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Monument Academy Family and Student Handbook
Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions 4
Welcome from the CEO 5
Welcome from the Principal 5
Mission 6
Philosophy 6
Guiding Beliefs 6
5 Pillars 7
Handbook Purpose 8
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports 9
General Information 11
School Calendar 11
Important Dates 12
Drop-Off and Pick-Up 13
Inclement Weather Policy 14
Attendance Policy 14
Student Daily Schedule 15
Student Uniforms 16
Student Meals 17
Contact Information 19
Academic Program 20
Student With Specials Needs 21
Promotion Criteria 24
Student Progress Reports and Conferences 24
Homework Policy 24
Assessments 24
Well-Being Program 25
Overview/Purpose of Curriculum 25
Positive Action 25
Mindfulness 27
Health and Physical Education 28
Independent Living Skills 28
Counseling and Clinical Services 29
Assessments 29
Medical Health Services 29
Student Life Extended Day and Boarding Program 30
Overview/Purpose of Student Life Program 30
Extended Day Program Description 30
Evening Activities 30
Evening Communication Policy (Family/Student) 30
Family Member Visitation Policy 31
Evening On-Call and Emergency Procedures 32
School Policies 32
Computer Use 32
Acceptable Use of Student Technology Systems 33
Unacceptable Use of Student Technology Systems 34
Monument Academy's Bullying Prevention Policy 35
Discipline Policy and Due Process 36
Gun-Free Schools Act 39
Medical and Immunizations 39
Transportation Policy 40
PPRA 43
Notification of Rights under FERPA 45
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is my role as a caretaker at Monument Academy?
You play a vital role in your child's experience at our school. Your support of your child and the staff and policies will contribute to the success of your child at Monument Academy and in their future. Actively support and encourage your child by attending their presentations, performances, conferences, and Sunday night drop-offs and Friday afternoon pick-ups. These are important times to talk with the houseparents and the teachers and learn about your child’s progress. You can also share news from the weekend. Make sure you communicate regularly with your child's houseparents regarding your child's progress and let your child know often how proud you are of them.
Who should I call when I have a question about my child?
First point of contact is always your teachers for anything to do with school work, and your child's houseparents for any issue to do with their residential and after school life. They know your child best, as well as their program at Monument Academy. If you do not get a resolution or answer from them regarding your concern, the next point of contact is the Principal or Director of Student Life and Extended Day Learning for residential questions. In the event that you have communicated with all the above persons and still have not received the feedback you need, the final option is the CEO, Emily Bloomfield.
What can I do when I miss my child or my child is homesick?
We understand the sacrifice you and your family are making by having your child attend Monument Academy. Homesickness can be a two-way street. When you or your child find yourselves missing each other, please feel free to call one another during the designated time and remind yourselves why you have made the commitment to Monument Academy. Our students love to get mail and email! Writing letters to your child on a regular basis will help you stay connected. Ask for help. Please let the houseparents and/or the Director of Student Life and Extended Day Learning know.
How can I show my child support and love while they are at Monument Academy?
The best way to support your child is to keep a positive and continuous line of communication open with your child's houseparents, teachers, and well-being counselors. By doing so, you will know what is occurring in your child's life and best be able to encourage and provide him or her with positive direction. Another way of supporting your child is attending parent teacher conferences and Sunday evening drop-off meetings. These activities provide excellent opportunities to learn about what is going on at the school, as well as to meet and talk with the adults involved in your child's life at Monument. There are many ways to communicate and show your love to your child. Regular phone calls, emails, and letters are all important to your child. Perhaps the greatest and most enduring way to show your love to your child during their time at Monument Academy is to remain committed to their enrollment, knowing that it will provide huge rewards for them in their future!
WELCOME FROM THE CEO
On behalf of the Board of Monument Academy, I want to welcome our students and caregivers to the 2015-16 school year. Each of you is a valued member of the Monument Academy Community. This school has been created with our students’ success in life - including college, a career and independent living - at the center of everything we do. We are excited to have you with us and want Monument Academy to be a wonderful experience and a special place for students. Our goal is for school to be a wonderful and transformative experience, where they form meaningful relationships with our staff and with each other, where they are excited about the possibilities for their futures and they also feel safe and cared for.
This handbook will outline our mission, philosophy and beliefs and then all the operational pieces that flow from it. Please let us know if you have any questions.
All the best,
Emily Bloomfield
WELCOME FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Families,
The staff and I are so pleased to welcome you to the Monument Academy. We are honored that you have entrusted your children's education to us. We look forward to offering them top quality academics, as well as exciting enrichment activities, life skills lessons, and exposure to college and a variety of careers. We care about your students and are committed to supporting their success. Our goal is that your students graduate from Monument Academy ready to take on the world! We look forward to your participating with us on this great journey, and believe that Monument Academy will be a great experience, not only for your student but for you as well. My door is always open to you.
Best,
Marlene Magrino
MISSION
The mission of Monument Academy is to provide students, particularly those who have had or might have contact with the foster care system, with the requisite academic, social, emotional, and life skills to be successful in college, career, and community, and to create an outstanding school that attracts, supports, and retains exceptional and caring staff.
PHILOSOPHY
The philosophy for educating the students of Monument Academy is rooted in a belief that all students have the capacity to succeed at high academic levels and experience positive life outcomes. The school’s founders believe that while many students may have been subject to adverse childhood experiences, these events do not define who they are or predetermine their trajectories. We also believe in the growth mindset paradigm, where adults and students value hard work, persistence and the process of learning, and understand that valuing dedication and effort, not “talent” and “fixed ability,” foster a love of learning and improved outcomes both academically and personally. Our school is designed with an emphasis on personalized learning, experience-based learning, and social-emotional well-being to ensure that students with disabilities or who are English Language Learners will benefit from our school.
GUIDING BELIEFS
The following is a list of core values and beliefs that will guide the decisions we make for our school:
· Equip for Life: Our measure of success for students is not only college and career, but a meaningful life in their community as well.
· Cultivate Growth Mindset: Students and staff should see that their abilities and possibilities are achieved through hard work and persistence, and that this approach fosters resilience and a true love of learning
· Connect the Dots: Students should have an engaging, relevant, challenging, and meaningful education that shows them how the effort they make to grow academically and emotionally helps them reach their life goals.
· Learn from Mistakes: Everyone fails sometimes, and this is as an opportunity for growth. For students, structure and discipline is caring and prioritizes their ability to self-regulate, learn, make academic progress and maintain permanency in their homes.
· Own It: Students will succeed when they are given the tools and support to question and engage deeply in their learning from trusted, caring adults in a safe and healthy environment.
· Sustain Staff: Staff should have the time and space to learn, collaborate with each other, reflect and celebrate.
· Embrace Families and Community: Caregivers are engaged, valued members of the team; school includes the workplace, other schools, universities, community organizations and a diversity of people, backgrounds and experiences.
· It’s “And” not “Or”: The debate over whether education OR well-being OR life skills OR connection matters most to students is false. Each is equally important and should be seamlessly integrated in the life of the school.
5 PILLARS
Monument Academy will focus on five central pillars that are part of the schedule, curriculum, hiring, and professional development. These pillars are Excellent and Engaging Education, Social Emotional Well-Being, Permanency and Stability, Adult Connections, and Life Skills. The five pillars are based on research on the factors that lead to long term success for students as they emerge into adulthood.
EXCELLENT AND ENGAGING EDUCATION
Monument Academy personalizes each student’s learning so that they receive an excellent and student-directed education. We connect their education to everyday life with field trips and real-world problem solving. This allows students to make connections between their school work and the world. In the classroom, we provide students choice in selecting how they practice and learn and show what they know. This could mean that students choose to practice through hands-on work or technology or demonstrate what they know through a project, oral presentation, or a written assignment.
Our middle school schedule has large portions of time set aside for personalized instruction. There are two primary blocks of instructional time for grade 5 that are two hours and forty five minutes long. One is dedicated to Science and Math and the other to English and Social Studies. The schedule is designed to be flexible and to allow time for moving ahead as well as catching up. Our goal is to create a school where each student can work at his/her individual pace and with the materials most suitable for them.
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
Monument Academy focuses on social emotional well being in multiple ways. We have a Director of Well-Being who, together with the Director of Student Life and Extended Day Learning, oversee a staff of social workers and houseparents for the academic and residential programs. All staff members, not just the well-being staff, are trained in ways that address the social and emotional needs of children.
We have made this a pillar of our school because we believe that social emotional well-being of students plays a material role in student achievement and long-term success. Our schedule reflects a commitment to social emotional well-being and goal setting. Each day, a student will wake up and engage in physical exercise. When they transition to the academic program, we have set aside a half hour at the beginning of each day where they practice relationship skills and set goals. Students will learn mindfulness practice and be equipped with the organizational tools to become self-directed learners. Students will also get regular breaks during the academic blocks where they can decompress and recharge.
PERMANENCY AND STABILITY
Monument Academy will be a weekday boarding school to help ensure stability, structure and regular attendance for students. In addition to providing improved academic and emotional supports, residential stability provides caretakers with the comfort of knowing that their children are in school and being supported to be high achievers. We will work with families/guardians so that they know how their children are doing during the week. We will also have time during handoffs on Sunday night and Friday afternoon to connect caregivers and staff so they can talk about how students are doing and ask questions.
ADULT CONNECTIONS
We intend to partner students with a staff member who is an advisor for the student. The advisor will start by creating by working with the student to create an individualized life plan, called a “Blueprint”. This individual will be the point person for keeping track of academic progress and making sure the student has access to any supports needed for success. From the moment the student starts at Monument Academy this advisor is the point person between student, family and teachers on all academic matters, and is responsible for ensuring that the student is on track to graduate and on a trajectory for post-secondary completion. Additional adult mentorships may be arranged over time as our program grows. For instance, we will explore partnerships with outside organizations that provide mentoring services.
LIFE SKILLS
Our middle school residential program will include life skills such as personal hygiene, laundry, cleaning, cooking and financial literacy. Students will be expected to participate in each of these areas and learn the basics of each task during the residential program so that they will be successful as independent adults.
From staffing to schedule to culture and beyond, every aspect of Monument Academy is designed with these five pillars in mind to ensure that your students will be successful in college and in life.
HANDBOOK PURPOSE
This handbook was designed to provide an introduction and a reference guide to students and guardians about Monument Academy, including our programs, policies, and expectations. The goal of this handbook is to provide clear information and answer questions you have about how we operate. Please read this manual closely, discuss it with your student so you are all familiar with expectations and how we are setting up structures for success. Please keep in mind this handbook contains selected summaries of policies and procedures and is not, nor is it intended to, portray every detail of Monument Academy’s policies and procedures documents. The School’s policies and programs may change, at the School’s discretion, from time to time and without immediate notice to guardians or students. This handbook will be updated annually to reflect these changes and other edits as necessary.