Student/Parent Handbook
Dr. Sam Shaw, Principal
Alyce King, Instructional Facilitator
Shannon Redmond, Counselor
This handbook belongs to:
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY STATE ZIP CODE
PHONE EMAIL
TEACHER GRADE
Berclair Elementary School
810 North Perkins
Memphis, TN 38122
Phone: 901-416-8800
The faculty and staff of Berclair Elementary School welcome you and your family. We will do our best to offer your child the best possible education, and we will strive to make that education interesting and stimulating. We ask for your support by actively participating in your child’s education. This handbook has been carefully prepared and presented in order that students and parents may know and understand the policies and practices of Berclair Elementary School.
Memphis City Schools does not discriminate in its programs or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, handicap/disability, sex, or age.
Table of Contents
Safety, Health, and Medication Information……………………………………………Page 4
Visitors Sign In, Students Arriving Early, Car Riders………………………….Page 4
Students Left at School, School Evacuation, Health Policy……………………Page 5
Medications……………………………………………………………………..Page 6
The Essentials…………………………………………………………………………...Page 7
Who to Call……………………………………………………………………...Page 7
School Hours……………………………………………………………………Page 7
Breakfast & Lunch……………………………………………………………...Page 7
Extended Care Program (Before and After Care)………………………………Page 7
MCS Calendar…………………………………………………………………..Page 8
About Your School……………………………………………………………………..Page 8
What We Believe……………………………………………………………….Page 8
What We Look Like…………………………………………………………….Page 10
Our Foundation: Our Parents, Our Guardians………………………………………….Page 11
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)…………………………………………….Page 11
School Leadership Council……………………………………………………...Page 11
School Volunteers……………………………………………………………….Page 11
Parental and Guardian Expectations…………………………………………….Page 12
Attendance………………………………………………………………………………Page 13
Absences………………………………………………………………………...Page 13
Late to School (Tardy)…………………………………………………………..Page 13
Leaving School Early……………………………………………………………Page 13
Academics……………………………………………………………………………….Page 14
Grade Configurations……………………………………………………………Page 14
Grading and Assessment………………………………………………………...Page 14
Homework……………………………………………………………………….Page 14
Technology………………………………………………………………………Page 15
Student/Teacher Academic (STAR) Reports…………………………………….Page 15
Section 504……………………………………………………………………….Page 15
Reporting Student Academic Progress…………………………………………...Page 15
Honor Roll………………………………………………………………………..Page 17
Promotion Requirements………………………………………………………....Page 17
Business Matters………………………………………………………………………….Page 18
All Things Financial……………………………………………………………...Page 18
All Non-Financial Business………………………………………………………Page 18
Guidance Services………………………………………………………………………..Page 19
Student Behavior…………………………………………………………………………Page 20
Tennessee Department of Education Contact Information……………………………….Page 22
Title One Family Engagement Plan………………………………………………………Page 25
Title One Compact………………………………………………………………………..Page 26
Safety, Health, and Medication Information
Safety - Visitors:
To increase the safety of our students, and to be in compliance with Tennessee state law, anyone entering the building for any reason must report to the office and sign in. All visitors must obtain and wear a visitor’s badge if they are going to visit in a classroom, eat with students in the cafeteria, or go anywhere on campus other than the office. Other, but similar accommodations will be made during assemblies or school registration when we will expect larger numbers of parents.
Safety - Arriving Early To School:
We can’t provide supervision for students left at school before 8:05 am unless you place them in our before and after school program (which starts at 6:30 am). Our children are not completely safe if brought early to school and left unsupervised. Parent conferences will be requested for parents who continually leave their children at the school unsupervised before 8:05 am.
Safety - After School CAR RIDERS Pickup:
(1) Please stay in your car if you park on Perkins next to the school. If you leave
your car you will “clog up” the traffic. If you do this you will not slow traffic
down and you will be able to pick up your child with less delay.
(2) Place the card with the number on it on the right side of your front dashboard.
We will use this number to location your child and send him/her to you.
(3) If you want to leave your car while parking on Perkins, please park across the
the street from the school and cross with the crossing guard when you leave your car and when you return to your car with your children.
(4) Please do not park where the orange cones are placed. These spaces are for the
after school care buses.
(5) Please never block someone’s driveway when you park your car near the school.
(6) Please NEVER ever stop on Perkins and ask your child to run into the street to
get into your car. No one wants your child to be hit by a car.
(7) If you want to pick up your child on Stratford, please park your car on Lynn Rd.
and use the Crossing Guard to help you and your children cross the street.
You may also park on Stratford on the school side.
Safety - Picking Your Child Up Late After School:
If a student is not picked up after school by 4:00 p.m. we will start calling to find someone who listed as an emergency contact to come and pickup your child. Please note: we are forced to have the police escort a student to Juvenile Court if we can’t find a parent or guardian and the student is still with us past 6:00 p.m.
Safety - Emergency Evacuation of Students:
In case of an emergency (fire, earthquake, tornado, gas leak), where children must be evacuated from the school to another location, please pick up your child from the following location:
Grimes Methodist Church, 4649 Summer
ONLY parent or emergency contact person may pick up you child at an evacuation site.
Health Policy:
Parents will be notified in cases of illness and/or injury. Therefore, we strongly urge parents to keep the school updated on any changes in address, telephone numbers, and/or emergency contact names or telephone numbers.
- A child whose illness requires that the child be sent home will be given appropriate attention and supervision until the child’s parent or other authorized person arrives to pick up the child.
- A child with uncontrolled diarrhea or vomiting will be provided care away from the other children until a parent/guardian or designee arrives.
- If symptoms of contagious or infectious diseases develop while the child is in school, he/she shall be place in an area away from other children until a parent or designated person has been consulted. (Any child who has had a 100.4-degree oral temperature is suspect.)
- An ill child will not be admitted or allowed to remain at school if one or more of the following conditions exist:
A. The illness prevents the child from participating comfortably in school activities.
B. The illness results in a greater need for care than the staff can provide without compromising the health, safety, and supervision of the other children.
C. The child may not remain at school if he/she has any of the following:
· Oral temperature of 100 degrees or greater
· Symptoms and signs of possible severe illness (such as lethargy, uncontrolled breathing, uncontrolled diarrhea, vomiting illness, rash with fever, mouth sores with drooling, wheezing, behavior change or other unusual signs) until medical evaluation indicates the child can be included in the school’s activities.
· The child has been diagnosed with a communicable disease.
- Children with the following illnesses or symptoms will be excluded from school based on potential contagiousness of the disease:
· Diarrhea (Uncontrolled, over and/or above what is normal for that child)
· Fever (100 degrees or greater)
· Chicken Pox (Child should be excluded until blisters are scabbed over completely)
· Hepatitis A (Child should be excluded until one week after jaundice appears or one week after the illness started and fever is gone)
· Pink Eye (Child excluded until treatment has begun and discharge stopped)
· Undiagnosed Generalized Rash (Child may return when well or cleared by a physician)
· Head Lice (Child should not return to school until satisfactory treatment has been given or a statement from a medical source can be presented stating treatment is not necessary. If treatment is necessary, the child will be readmitted if a letter from the parent is presented stating treatment has been administered and if the lice and/or eggs (nits) are no longer present.
· Measles (Child should not return to school until four days after rash appears)
· Mumps (Child should not return for nine (9) days or until swelling subsides)
· Ringworm (Child should not return to school until treatment is started. (Lesion should be covered.)
Medications:
We recommend that all doses of medication be given at home by the parents. Except in unusual circumstances, medicines that are given one, two, or three times a day should be given at home. Only medications prescribed by a physician for a particular student will be given in school. An Authorization for Medication form (#14781), obtained through the school office, should be completed by the prescribing doctor and on file in the school office. Over the counter medications will not be administered unless accompanied by a note from the physician and approved by the principal.
All medication should be brought to school by the parent in the original pharmacy container with the following information on it:
Child’s Name Dosage for this child
Name of Medication Physician’s Name
Strength of Medication Date Prescribed
The Essentials
Who to Call:
If you have any questions or concerns you should call you child’s teacher first, then the principal if need be, at 416-8800.
School Hours:
Berclair is an 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. school. Our half-day schedule is from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The school office is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
8:05 a.m. School doors open for breakfast
8:25 a.m. Classroom doors open
8:30 a.m. School starts (Students are late to school after 8:40 a.m.)
3:15 p.m. School dismissal
Students who are not eating breakfast will remain outside at the south door by the tree with benches until 8:25 a.m. Students who plan to eat breakfast are to line up by the front center door. A teacher is on duty at each door from 8:05 – 8:25. After 8:25 all students will enter through the front door.
Breakfast and Lunch:
Breakfast is served from 8:05 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. daily. Breakfast is free now for all students. Lunch costs $1.75 unless your child is on the free or reduced lunch program. The reduced lunch fee is $.25 per lunch. Parents may pay for their children’s meals in advance before school starts to our cafeteria manager. The school only accepts cash for breakfast and lunch.
Extended Care Program (Before and After Care):
Our “Before Care” starts at 6:30 a.m. and our “After School Care” ends at 6:00 p.m. All fees are paid a week in advance and we only accept cash. The fees structure is as follows:
Before Care Only $20.00 per week per child (sibling discounts do not apply)
After Care Only $40.00 per week per child (sibling discounts apply)
Before and After Care $40.00 per week per child (sibling discounts apply)
Siblings Discount $35.00 per week 2nd child
$30.00 per week 3rd child
$25.00 per week 4th child
Registration fee: $10.00 per child (Non-refundable), to be paid with application.
DHS vouchers are accepted.
Memphis City Schools Calendar 2009-2010:
Monday, August 10 First Day of Classes
Monday - Friday, Aug. 10-14 Kindergarten students staggered entry
Monday, September 7 Labor Day Holiday
Thursday, October 8 First Quarter Ends
Friday, October 9 Fall Break
Monday, October 12 No school: 4:00 pm-7 pm Parent/Teacher Conferences
Thursday, November 12 District-wide exhibitions of Student Work
Wednesday – Friday, Nov. 25 - 27 No school: Thanksgiving Break
Thursday, December 17 Second quarter ends
Friday, Dec.18 – Friday, Jan. 1 No school: Winter Break
Monday, January 5 First Day of Second Semester
Monday, January 18 No school: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
Tuesday, February 2 5th grade TCAP Writing Assessment
Monday, February 15 No school: 12 noon to 3 pm Parent/Teacher Conferences
Thursday, March 11 Third quarter ends
Monday, March 29- Monday, April 5 No school: Spring Break
Monday, April 12 – Friday, April 16 TCAP Achievement Tests
Thursday, April 29 District-wide Exhibitions of Student Work
Friday, May 21 Last Day of Classes, fourth quarter ends
About Your School
What We Believe: (Mission Statement, Beliefs, Higher Expectations, and Vision)
What We Look Like:
Berclair was built in 1952 and is situated on a large tract of land that includes the adjacent park (Berclair’s Athletic Field). Berclair’s student body is made up of 550 students from Pre-School through 6th grade. The ages of our students range from 4 to 12 year olds. Our student population is made up of approximately 19% African-Americans, 47% Latinos, and 29% Whites with some Arabic, Cambodian, Somali, and Vietnamese students as well. On the next page is our organizational chart.
Our Foundation: Our Parents and Guardians
..
Please notice that our parents and guardians are described in this section, and in our organizational chart, as the foundation of our school. It’s true. We have to have parental involvement to have a great school. So this section will briefly describe how you can help make Berclair a great school by supporting your child’s education.
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO):
Our PTO provides more than the traditional school fund raiser efforts. Last school year our PTO provided our students wholesome activities like the “Trunk or Treat,” “School Royalty Court,” and “School Carnival.” The PTO supported our efforts during “Field Day” and our “6th Grade Closing Exercise.” Our PTO also supported our teachers directly with critically needed supplies and equipment. Please consider joining our PTO during our Open House this fall.
School Leadership Council:
Our School Leadership Council is made up of representatives from our community, school workforce, and parents. This council serves both as an advisory and policy setting body for our school. It meets 4 times a year. Openings on the School Leadership Council will be announced at our Open House.
School Volunteers:
There are many opportunities for you to volunteer your services at our school. We need volunteers to help us with the following: tutoring, operating school carnival events, mentoring, sports, art instruction, chaperoning field trips, classroom volunteers, library volunteers, and office volunteers. Please sign up as a Berclair volunteer at Open House or come by the school office whenever it is convenient to you.
Parental and Guardian Expectations:
As you prepare to support your child and your child’s school this year, please refresh yourself with the expectations we at Berclair have for parents and guardians. Please note, our expectations for our students, ourselves, and our parents and guardians are high because we all want the best for our students.