Parent Handbook 2009 - 2010 Crossroads School Welcome to the 2009-2010 year at Crossroads School! As we embark on a new year, please take a moment to review the following policies and procedures. Your cooperation in helping our school run in a safe and efficient manner is greatly appreciated! The school office is open each day from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Please do not hesitate to call the Main Office at (908) 232-6655 should you ever have any questions, comments or suggestions. Michael J. Kowalski Principal Judith E. White Supervisor of Instruction I. School Attendance The school day is 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. Consistent attendance is essential in order for your child to demonstrate meaningful progress in all areas of his or her program. Please help contribute to our success by making sure your child arrives to school each day on time, fed and well-rested. Crossroads School is only able to excuse absences which occur due to student illness, family illness, medical appointment, unexpected emergency or religious observance. All other absences are strongly discouraged due to the important work and services that are missed. Please be aware that we are required to inform your local school district when your child is absent from school for five or more consecutive days. Please notify Crossroads School when your child will be absent or late by calling our 24-hour Attendance Hotline at (908) 232-6655, Option # 2 and clearly stating your child’s name, classroom, reason for the absence and anticipated date that he or she will return. 2 II. Student Pick-up/Drop-off The parking lot is quite busy during morning arrival/afternoon dismissal. We remind all parents and visitors that the speed limit in all school zones is 15 miles per hour and ask that you proceed in a safe manner. If picking up or dropping off your child, be sure that your vehicle does not block the entrance to the driveway or designated bus lane in front of the school. If you wish to escort your child into the building, you may park your vehicle in any parking space adjacent to the school. Please demonstrate caution when walking between parked buses in the mornings/afternoons. III. Transportation Program Crossroads School is not responsible for arranging or coordinating the student transportation program. Parents are reminded to contact their assigned bus company and local school district (Case Manager) to report anticipated absences, temporary changes, new addresses or safety concerns. IV. Early Dismissal Students may be excused during school hours due to appointments, illness, unexpected emergency or religious observance. If early dismissal is necessary, please send a note to your child's teacher stating the date and time your child will be out of class. In the event of an emergency, please call the Main Office to indicate your intention to pick up your child early. Please be aware that students will only be dismissed to parents, guardians or adults listed on the emergency card. Parents must provide written notice to authorize all other individuals to pick up the child from school. It will be necessary for the designee to provide identification upon arrival. Under no circumstances will any student be allowed to leave the building without prior permission. In order to minimize disruption to the classroom, all parents or designees are required to sign-out the student and remain in the Main Office until the Secretary contacts the teacher and arranges for your child to be dismissed. 3 V. School Closing Information There are occasions when regularly scheduled school days are cancelled or delayed as a result of inclement weather or other emergency conditions. On the morning of the delay/cancellation, our automated telephone system will contact each household to inform parents and/or guardians of school opening and closing status. Additional information can also be obtained by visiting the Commission website (http://ucesc.org) or calling the Crossroads School Weather Hotline at (908) 232-6655, Option # 1. In the event of an early dismissal, the Main Office will contact parents or an emergency designee prior to releasing any child from school. VI. Student Emergency Information All families are required to complete a student information card that is maintained in the Nurse’s Office. This information must remain accurate and current in order to enable us to contact you in the event of an emergency. Please notify the School Nurse immediately should there be any changes to the home address, telephone numbers, guardianship, emergency contacts, physicians or medical status of your child. VII. School Breakfast and Lunch Program Crossroads School offers a breakfast and lunch program to all students. Participation in this program is optional and all students are always invited to bring their own breakfast, snacks and lunch. The daily cost for breakfast is $1.50 and the daily cost for lunch is $2.75. Payments must be made in advance and can be submitted on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. We accept cash or personal checks made out to “UCESC Lunch Account”. Applications for free and/or reduced priced meals are sent out to all parents at the beginning of each year or can be obtained at any time by called Judi White at (908) 232 – 6655, Option # 5 It is imperative that you notify the School Nurse and Classroom Teacher should your child have any food allergies, sensitivities or dietary restrictions so that our staff may accommodate accordingly. 4 VIII. Health and Wellness The health and wellness of our students and faculty members is of utmost importance. Working together, we can promote the well-being of your child and ensure they obtain the maximum educational benefit while at school. It is critical that our School Nurse be advised immediately if your child is diagnosed with a severe allergy, asthma, diabetes, history of seizures or other chronic health condition that may impact their performance at school. In order to maintain accurate records, we also ask that you contact our School Nurse to report immunizations, emergency room treatments, medications (prescription and over-the-counter) and any relevant information obtained during medical appointments or evaluations. In the event of a hospitalization, we require a note from the physician that details the reason(s) for the hospitalization and treatments administered during the hospitalization. The note must specify the date that the child is medically cleared to return to school along with any medications and modifications to diet, participation or activity level. In consideration of the health and welfare of our students and faculty, there are occasions where we ask that your child remain home from school. Please keep your child at home until he or she recovers from:  Fever > 100.4F (Child must be fever-free 24 hours without the use of Tylenol or Advil before returning to school)  Communicable Disease (i.e. chicken pox, conjunctivitis, impetigo, ringworm, head lice, scabies, strep throat.)  Vomiting or Diarrhea  Severe cold or flu  Chronic and persistent pain (ear, tooth, stomach)  Widespread rash or sores All students who are absent for three or more consecutive days due to illness and/or students who are diagnosed with a communicable disease require a doctor’s note prior to re-admittance to school. 5 IX. Medication Procedures The School Nurse is responsible for the reasonable support of all medical intervention plans designated by a physician on behalf of a student enrolled in Crossroads School. We ask for your cooperation with the following procedures in order to ensure the health and wellness of our students: 1. All medication, whether prescription or over-the-counter, must be ordered by a licensed physician and accompanied by a signed written order utilizing the consent form available from the School Nurse. 2. Medication must be delivered directly to the School Nurse on behalf of a student by the student parent, guardian or adult designee. 3. All medication must be brought to school in its original container and/or a prescription bottle labeled by a pharmacy. 4. Only the School Nurse or a student’s parent or guardian, acting on a written order from a physician, may administer medication at school. 5. Permission for administration of medication will be given only when the student’s attendance depends on the medication being given during school hours. 6. Medication no longer required by the student must be removed from Crossroads School by the parent, guardian or adult designee within four weeks of discontinuation. All medications left at school will be safely discarded by the School Nurse. The School Nurse can be reached by calling (908) 232-6655, Option # 3 to answer questions regarding all health, wellness and medication policies and issues pertinent to attendance at Crossroads School. 6 X. Visitor Policy Visitors are always welcome at Crossroads School. In order to ensure a well-monitored and safe environment, all exterior doors remain locked during the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Visitors are required to enter the school through the front entrance and sign-in at the Main Office prior to proceeding to any other location within the building. Please do not proceed directly to the classrooms during instructional hours. A temporary identification badge will be issued to help our faculty members immediately identify everyone on the premises. Our faculty members have been instructed to greet visitors in the school and offer assistance. Your cooperation with these guidelines helps maintain a safe environment for your children and fewer disruptions to our instructional program. XI. Classroom Observations Parents are encouraged to observe their child while participating in classroom activities and therapy sessions. All observations must be scheduled with the classroom teacher or therapist a minimum of 24 hours in advance in order to minimize disruption to the learning environment. We reserve the right to re-schedule all parent observations due to schedule conflicts and/or other unanticipated circumstances. XII. Back-to-School Night Back-to-School Night for the 2009-2010 school year is scheduled to occur on Tuesday, October 6th from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. The evening will feature brief presentations from administrators, teachers and therapy departments. Parents will also have an opportunity to visit classrooms and meet with the faculty members assigned to your child. We strongly encourage all family members to participate in this important annual event. XIII. Progress Reports Progress Reports are provided to parents three times per school year during the months of November, February and June. Students are assessed on the mastery of all academic and therapy IEP Goals and Objectives utilizing a qualitative rating scale. A copy of the Progress Report is also mailed to the Case Manager assigned to each student. 7 XIV. Parent-Teacher Conferences Parent-Teacher Conferences for the 2009-2010 school year will occur during the week of November 16, 2009. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss academic progress and identify goals for the present school year. You will receive a schedule of available conference times from your child’s classroom teacher. We ask that all parents select a time to participate in a conference either in-person or by telephone. Teachers and therapists are also available to participate in conferences during planning periods and before/after school. Please feel free to contact the teacher or therapist directly to schedule a mutually convenient time. XV. Parent Teacher Organization The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a group of parents and faculty members committed to strengthening the connection between home and school. Through community outreach and fundraisers conducted throughout the year, the PTO funds the purchase of instructional materials, organizes special events and assemblies and helps defray the costs of our Community Based Instruction program. The PTO meets on a regular basis at and all family members are welcome to attend. There is no obligation or cost to join the PTO. Applications are distributed at the beginning of each school year or can always be obtained by contacting the Main Office. XVI. Release of Pupil Records In accordance with Union County Educational Services Commission Regulation 8330.g.2, all parents and/or legal guardians have the right to prohibit the release of any information about their child to recognized representatives of the press for use in published reports on district activities used in district publications such as newsletters, handbook, yearbook, graduation program, Board Minutes and administrative reports to the Board of Education. All parents and/or legal guardians have up to ten days from the first day of school to submitted a written statement to the Superintendent of Schools prohibiting the release of such information. 8 XVII. Equal Opportunity Policies The Union County Educational Services Commission follows affirmative action policies to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, creed, color, sex, marital status, national origin, and to insure that all personnel actions such as recruitment, selection, placement, training, promotions, transfers, terminations, disciplinary actions and all benefits and compensations are equally applied. The Union County Educational Services Commission affirms its responsibility to ensure all students in the public schools equal educational opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin or social or economic status. Lack of English language skills will not be a deterrent to admission to any program. No otherwise qualified handicapped individuals shall, solely by reason of their handicap, be denied the benefits or subjected to discrimination in any activity. The Commission’s Affirmative Action Plans for Employment/Contract practices and School/Classroom Practices are on file in the office of the Affirmative Action Officer, Mr. Garry W. Grimsley at (908) 233-9317. XVIII. Student Grievance Procedures The Commission Board has established a procedure for students, or parents on a student’s behalf, to follow in filing a complaint dealing with alleged violation, misinterpretation or inequitable applications of the policies and practices of the school district relative to provisions of Federal and State anti-discrimination legislation. The grievance procedure is included in the school district’s policy manual. A copy of the manual is available for perusal at each program site and in the Superintendent’s Office at 45 Cardinal Drive, Westfield, New Jersey. 9 XIX. Contact Information The positive collaboration between home and school is an important element of the program at Crossroads School. We strongly encourage parents to maintain an ongoing dialogue with teachers and therapists through the use of voicemail, e-mail and the daily communication book. The telephone number to Crossroads School is (908) 232-6655 and we invite parents to contact any of our faculty members as follows: Name Title Voicemail E-mail Address Michael Kowalski Judi White Principal Supervisor 7154 7180 [email protected] [email protected] Paula Haborak Elaine Liggeri Denise Igus Pamela Staeudle Nurse Social Worker School Secretary Tech. Coordinator 7156 7155 7153 7157 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 7335 7336 7337 7338 7339 7342 7343 7345 7346 7350 7344 7340 7358 7351 7341 7352 7353 7354 7355 7356 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Consuelo Alzate Teacher Rosa Brandao Teacher Eileen Carrano Speech Therapist Janette Catalano Physical Therapist Angela Colatruglio Teacher Stephen Goham Teacher Lauren Gonzalez Teacher Jessica Jaruczyk Teacher Ronnie Kaufman Speech Therapist Sharon Maines COTA Stephanie Mastriano Teacher Melissa McLaughlin Teacher Kristin Powers Teacher Tara Pepe Speech Therapist Michelle Pruden Teacher Holly Reuven Occupational Therapist Donna Salvatore Teacher Kim Van Liew Occupational Therapist Hope Weinstein Speech Therapist Amanda Zimmer Teacher 10 11