Peach Springs School Staff Handbook

Peach Springs K-8 School - July 2015

The purpose of a school staff handbook is to provide staff members with clear expectations and guidelines appropriate to create a learning atmosphere where all students succeed and where adults feel they are engaging in meaningful work each day. A staff handbook serves as a companion to the Board of Education Policy Manual. This handbook is not intended to be complete in all details. However, School Board Policy and states that employees are guided by regulations set forth by building administrators.

Policy changes, additions, and/or deletions usually occur as necessary. Revision and improvement to Policy is a continuous process, and any meaningful child-centered suggestion from any staff members is encouraged.

Peach Springs Unified School District Staff Handbook Acknowledgement

This is to acknowledge that I receivedinformation on accessing the PSUSD Staff Handbook;I understand the Handbook contains information about the procedures and policies of PSUSD. I acknowledge that the location of the handbook is on the website page in the Policy section. I understand that I am responsible for becoming familiar with the guidelines and procedures within this handbook. I also understand that two (2) copies of the Staff Handbook will become available within the school for review, one in the mailroom and one in the front office. The handbook is subject to change based on the needs of the school, based on the administrator directives, and or school board policy updates.

Employee’s Name (Please print)

Employee’s Signature

Position

Date

Schedule for SY 2015-2016

(See attached schedule)

2015-2016 STAFF LISTING

STAFF LISTING 2015-2016 - Peach Springs Elementary School

Superintendent/Principal ……………………….Miss Cole

Assistant to Superintent/Discipline/ISS……….Mr. Madrid

Secretary/Health Assistant/Kitchen Manager ..Ms. Hunter

Attendance Clerk/IT/Accounts Payable ……..Mrs. Holmes

Business Manager……………………………..Ms. Hurst

Parent Liaison/title 1 culture ……….. ……… Ms. Paya

Police Officer- RESPECT program ……… …Officer Goins

Counselor ………………………………………..Ms. Kufeld

Kindergarten teacher…………………………….Mrs. Tripp

Kindergarten teacher ……………………………Mrs. St. Clair

Kindergarten assistant ………………………,,,,, Ms. Delcerro

1st Grade teacher ………………………………… Ms. Monsen

1st Grade teacher ………………………………… Mrs. Nagelkerk

2nd Grade teacher ………………………………... Mrs. Karabinis

2nd Grade teacher … …………………………… Ms. Fuller

3rd Grade teacher ………………………………….Mrs. Nichols

4th Grade teacher ………………………………….pending

5th Grade teacher ………………………………….Mr. Nichols

6th Grade teacher ………………………………… Ms. Nel Harrison

7th Grade teacher ………………………………… pending

8th Grade teacher ………………………………….Mr. Wyble

Speech Therapist/PT/OT………………………….contracted services

Art ………………………………………………… pending

PE teacher …………………………………………Ms. Schifano

Library assistant …………… … ………………….Mrs. Irwin

Computer assistant ………………………..………Ms. Teri Lucas (title 1)

RTI /Title 1 Teacher ………..……………………...Mr. Tom Irwins

Inclusion/resource teacher …...……………………Ms. Canto

Inclusion/resource teacher …………………………Mr. St. Clair

Special Education Assistants …………. Ms. Watahomigie & Ms. Hoffman

Facilities/Transportation Manager…..…….Mr. Halbert and Mr. Frank Mapatis (grounds)

Transportation/Facilities …Mr. Brown (Driver), Mr. Wellington, Mr. Karabinis (Driver), Mr. Chavez (Driver)

Kitchen Staff …………………………………………Ms. Querta, Mr. Roberts (Driver)

Staff Policies

TEACHER/STAFF WORK DAY

Scheduledworkweekhours are from7 am- 5 pm Monday-Thursday, beyond that, teachers have permission to gain access to their classrooms outside of their required minimal work hours to prepare lessons for their students. During school hours, teachers are responsible for their students until other supervisionarrives, as students’ safety is #1 priority. Starting and ending times may be adjusted by administration as necessary toaccommodate student needs (as with morning duty), but will not exceed hours set forth.

If you leave for a short time during the day, please ensure qualified coverage, sign out in the office and sign back in with the office when you return.

To provide opportunities to input ideas into decisions, faculty members may volunteer to serve on committees, attend parent monthly events,planning meetings, or other activities deemed appropriate. It is up to the teachers to be as little or as much involved in the direction of the school. Your input and ideas are welcomed. As we have 10 hour days due to the Monday-Thursday calendar, with students most of the day to meet our required instructional time; teachers are encouraged to share ideas at a time that works best for you. I am here to listen to your ideas and suggestions and I would encourage you to join a PLC team.

Administrative office will be open at 7:00 am and will remain open until 5:00 pm.

Classified (Hourly paid staff) may not work beyond 40 hours without Superintendent’s prior approval for comp or extra paid hours.

TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES

Classroom

Breakfast in the Classroom (7:30-8:00 am including restroom break)

Research indicates Breakfast as the most important meal of the day. The benefits related to students eating breakfast are widely known. Everyone wins… students, teachers, parents, principals, and the Student Nutrition Program. Research shows the following positive effects when students eat breakfast:

Attendance improves
Behavior problems decrease
Visits to nurse decrease
Attention span improves
Achievement scores go up
Student nutrition improves

The process for the program includes the following:

Cooks will prepare a breakfast for every student in the school.
Every child eats breakfast and lunch for free –
Students eat their breakfasts in the classroom.
Dispose excess milk into the sink when possible before throwing the milk carton away (in classrooms that have a sink).
Please do not save food in the classroom. Keep all food off the floors and carpets… old food attract bugs and rodents.

Breakfast in the classroom time is a great time to get all routine tasks done… attendance, collecting homework, restrooms, morning work…while the students eat then read.

Lesson Plans

Lesson plans are required in all classes weekly/per unit (a cycle of 4-8 days) in the areas of ELA (reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar), science/health, Tier 1, 2, 3 for reading (ELA) and math, social studies using district pacing guide with Common Core Standards.
Lesson plans are required in all specials classes and should reflect the unit being taught. The cycle may be longer, due to limited exposure to students.
Lesson plans should reflect grade-level district curriculum maps and Common Core Standards.
Lesson Plans and the use of Common Core Standards will be checked by administration through regular walk-throughs of classrooms. Content being covered should be reflected in documented lesson plans.
Lesson plans should be prepared a week in advance. (Monday mornings by 7:00 am for each week)
Teachers are responsible for providing lesson plans for substitute teachers.Please provide 3 lessons in advance USING A FOLDER submitted to the FRONT office during the first two weeks of school. YOU WILL APPRECIATE IT WHEN YOU TAKE LEAVEOR GET SICK AND YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO PLAN LESSONS. INCLUDE COPIES OF ALL MATERIALS NEEDED. REVIEW IS BETTER FOR SHORT TERM SUB. Include lesson plan (keep it simple), class roster, schedule, emergency procedures, seating chart (updated)…

During the first week of school, teachers should keep a minimum of three days of contingency lesson plans with materials on file in the office for a substitute in case for unplanned leave or teacher illness. Secretary will provide to substitute for the time on leave. ***

K-2 and 6-8 Teachers may collaborate weekly to design common assessments and analysis results for reading and math as a grade level. Common lesson plans are optional.

Attendance

1. Student attendance for reports takes place promptly at 8:00 am daily.

2.Attendance is recorded online. Teachers should also keep hard copies through a grade book or spreadsheet. These will be collected at the end of the year. Auditors may also request to compare attendance with office . Attendance book is provided by the school.

3.Students who are excused for school-sponsored activities are not considered or reported absent. The office staff will record the activity-related absence, if necessary.

4.Students are entitled to make-up work through the first ten (10) absences of any type. Teachers are encouraged to allow make-up work for all absences.

5.Students are entitled to make-up work for suspensions, as these are school-enforced absences.

6. To increase student attendance, teachers may want to set weekly goals as a class to reinforce attendance, provide positive PAT (preferred activity time) if class meets 100% attendance.

Teaching (Non-Negotiable Tasking)

We will teach with whole group instruction (Tier 1) and small group instruction (Tier 2 and 3)
All staff will participate in working as a team to focus on students that need Tier 2, 3 interventions. Grade level teachers are responsible for lesson plans, assessments, and data analysis for Tier 1, 2, and 3. It is critical that special area teachers assigned to specific grade levels work closely with RTI interventionist, grade level teachers, and students. We need to all work together to make RTI successful in reading and math.
All staff members must communicate in a professional and respectful manner to students, staff, parents, and community members.
Content and language objectives will be posted for each subject area. Content-Teach from CCSS and the district curriculum pacing guide. Objectives must be mentioned at each learnable moment so the students can explain it

Objectives- How are students going to demonstrate they have learned the standard? Reading, writing, speaking, and listening are needed to learn

Teachers need to focus on working directly with students, walking around monitoring students, checking for understanding, and remain engaged in learning with students. Teachers should not sit behind their desk during instructional time, grade papers, use their cell phone for talking or texting, gossip with staff members in front of students, use desktop, laptop computer or electronic device for lesson planning, email, or games during any instructional time. STUDENTS need your undivided attention…. 100% of time is needed for students. We have limited time to move students from failing status to performing and their future depends on you. Every moment is critical and students need all your attention and energy focused on them. The Native students are very intelligent; they deserve the best teachers, so let’s demonstrate our value of educating every child at this school. When your students talk about you when they are your age, how do you want to be remembered? A teacher who cared or a teacher that just sat behind the desk, gave out busy work, and ignored students. I am asking that you treat every child in your class as your own child and view the Native future as depending on his/her success.
Word walls will be in every classroom and will include reading and math vocabulary with pictures associated to the vocabulary terms. Please do not cover a whole wall with words. Be creative so they can be interactive and meaningful. One possible example: Create a vocabulary station and have students create illustrations that match words. After playing the matching game, assessment demonstrates students’ knowledge at mastery level, vocabulary with one illustration could be posted on the wall. Keep word wall words in one area of the room. The words selected should be words students could use every day, across subject areas to create meaningful connections (beyond one story). Think long term when selecting key vocabulary terms—is this a word that can be used outside of this story in multiple situations? If so, that is a good word to select for the station and word wall.
Assessments will need to be scored prior to Thursday’s afternoon data analysis meeting for the RTI -PLC team.
Adjust the schedule and lesson if needed when the week is shorter so the lesson ends on the last day of the week.
All skills should be MODELED. (I do, we do, you do)
Use variety of strategies to engage students in reading; volunteers, bubble burst, corral reading, paired partners, reading along with tape or teacher, etc. Round Robin strategy alone does not keep students engaged; instead students often look ahead for their own part, thus missing the whole story.
Focus on 2-3 vocabulary words a day.
Research indicates that a student must repeat a word 70 or more times to make it part of their learned vocabulary.
Principal, instructional coach or state staff members may enter the classroom environment at any time and must see the teacher moving through the room, monitoring students, or working directly with students. The teacher may be sitting at a center working with students but not independently from students. Again, it is expected that the teacher will not be at their desk or independently on the computer during instructional time with students in the room.
Computers are acceptable for presentations, student learning, and or to enhance student learning. Please do not leave students online unattended, teachers must walk around monitor, ask questions, check for understanding, and provide assistance.
Reading tiers are expected each and every day at scheduled times
If there is a two hour delay, continue schedule from 10 am.
Reading and math needs to occur daily. 
Every student will have the opportunity to read every day.
Every student will answer a question, both verbally and in written form, dealing with the CCSSs, each and every day in relation to the subject being taught in class.
SUFFICIENT PRACTICE IN READING COMPLEX TEXTS:
ALL students will be offered, including those who are below grade level, extensive opportunities to encounter and comprehend grade-level complex text as required by the standards. Focus this year will be Tier 1 direct instruction to return to focused parts of the text to guide students through re-reading, discussion, and writing about the ideas, events, and information found there. This opportunity is offered regularly and systematically through all K-8 materials.
WRITING TO SOURCES:
Written and oral tasks, at all grade levels need to draw on textual evidence, and to support valid inferences from the text. Writing tasks should be cover skills needed to write persuasive text, informational, expressive, and narrative styles.

Note: Common core focus - more on persuasive text using evidence.

For whole group instruction Tier 1, the teacher will teach focusing on grade level common core standards. Differentiated materials will be used during Tier II and Tier III.

The “Five Reading Elements” will be a focus in reading.

Element / Definition / Example
Phonemic Awareness
Pre-K, K / The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words. It is part of phonological awareness / A child can speak, repeat, and use different words and sounds. He or she learns patterns in speech and repeat those, although sometimes grammatically incorrect
Phonics
K, 1, 2 / Understanding the relationship between the letters and the spoken sounds / A child understands that letters and combinations of letters make specific sounds
Fluency
K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 / Orally reading with appropriate rate, expression, and phrasing / A child picks up a book and reads it as if in a conversation, with automaticity.
Vocabulary
K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 / Words for effective communication when listening, speaking, reading and writing / A child knows the words in a passage and the meanings
Comprehension
K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 / Understanding the meaning of print / A child can put in his or her own words what the passage is about.

E. Discipline

1.It is the teacher’s responsibility to be knowledgeable of the discipline provisions.

2.Teachers are expected to enforce school-wide and common playground rules.

3.Teachers must post class expectations, positive and negative consequences, and enforce them consistently.

4.Teachers must notify parents of a child’s classroom misbehaviors before referring a student to the office. Some violations of the code of conduct warrant immediate referral to the office—drugs, aggressive confrontation (if a fight is imminent), fighting, etc.

5.Group punishment should be avoided, as we are trying to teach students about the consequences of actions. Consequences should be directly related to misbehaviors.

6.Teachers should exhibit positive behavioral supports by praising students when appropriate, refraining from escalating situations, and conducting discipline in a manner that does not humiliate students.

7. Discipline procedures should match the behavior. Non-example: example 1- student forgot homework (A), has no homework (B), no recess (C). example 2- Work is too hard or easy for student (A), student refuses to work (B), teacher tells student to sit in the hallway (C) and student gets reinforced not to complete work in class. In both ABC models, the consequence does not increase desired behavior. Instead, student will likely pout, be glad to get out of doing work, and may be reinforced for his/her efforts. Examples: student forgot work (A), student has no work (B), student add work to tonight’s homework list with note home to parent (C) and/or student misses class celebration PAT (preferred activity time) for a 15 minute afternoon educational computer game reinforcing this week’s objective. Example 2- work is too easy or too hard (A), student refuses to work (B), teacher provide two choice options (C) and student selects one from teacher’s choice options and begins to work because his/her needs are met.

8. See attached forms for disciplinary referrals (Addendum B)

9. Expectations (Be safe, Be respectful, Be responsible) chart (Addendum C)

PSUSD Elementary Exemplar: Behavior Expectation
Location
Expectation
/ Hallways / Cafeteria / Playground / Restrooms / Classroom
(including Specials)
Be Safe /

Walk
Stay to the right
Allow others to pass

Keep all body parts to yourself at all times
Keep all food to self
Sit with feet on floor, bottom on bench and facing table

Walk to and from playground
Keep all body parts to yourself at all times
Stay within playground boundaries
Follow the direction of the adults on duty

Keep all body parts to yourself at all times
Keep feet on floor
Keep water in sink
Wash hands

Keep all body parts to yourself at all times
Sit with feet on floor, bottom on chair and facing desk.
Walk

Be Respectful /

Use inside voices

Wait your turn in the lunch line
Use inside voices
Ask before you borrow

Take turns with playground equipment
Play fair
Include everyone

Knock on stall door
Give others privacy
Use inside voices

Use inside voices
Wait for your turn
Take care of classroom materials

Be Responsible /

Keep hallways clean
Go directly to your location

Get all utensils, milk etc. when first going through line
Clean up after yourself

Keep playground free of trash
Line up when recess is over

Flush toilet after use
Clean up after yourself
Return to room promptly
Report problem to adult

Return borrowed items
Be on Time
Take care of your property
Clean up after yourself

PSUSD Elementary Exemplar: Behavior Expectation
Location
Expectation
/ Arrival / After School / Assemblies / Bus
Be Safe /

Walk quietly to the classroom
Keep all body parts to yourself at all times

Walk quietly to the designated area.
Keep all body parts to yourself at all times
Stay on the bus after you get on. Only depart at your designated stop.
Walkers and Pick-up students stay in the cafeteria until you are released by a staff member.

Stay within personal space.
Keep all body parts to yourself at all times.
Exit quietly with your class.

Ride your assigned bus
A note must be sent to school if student is not riding the bus.

Be Respectful /

Watch where you are going.
Use inside voices.

Watch where you are going.
Use inside voices.

Respond appropriately with good manners.
Sit quietly

Follow the bus drivers instructions
Use inside polite voices

Be Responsible /

Keep belongings to yourself.

Keep belongings to yourself.

Follow the directions of your teacher.

Keep the bus free of trash.
Make sure seats and all parts of the bus are in good condition.

Peach Springs Unified School District Disciplinary Form