PARENT-SCHOLAR HANDBOOK

2016-2017

2101 N. Australian Avenue West Palm Beach, Florida 33407

Phone: (561) 670-1138
Fax: (561) 429-8144

Website: palmbeach.upaflorida.org

Office Hours: 7:00 am – 4:00 pm

School Hours: 8:00 am – 3:30 pm

VISION STATEMENT

The vision of University Preparatory Academy is to provide students with access to a college preparatory experience in historically underserved communities.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of University Preparatory Academy-Palm Beach is to provide students with the academic, leadership and social skills that will enable them to attend and graduate from an institution of higher education.

This mission is accomplished through a rigorous and well-designed academic program aligned with Florida Standards. University Preparatory Academy will work with parents, the community, and the School District to implement highly effective teaching practices that address the needs of individual learners. Teachers and administrators will continually assess and monitor academic growth to empower students and provide timely feedback concerning academic performance. Teachers and administrators will work in both subject matter and grade level teams to analyze whole group data, address overall trends and review the instructional focus. Teachers will collaboratively disaggregate data; determine the direction that needs to be taken with instruction. Instructional tools; such as textbooks, educational media, and instructional technology, will be selected by experienced educators that have an investment in students' performance and achievement. Selection will be determined based on specific alignment with educational benchmarks and state standards as applicable to the school's mission.

All levels of learners will be addressed and University Preparatory Academy will provide a variety of instructional practices including:

●Project-based learning and problem-solving to engage and enhance critical thinking

●Inquiry-based strategies to promote curiosity, creativity, and encourage student ownership of knowledge

●Technology based instruction that will serve as a direct instructional tool and as a means of presenting and communicating information and data in a dynamic fashion

●Differentiated instruction and other high impact strategies to elicit in-depth understanding

●Cooperative learning and teamwork to help develop leadership and social skills in all students

●Authentic assessments that can accurately measure the level of knowledge acquisition

●Adequate time for feedback to students in order to provide opportunity for self-improvement, growth, and remediation and/or enrichment of areas of deficiency or high interest ‘

TABLE OF CONTENTS

VISION STATEMENT

MISSION STATEMENT

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

ASSESSMENTS

ATTENDANCE POLICY

MEDICAL AND DENTAL APPOINTMENTS:

SPECIAL EVENTS OR PROGRAMS:

BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

BOOK BAGS/FOLDERS/PERSONAL ITEMS

BUS TRANSPORTATION

CAFETERIA PROCEDURES & EXPECTATIONS

LUNCH PROGRAM:

CARE OF SCHOOL PROPERTY

CELLULAR PHONES/ELECTRONIC DEVICES

CHILD ABUSE

COMMUNICATION

CONFERENCES

DISCIPLINE POLICY

BUS/TRANSPORTATION BEHAVIOR:

CAFETERIA BEHAVIOR:

HALLWAY BEHAVIOR:

DRESS CODE

EMERGENCIES

ILLNESS:

MINOR ACCIDENTS:

MAJOR ACCIDENTS:

SCHOOL CLOSINGS:

EXCEPTIONAL SCHOLAR EDUCATION (ESE)

FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA)

FLORIDA STANDARDS

FIELD TRIPS

GRADING & STUDENT PROGRESSION PLAN

MISSING ASSIGNMENTS & TESTS DUE TO ABSENCES:

PROMOTION CRITERIA:

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

HEALTH SCREENINGS/SUSPECTED HEALTH CONCERNS

HOMEWORK POLICY:

INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKS, EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, AND SUPPLIES

LABELS

LOST AND FOUND

MEDIA RELEASE

MEDICATION

OFFICE

VISITORS:

TELEPHONES:

PROGRESS MONITORING PLAN (PMP)

PROGRESS REPORT DISTRIBUTION

REPORT CARD DISTRIBUTION

RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION (RtI)

SCHOOL CREED

SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION

SCHOLARS’ RIGHTS

TECHNOLOGY USAGE POLICY

TRANSFER STUDENTS

WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURES

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

The after school program is operated by Faith’s Place Center for Arts Education. They offer a comprehensive enrichment program every school day including early release days until 6:00 pm. This program provides scholars with a structured, safe, and positive environment for after school hours. Scholars are supervised by experienced teachers andcounselors that provide age-appropriate instruction in music, the arts, and athletics. Please visit their webpage at more information.

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

University Preparatory Academy is committed to protecting its scholars and employees from bullying, harassment, or discrimination. University Preparatory Academy believes that all scholars and employees are entitled to a safe, equitable, and harassment-free school experience. Bullying, harassment, or discrimination will not be tolerated and shall be just cause for disciplinary action.

ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

It is crucial that scholars report to school on time. Supervision of scholars begins at 7:30 am for scholars. Instruction begins promptly at 8:00 am forscholars. Breakfast will be served in the cafeteria beginning at 7:30 am for scholars and ends at 7:55 am.

Dismissal is 3:30 pm for all scholars. Parents are not permitted to “stack” (park their cars and wait) until 3:25 pm. Only individuals listed on the NEW and RETURNING STUDENT REGISTRATION will be allowed to pick up scholars from the school. Valid photo identification will be required of all individuals picking up scholars. If someone arrives at the school to seek the release of a scholar and the person's name is not listed under the Emergency Information of the New and Returning Student Registration Forms, the scholar will not be released unless the person can verify the family password as indicated on the emergency contact card.

Parents will be given a placard with their child’s name and grade level, in large print, which must be displayed on the passenger side of the car dash. Scholars will not be released to individuals who do not have a school-issued placard displayed on the dash.

To avoid having the school become involved in personal family conflicts, parents or guardians should submit to school authorities a copy of any legal documents indicating who has legal access to the child and his/her records during school hours. Friends and strangers will be denied access to a scholar in the absence of verified parental consent.

All parents must remain inside their vehicles at dismissal time. Scholars will be called out of the dismissal line as you pull up. Vehicles are required to display the name placard in the window to speed the process and to follow the traffic pattern as outlined by the school. The safety of every scholar, not speed, is the goal of dismissal. Scholars will not be permitted early dismissal after 3:00 pm.

Please do not play loud music or talk on your cell phone while on the pickup line as it endangers the scholars and staff. The safety of your scholars is our first priority. Please follow drop-off and pick-up procedures very carefully to keep all of our scholars safe.

ASSESSMENTS

All students in grades K-3 will participate in benchmark testing and other grade appropriate assessments on a regular basis. Parents will be notified in advance of the dates and times for test administration. These assessments identify student learning gains and/or readiness for promotion. The assessments below are a part of the educational programming at University Preparatory Academy:

NWEA MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) ASSESSMENT:Provides growth and achievement data in Reading, Language Usage, and Mathematics which is used to develop targeted instructional strategies and plan school improvement. This assessment is administered 3 times per year to all students.

STEP (Strategic Teaching and Evaluation of Progress) ASSESSMENT:Literacy assessment for all K-3 students which allows teachers to identify reading milestones that have been mastered as well as milestones that must be taught. This data is used to provide targeted instruction to accelerate students' reading. This assessment is administered 3 times per year.

BENCHMARK ASSESSMENTS:Benchmark assessments are practicetests administered throughout the school year to give teachers immediate feedback on how students are meeting academic standards. This information is used to tailor the curriculum to meet the needs of students.

FLORIDA STANDARDS ASSESSMENT (FSA):The Florida Standards Assessments (FSA) will measure student mastery of the Florida Standards in ELA and Mathematics. This mandatory state-wide assessment is for students in 3rd grade and above. Results of this test may determine matriculation to the next grade. This assessment is administered once per year.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

ABSENCES:

  1. Your child must be in school every day as mandated by state law.
  1. Parents are required to call the office at by 9:00 am to notify the school if the scholar is going to be absent. Please call and excuse your child’s absence as soon as possible, to avoid having the absence marked as “Unexcused.”
  1. The dean will contact the parent regarding excessive absences (5 or more unexcused absences in a calendar month or 10 or more unexcused absences during a 90 day) via phone conference, email, teacher/parent conference or letter. Excessive early dismissals will also result in parental contact as well.
  1. If unexcused absences continue a formal referral for attendance will be made to administration with supporting documentation of parent contact and non-medical absences attached to the referral.
  1. If unexcused absences continue to exceed specified days, then the case will be escalated.

Anytime a scholar returns to school after an absence, a note should be provided. Scholars must be in school unless the absence has been permitted or excused for one of the following reasons (please note that vacations are considered unexcused absences):

  • Illness of scholar
  • Illness of immediate family member
  • Death in the family
  • Religious holidays of the scholar’s own faith
  • Required court appearance or subpoena by a law enforcement agency
  • Special Event (public functions, competitions, exceptional cases of family need)
  • Scheduled medical or dental appointments
  • Scholars who have, or are suspected of having a communicable disease.

Scholars who have 10 or more unexcused absences within a 90 calendar day period risk the possibility of retention.

TARDY POLICY:

Tardiness is disruptive to the learning environment and can have a negative impact on scholar achievement. Tardiness is defined as a scholar not being in the classroom when the class is scheduled to begin.

  • Parents must follow the same process to excuse a tardy as they do to excuse an absence.
  • Excessive tardiness will be addressed on a case-by-case basis to determine if there is a pattern of non- attendance. A pattern of non-attendance may be established by an accumulation of tardiness, absences (excused or unexcused), and early sign-outs for all or any part of the day.
  • Tardiness to any class without documentation may be considered unexcused.
  • Habitual tardiness is defined as being tardy 5 times within a marking period.
  • Principals have the discretion to excuse tardiness for extenuating circumstances.
  • Unless excused under the provisions of this policy, accumulated tardiness will be recorded as unexcused absences. (F.S. 1003.02) (1)(b)

EARLY DISMISSAL/EARLY SIGN-OUT:

Excused early dismissals are given for doctor’s appointments and extreme emergencies. If you need to take your child out of school before the end of the school day, come to the front desk, sign him/her out, and a school employee will call for your child, as long as it is before 3:00 pm. Any scholar leaving school prior to dismissal will have an early dismissal logged to his/her record. Early dismissal from a field trip site is not permitted. No child will be dismissed from the classroom after 3:00 pm as it disrupts our school-wide dismissal process. Parents must wait until the dismissal time. Excessive early sign-outs will be addressed on a case-by-case basis to determine if there is a pattern of non-attendance. Non-attendance for instructional activities is established by tardiness, early sign-outs, or absences for any or all part of the day. Unless excused under the provisions of this policy, accumulated early sign-outs will be recorded as unexcused absences. (F.S. 1003.02) (1)(b)

EXCUSED TARDY:

A scholar will be considered excused only if a parent/guardian personally escorts their child to the front desk and has a viable reason for the tardy. The reasons for an excused tardy are as follows: doctor’s appointments accompanied by a note from the doctor/orthodontist or extreme emergencies approved by administration. Excused tardies will not count toward the scholar’s tardy record.

UNEXCUSED TARDY:

A scholar will be considered unexcused due to last minute vacations, frequent alarm clock failures, “parent’s fault,” frequent car trouble, or inclement weather conditions. Unexcused tardies will count toward the scholar’s record. Scholars are to be in school and ON TIME by state law. Parents are required to park and enter the building to sign in scholars that are tardy. The procedures for abiding by state law are as follows:

  1. At five (5) tardies, the attendance clerk will verify any medical excuses submitted and recorded.
  1. At five (5) tardies, the parent will be contacted regarding excessive tardies or early dismissals via phone conference, email, teacher/parent conference or letter.

After 10 tardies or early dismissals per trimester, the parent will be contacted by a member of Administration.

MEDICAL AND DENTAL APPOINTMENTS:

If the scholar is going to leave school during the day for a medical, dental, or other scheduled appointment, a note must be brought to school and shown to the homeroom teacher. The scholar must deliver the note to the front office before they are dismissed.

Parents must come to the office to sign out the scholar. The office must be notified in writing when anyone other than a parent/guardian is sent to pick up a child. The person is expected to show proper identification. Upon return from the appointment, a parent must escort the scholar to the office to sign in and obtain an admission slip to class.

SPECIAL EVENTS OR PROGRAMS:

From time to time during the school year, special events are planned that require extra effort from all teachers. These events are in the best interest of scholars and are considered part of their total educational experience. Scholars must be in attendance for half of the school day in order to participate in special eventsand/or programs.

BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Teachers will use the following management strategies when a scholar displays misbehavior. These strategies are designed to minimize interference during the execution of instruction. The following sequence should be followed when managing misbehavior in your classroom.

Once scholars have internalized the routines and procedures, teachers will use one strategy from steps 1-7 prior to giving a check:

  1. Use a nonverbal gesture to correct the scholar’s behavior
  2. Positive group correction
  3. Anonymous individual correction
  4. Private individual correction
  5. Lightning quick public correction
  6. Narrate the Positive while making eye contact with the misbehaving scholar
  7. Move in closer proximity to the misbehaving scholar

If teachers use one strategy from the 7 listed above and the behavior continues, they will

  1. Give the scholar a check (verbal or nonverbal)

If the behavior continues, the teacher should the following consequences will occur:

  1. Scholar will accumulate more checks (3 checks equal a color change)
  2. Scholar’s parent(s) will be notified.
  3. Scholar will be placed in time out.
  4. Scholar will be written up and sent to the Dean of Culture.

This academic year, scholars will be allowed to earn checks back, which could include moving their color back to green. A scholar can earn checks back by:

  • Not being redirected for an entire class period (math, reading comp, read aloud, etc.).
  • Going above and beyond showing a specific value (i.e. persevering through a headache through an entire class, helping out a classmate in need)

Stipulations:

  • Scholars MAY earnchecks back before their color changes to yellow.
  • Scholars MAY earn back more than one check throughout the day.
  • Scholars can earn ONE check back per period.
  • A scholar must earn back ALL THREE CHECKS before they can move back to green.
  • Scholars can only change back to green ONE time.
  • Scholars MAYNOT earn back checks if their color has been changed to red.

Consequence System:

3 checks = color change

MISBEHAVIOR / CHECK/COLOR CHANGE
Not tracking the speaker / Check
Calling out / Check
Off task behavior (playing with shoe laces, hands inside of the desk, etc.) / Check
Out of seat w/o permission / Check
Not sitting up straight or in STAR / Check
Not following directions / Check
Talking in class/hallway/during breakfast/lunch / Check
Running / Check
Laughing at a peer/teasing / Check (K, until November)
Color Change (1st and up)
Dishonesty, lying / Check (K, until November)
Color Change (1stand up)
Talking back, arguing with teacher/scholar / Color Change
Being asked to leave the class / Color Change
Throwing weighted object / Color Change
Mistreating learning materials (crumpling up paper, pushing folder/paper off desk in anger) / Color Change
Being sent to the Principal’s Office/Restart Room / Color Change to Red
Physical confrontation (hitting, kicking, pushing) / Color Change to Red/Automatic Removal
Throwing weighted object at another scholar/teacher / Color Change to Red/Automatic Removal
Cursing/using profanity / Color Change to Red/Automatic Removal
Lifting/tipping or pushing over furniture / Color Change to Red/Automatic Removal
Graffiti or destruction of school property / Color Change to Red/Automatic Removal
Fleeing/Running out of classroom / Color Change to Red/Automatic Removal

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

All birthday treats must be given out in the classroom after 3:00 pm and all classroom scholars must be allowed to participate. Birthday celebrations should be no more than 15 minutes in length. Please coordinate birthday treats directly with your child’s teacher.

BOOK BAGS/FOLDERS/PERSONAL ITEMS

Please note that rolling book bags are NOT permitted at University Preparatory Academy for safety and storage reasons. Failure to comply will constitute a dress code violation and be subject to parental notification.

BUS TRANSPORTATION

University Preparatory Academy will provide limited bus transportation services for scholars who meet eligibility criteria for the 2016-2017 academic year. The bus transportation provided is designed in accordance with county transportation guidelines. All public schools have limited transportation boundaries set according to these guidelines. Please contact A & S Transportation for information at (239) 434- 0777. Scholars must exhibit appropriate bus behavior. Bus referrals are sent to the dean. Scholars exhibiting inappropriate behavior will lose bus privileges or ability to ride the bus.