated
Project Achieve
Promotion, Intervention, and Retention 8
Student Attendance 10
Discipline Plan 11
BusTransportation 14
Carpool 16
Visitors 17
Early Arrival/After School Program, Telephone Use 18
Medication Policy 19
Health Policies & Screenings 20
Cafeteria Policies & Procedures 21
School Parties, Vandalism/Property Damage,
Replacement of Textbooks and Gifts to Employees 23
School Insurance, Dress Code 24
Student Responsibility 25
August 2006
Dear Parents and
Students,
Welcome to the 2006 –
2007 school year at Rand Road Elementary.
We hope that this will be your best year yet! This Parent/Student Handbook is designed to
help you understand the expectations as a member of our school community. You will find this information, in addition
to the Wake County Public School System’s Parent/Student Manual, to be a
valuable guide to understanding our operating procedures. This manual has been
established to help us ensure a positive, productive and safe school year.
We aim to provide the
best opportunities for success for all of our students. May this year be filled with many rewarding
social and academic experiences.
If
we can assist you in any way or if you have any questions, please don’t
hesitate to call. You
can reach us at 662-2275. Thanks, in
advance, for all you do and will continue to do, to contribute to the success
of our total school program.
Sincerely,
Rhonda E. Jones Desmond
G. Cornell
Principal Assistant
Principal
1
Daily Schedule
8:00am Early Arrival Program
Ends
Admittance to
Classrooms/Breakfast
8:30am Start of the Instructional Day/Tardy
All students arriving
after this bell must go to
to
the office for check in before going to
class.
After-School Program
Begins
to
the office to wait for their ride.
2
Rand Road Statements
Rand Road Elementary is a
world-class learning environment where children are celebrated and empowered to
become life-long learners.
Vision Statement:
As a world-class learning
environment, Rand Road Elementary encourages collaborative relationships that promote a safe school climate and which prepare students
academically, socially, and emotionally.
Students take ownership in their own learning and behavior through daily
choices. Quality staff
facilitate the learning process by
creatively delivering a developmentally appropriate curriculum. The administration is supportive and has high
expectations for all. Families support
their children’s learning by creating healthy home environments.
Statement of Values:
All members of the
·
Create an
inviting, caring, and encouraging learning environment for students, parents,
and staff;
·
Create and
implement lessons that support all learning styles;
·
Work
collaboratively towards the same goals, always focusing on the best interests
of each individual child;
·
Use best teaching
practices that will encourage collaborative work among students, staff, and
parents;
·
Value each child
as an individual and commit to make each one a successful learner; and
·
Be models of good
character by reinforcing behavior (outside the classroom) and by offering
school-wide incentives.
3
School Academics
Agendas
Students in 1st
through 5th grades will use agendas, daily assignment
notebooks. They are purchased through
the school for $4.00. The agenda is a
very important tool for your child. Your
child will have homework information and study items that will be listed in
their agendas on a daily basis. Please
make a routine of discussing your child’s day
and his/her work with him/her.
Tuesday Folders
The Tuesday Folder
is sent home every week and contains vital information from the school and the
classroom teacher. It can also contain
samples of your child’s work, assignment sheets, and other information
regarding your child’s progress and needs, and in many cases it will require a
signature. Please review all the
contents of the folder carefully and send it back on the next school day.
Report Cards
The Wake County
Public School System worked for two years with administrators, teachers, and
parents to develop a standards based report card. This report card was developed to align with
new laws and policies, such as the NC Student Accountability Standards and the
WCPSS Promotion Policy.
The purpose for
the standards based report card is to inform students and parents about a
student’s performance on the grade level standards. It measures progress against
a uniform standard rather than subjective assessments. Information related to growth and overall
strengths and needs is captured in the Teacher Comment section.
The report cards
provide a consistent grading scale. Work
habits and conduct are separate, and teacher comments are specific. It improves assessment practices, guides
instruction based on the state standards, and
provides more deliberate development of enrichment activities.
The student
performance levels of 1 to 4 indicate whether students have met the
expectations set by the State in the Standard
Course of Study and indicate whether the
4
student has the necessary skills and concepts to
be successful in the next quarter or at the
next grade level. The performance level is determined with
quarterly objectives and assessment data.
Level 4-
Extends target grade level standards: represents the student exceeding grade level
expectations set by the state and whose curriculum may be enriched.
Level 3*-
Demonstrates proficiency of targeted grade level standards with evidence of
applications: represents the student meeting the grade
level expectations set by the state with evidence of application and concepts
to be successful and confident in the next grade or quarter.
Level 3-
Demonstrates proficiency of targeted grade level standards:
represents the student meeting the grade level expectations set by the
state and indicates that a student has the necessary skills and concepts to be
successful in the next grade or quarter.
Level 2-
Inconsistent and needs support to meet targeted grade level standards:
indicates that the student has not yet met grade level expectations set
by the state and that the student does not have the necessary skills and
concepts to be successful in the next grade or quarter. This report alerts parents that close
communication is needed for further student support.
Level 1-
Insufficient performance of targeted grade level standards with support:
indicates that the student has not yet met grade level expectations set
by the state and that the student does not have the necessary skills or concepts to be successful in the next grade or
quarter.
Grades will be
provided twice a year for weekly special classes such as art and music, instead
of quarterly. This provides special
teachers the time with students they need to
assess each student’s work.
There is a space
for teachers to list individual interventions such as a volunteer, a tutor, a
mentoring program, or ALP instruction.
Reporting on
Classroom Behavior
The standards
based report card includes reports on the student’s conduct and work
habits. In reporting conduct, the
teacher can indicate whether the student meets expectations in cooperating with
others, respects others, and observes rules and
procedures. In reporting work habits,
the teacher can indicate whether the student uses time wisely, listens
carefully, completes assignments, writes legibly, works independently or seeks
help when needed, and completes work.
The rating scale
rates a student with a 1 through 3, where students receive:
3- meets expectations;
5
2- inconsistently meets expectations; or
1- does not meet expectations.
The standards
based report card increases a teacher’s ability to communicate with the student
and the parent about the student’s success in meeting the state standards for
that grade, as well as reporting on the student’s classroom behavior.
Conferences
Teachers will
schedule conferences with you after the first and third reporting periods. The conference dates are
It may be a good
idea to write down specific questions or concerns to ask the teacher. Taking notes during the conference will help
you to remember the important aspects of the conference once you are at home. Ask your child if he/she has any concerns for
you to discuss with the teacher. You
may, at any time of the school year, request a
conference with your child’s teacher.
Please do not expect a conference to be
scheduled without at least two days’
notice. Often teachers are involved in
workshops, graduate courses, and committee meeting that cannot be easily rescheduled.
Teachers are not
permitted to conduct conferences during scheduled instructional time;
therefore, parents must schedule conferences in advance. If you can’t be reached by phone to arrange a
conference, you may send a note with your child to school, and the teacher will
reply to arrange a conference.
Please keep in
mind that teachers normally need at least 3-4
school weeks to make a fair assessment of the student’s progress, as it takes
some time to adjust to the first few weeks of school.
The guidance
counselor, Mrs. Wright, is also available to confer with you and your child’s
teacher. She is at the school
Monday-Friday and can be reached at 662-2278.
Homework Policy
We consider homework to be
a worthwhile use of time outside of the regular school hours to practice,
maintain, enrich, complete, or make-up classroom activities. Homework is to help develop independent study
habits and appreciation for learning.
6
Homework will emphasize
practice in basis skills previously taught, studying for a test, make-up work
following an absence from school, remedial activities, and project/enrichment activities that extend classroom learning. Reading a variety of books to enhance reading
skills may be an outgrowth and will be encouraged. Students are encouraged to read 20 to 30
minutes each night in addition to their regular assignments. Drills in the
fundamental skills of a particular subject, creative writing, compositions, and
summaries may be assigned. Homework
usually will not be assigned on evenings in which school activities have been
scheduled.
Time Parameters:
Grade Daily
Time
K 10-15
minutes
1
15-30 minutes
2
30-45 minutes
3
45-50 minutes
4
45-60 minutes
5
45-60 minutes
In the event a student has
two teachers, each teacher may give up to 30 minutes of homework. If an excessive amount of time beyond these
limits is being spent on homework each night, it should be a signal to check with
the teacher to see if there is a problem.
Because homework is
designed to help students with a wide range of subjects, to reinforce and to
apply many different skills, homework assignments will be varied to fit the
needs of the students.
Accelerated Reading
The
Accelerated Reading Program, frequently referred to as AR, is an integral part
of each student’s school experience. The
role of Accelerated Reader is to motivate students to acquire practice in
literature–based reading. It encourages
children to read more books, and to read books at or above their present reading level.
Accelerated Reader
functions in the following manner:
Students select a book from the recommended book list. The books are assigned a point value based on
the number of words in the books and their reading levels. Once students
read the book, they
take a computerized test. The computer scores the test, awards points
based on test results, and keeps a complete record of the results. A
student must score at least 60% on the test to earn any points.
7
Students can
receive incentives for participating in the Accelerated Reader based upon the
points they have earned by reading books and
taking the tests.
We encourage all
students to take part in this program.
Once children become accustomed to reading, they
will appreciate books more and will read for the enjoyment, making them lifelong readers.
Project Achieve
Project Achieve schools use an eight-step
process for continuous improvement. The
eight- step process is as follows:
· Disaggregating
test scores;
· Developing
a timeline;
· Developing
an instructional focus;
· Administering
an assessment;
· Providing
tutorials to re-teach;
· Maintaining
and re-teaching;
· Monitoring continually.
Promotion and Intervention
The Wake County
Public School System has a clear vision for student success. By 2008, 95% of students taking the
end-of-grade test will perform at or above
grade level in grades 3 through 12 and demonstrate high growth. The
Elementary Promotion Standards |
|
Ö A student
is promoted when all grade level standards are met. Ö A student
may be promoted with required intervention when all of the standards are
not met. Ö A student
may be retained with required intervention when most of the grade level
standards are not met. |
8
Minimum Grade Level Standards for Promotion |
|
.
Kindergarten .
Level
III on Mathematics Profile .
Emergent on |
|
.
First Grade .
Level
III on Mathematics Profile
.
Developing on |
|
.
Third Grade .
Level
III on Mathematics Profile
.
Independent on .
Level
III on End-Of-Grade Tests for |
|
.
Fourth Grade .
Level
III on Mathematics Profile
.
Independent on .
Level
III on End-Of-Grade Tests for |
|
.
Fifth Grade .
Level
III on Mathematics Profile
.
Independent on .
Level
III on End-Of-Grade Tests for .
2.5
on NC Grade 4 Writing Test, or show
sufficient growth (evidence of improvement) |
|
Level I
|
Student does not
exhibit sufficient mastery of knowledge and skills on grade level. |
|
Level II |
Student is
inconsistent in demonstration of mastery of knowledge and skills on grade
level. |
|
Level III |
Student demonstrates
mastery of grade level concepts. |
|
Level IV |
Student
consistently performs grade level requirements/expectations and works independently on tasks that are at a
higher level of difficulty; integrates personal experience; and involves
critical judgments. |
Refer to the back
of the student progress report for explanations of reading and writing levels.
Promotion is
based upon many factors:
Ö Daily
work;
Ö Assessments
in reading, writing, and math;
Ö Attendance;
Ö NC
End-Of-Grade tests for grades 3-5; and
Ö Taking the EOG more than one time for some children.
We have several
avenues for supplemental help for those students who are working at levels 1 or
2. For students in grades K-2, we have
the Accelerated Learning Program II
9
intervention program, which occurs during the school
day. For students in grades 3-5, we
have the Accelerated Learning Program, which is
an after-school intervention program.
Student
Attendance
Absences
Attendance at school is
important to a child’s achievement and success in school. Please encourage regular attendance of your
child at school.
When your child is absent
from school, please call the school at 662-2275 by
1.
Illness or injury
2.
Quarantine of the
child by the State Board of Health
3.
Death of an
immediate family member
4.
Medical or dental
appointments
5.
Court proceeding
(if the student is a party to the action or under subpoena as a witness)
6.
Religious
observance
7.
Educational
opportunity with prior approval by the principal (Parents should request
approval at least 5 days in advance by completing Form 1710, which is available in the school office.)
All other absences will be
considered unexcused. Students who are
frequently absent will be referred to the school nurse and/or the school social
worker, either of who
is available to help out with problems that interfere with children’s attendance. For more information, please review the Board
of Education policy on attendance in the Wake
County Public Schools Handbook.
Tardiness
Promptness to school is
very important. Students are admitted to
homeroom class at
Checking Students Out
The school day ends at
10
him/her up. The person
who is to pick up your child must be on the Student Locator Card
(Form
17288) which parents are asked to fill out at the beginning of the school year. The person picking
up your child for early dismissal must report to the office, not the classroom,
to sign out the student. All students
who leave early must be picked up prior to
Discipline Plan
An effective school climate is one that is nurturing, safe, and
conducive to learning. In establishing a
discipline policy, it is important to focus on encouraging students to make
good choices and in being responsible for their behavior. In making these
decisions, students learn that there are rewards and consequences for their
actions. Our job as educators and
parents is to guide students to rewards for appropriate choices and to assist
them in learning from their mistakes.
Within this framework, teachers certainly have the leeway to establish a
variety of individualized behavior management plans that support the school’s
philosophy. It is hoped that this
consistency provided by the school-wide plan will assist students in realizing
their potential, thereby making the learning environment as productive as
possible.
Through both direct instruction and modeling, all adults at
We believe…
Ø
expectations for all students, staff, and
administrators should be clear, positive and consistent;
Ø
communication and support among parents, staff, and
administrators are critical for a positive school-wide climate; and
Ø
a caring environment that nurtures the whole child
must include peer interactions for both adults and children.
Ultimately, we expect that students, staff, and our school community
will respect themselves, others, and property.
Hall
Expectations