BROOK VILLAGE
EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
PARENT HANDBOOK
2222 Brook Ave, Wichita Falls, TX 76301
Office Phone 940-235-1132 Fax: 940-235-1133
Dr. Travis Armstrong, Director of Early Childhood
Letitia Willis , Principal of Early Childhood
Carol Gibbs, Assistant Principal of Early Childhood
www.wfisd.net/brookvillage
Brook Village Parent Handbook
Table of Contents
Welcome
Services
Office
Arrival & Dismissal Procedures
Attendance
Health Clinic
Cafeteria
Background Check Instructions
Dress Code
Conduct and Curriculum
Communication
WELCOME
Welcome to Brook Village Early Childhood Center. Your child’s education and safety is our top priority. To ensure your child’s success, a strong partnership between school and home is vital. This partnership is strengthened through communication. If you have any concerns, please visit with your child’s teacher, the school counselor or our principal. We will work together to come to a positive solution.
SERVICES
ESL – English as a Second Language is provided for qualifying students. Students must qualify based on their Home Language Survey and meet criteria through an English Language Assessment. Parents have the right to deny ESL services. Students are monitored annually through the LPAC (Language Proficiency Advisory Committee). Additional information is available from a school administrator or the ESL teacher.
Bilingual Education – Bilingual Education (Spanish/English) is provided for qualifying students. Students must qualify based on their Home Language Survey and meet criteria through an English Language Assessment and a Spanish Language Assessment. Parents have the right to deny Bilingual Education services. Students are monitored annually through the LPAC (Language Proficiency Advisory Committee). Additional information is available from a school administrator or the Bilingual teacher.
Childcare – There are multiple childcare centers that provide transportation from Brook Village to the center for after school care, including but not limited to the YMCA, Southside Youth Senter, Oh2B Kids, and Fountain of Living Water. Check with your center to see if transportation is available.
Counselor – Brook Village has a full time counselor who provides a variety of services including classroom Character Education lessons, individual counseling, and parental support and workshops. The counselor can also make referrals for outside counseling services if needed. Please contact the school counselor for more information.
Special Education – Qualifying students may participate in Special Education Services depending on the nature of the student’s needs. Services provided include Speech and Inclusion Support in the general education classroom. Parents, teachers, administrators, and other staff meet to review, discuss, and plan for student success. Additional information is available from the school administrator, diagnostician, or school counselor.
504 – Qualifying students may be served with 504 accommodations in the general education classroom. Parents, teachers, administrators, and other staff meet to review, discuss, and plan for student success. Please contact the school counselor for additional information.
OFFICE
Registration
Student registration is handled in the office. It is very important upon enrolling your child that the school have both emergency contact numbers and names of the people who are permitted to pick your child up from school.
ONLY THOSE PERSONS LISTED ON YOUR CHILD’S AGR CARD WILL BE ALLOWED TO TAKE YOUR CHILD OFF THE CAMPUS.
Please notify the office of any new additional information that would assist us in reaching you in case of an emergency. Incorrect or missing information slows us down in making the right decision for your child. Email addresses and cell phone numbers are very helpful!
If you have legal court papers pertaining to the custody of your child, the office will need to have a copy on file.
WITHDRAWALS
Parents should notify the front office at least three days in advance for an upcoming withdrawal. That gives the office staff time to prepare the paperwork for the student withdrawal. Federal law requires parents to sign a release form to have records sent to another school. The new school will require the withdrawal form for enrollment. Upon arriving at the new school, parents will request the official transcripts – which will be sent from Brook Village.
ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL PROCEDURES
Arrival
Arriving at school on time every day is very important. Free breakfast is available to all students, and served until 8:15 am. The doors at Brook Village open at 7:40 am. Students will report to the class assigned waiting room, and wait for the teacher to pick them up and take them to breakfast.
Student Drop Off and Pick Up
Please be patient with us as we establish routines for arrival and dismissal. Your child’s safety will be our primary concern. Please follow traffic pattern plan. All driving lanes are one way.
1. Park in the front or west end parking spots, or lane #2 if you are coming into the building. Please do not park in staff parking in front of the gym or facing Brook Ave.
2. Traffic lane #1 is ONLY for parents who are picking up or dropping off their child. Please DO NOT get out of your car. Your may pull over to the west end of the parking lot, without blocking traffic, to get out and buckle your child into their car seat.
3. Traffic lane #3 is an exit/pass through lane. Please DO NOT park or stop in lane #3. This lane should be kept clear for all traffic.
4. Your child’s teacher will give you a sentence strip with your child’s name on it. Please place this on your sun visor, rear view mirror, or other place high enough in the front window for it to be seen. This will enable staff to safely bring your child to your vehicle.
Your child’s safety is the utmost importance to Brook Village staff. You will be asked to give a list of people who have permission to pick-up our child. If an emergency should occur and a person not on the list is to pick up your child, please send a note or call the school by 2:30 pm. A picture ID is required.
***PLEASE SEE MAP***
Dismissal
School dismissal is at 3:20 pm. The building closes at 4:00 pm.
BROOK VILLAGE ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL MAP
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ATTENDANCE
The revised Texas State Compulsory Education Law requires that children between the age of six (6) and nineteen (19) if they have not yet graduated, shall attend school for the complete academic year. Section 25.085(c) also states that compulsory attendance applies to students below the age for compulsory attendance during any period the student is voluntarily enrolled in prekindergarten or kindergarten.
State Law requires that a child’s parent shall be notified if the child is absent three (3) days or parts of days within a four (4) week period. Attendance for junior high and high school is taken period by period (Zero hour thru 8th period), so every class period can be considered an absence. In elementary, students who are brought in late or picked up early can accumulate absences through the minutes missed. Junior High and High School begin at 7:45 am, and elementary school begins at 8:15 am.
This is further notification that:
a) It is the parent’s duty to monitor the student’s school attendance and require the student to attend school;
b) The parent is subject to prosecution under State Law; and
c) A conference is requested between a school administrator and parent to discuss any unexcused absences when they occur.
d) All absences must be documented with a not (i.e. parent/doctor) within 72 hours of the absence.
e) At minimum of three (3) unexcused absences, Truancy Prevention Measures will be implemented. These measures apply to all students attending public school who have three (3) or more unexcused absences according to Education code 25.0915.
f) At 10 unexcused absences or 4,200 minutes of missed instructional time a referral to Truancy Court will be prepared and submitted to the District Attendance Office.
g) If a student has a current chronic illness form parents must still call the school and notify them of the student’s absence and send written documentation to excuse the absence.
The Texas Compulsory Attendance Law states: If a student fails to attend school without an excuse on 10 or more days or parts of days (this includes minutes from late arrivals or early releases) within a six month period in the same school year the parent may be subject to fines and prosecution under Education Code 25.093.
Please be aware that “parent” includes a person standing in parental relation.
Continued absenteeism without excuse may result in a summons to appear in court.
Any child who is at least six years of age, or younger than six years of age and has previously been enrolled in first grade, and who has not yet reached the child’s 19th birthday shall attend school.
A person who voluntarily enrolls in school or voluntarily attends school after the person’s 19th birthday shall attend school each day for the entire period the program of instruction is offered. If a student who is 19, misses 10 consecutive days they can be withdrawn due to non-attendance.
TRUANCY
Parent Liability “If any parent or person standing in parental relation to a child who is required to attend school fails to require the child to attend school, the attendance officer shall warn the parent in writing that attendance is immediately required.” Education Code 25.087; 19 TAC 129.21 (Warning is the first action taken. Tickets may be issued.)
The state law pertaining to absences states that in grades K-5 students must be in attendance at least ninety percent of the days the classes are offered. This law includes all students enrolled in Texas public schools.
Regular attendance results in high student academic performance. However, we do realize that absences due to illness will occur.
If your child is absent, please make sure you:
· Write a parent note if you did not take your child to the doctor. You are allowed four (4) excused parents notes.
· Send a doctor’s note if your child has been to a clinic, hospital, or emergency room.
REMEMBER:
· If you do not send a parent note within three (3) days after the absence, your child’s absence will be unexcused.
· If you do not send a doctor’s note within three (3) days after the child’s absence, your child’s absence will be unexcused.
On the day of your child’s absence, don’t forget to call the school. Every absence has to be accounted for. If you do not call, our office personnel will call the contact numbers on your child’s AGR card to try to determine the reason for your child’s absence.
Thank you for helping establish a good attendance record for your child.
***WFISD FEELS IT IS IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATE WITH STUDENTS AND FAMILIES WITHIN THE DISTRICT. The district would like to make parents/guardians aware that WFISD has created a coding system for elementary schools, including Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, to be in compliance with House Bill 2610 that passed in January of 2016. This coding system will allow each school to track a student’s late arrivals and early releases throughout the year to insure they are in compliance with the 90% rule. When students are brought in late and picked up early they are missing valuable instructional time. We encourage you to comply with the law and see that your child is in school daily.
Section 25.092 contains the provision of law commonly referred to as the “90 percent rule,” which applies to a student in any grade level. Section 25.092 conditions credit or a final grade for a class on a student’s attendance for at least 90 percent of the days a class is offered. Missed instructional time can result in a student being retained.
House Bill 2610 requires schools to provide 75,600 minutes of instruction instead of the 180 days formerly required. Therefore, all time/minutes missed by students will be tracked and will accumulate into absent time.
The new codes that you may see on Parent Link are T-LA for late arrival and T-ER for early release. Minutes will be tracked any time a student arrives late or leaves early. Any doctor/dental/counseling appointment will be noted for the appointment time when a note is turned in. This time will be documented to account for the appointment and missed instructional time.
School start and end times are listed below. Students need to arrive and be picked up according to these times.
Brook Village 7:40 am (Doors Open) 8:00 am (Start Time) 3:20 pm (End Time)
Inclement Weather
School may be delayed or cancelled due to inclement weather. An announcement concerning the delay or cancellation will be made on the local news and radio stations between 6:00 am and 7:00 am. If no announcement is made, then school will continue as usual.
Emergency School Closing
For safety reasons, during actual emergency conditions, the students and teachers will be retained in the school building.
HEALTH CLINIC
The school nurse administers medications, provides first aid, and performs assessment of an interventions for illness, injury and student health concerns. The nurse does not diagnose illness but takes note of symptoms and notifies the parents of these observations. It is important for the health of all students that children be kept at home when ill.
FEVER
If a student’s temperature equals or is greater than 100 the student cannot return to class and the parent will be contacted to make arrangements for their student to leave school. No medication will be given at school to reduce the student’s elevated temperature. A student should have a normal temperature for 24 hours following an illness, without use of fever reducing medication, before returning to school. If the student is sent home by the school nurse, the day a student is sent home with fever and the following day are excused absences.
Medication
For the protection of all students, we have strict rules regarding medication to be given at school.
1. Prescription medications