Parent Handbook

Parties and Special Events

 

We will celebrate birthdays, holidays, events with our themes and any special event day.  This is a fun campus!  Please let us know if you want  to set up a celebration or for more details about upcoming events.

 

If you would like to give out invitations, please leave them at the front desk.  Our campus manager will pass them to parents on your behalf.  Please use a plain envelope for discretion and limit conversation to others on campus so that we can focus on learning.

 

If your child has food allergies or sensitivities, please leave a box of individually wrapped treats for your child to substitute for in case a surprise treat comes in.  When the box is empty, the teacher will send it home for replenishment.

 

Health Policy

 

If a student has vomited, had diarrhea or has a fever of 100 or greater, they will be sent home.  They may return after 24 hours of no symptoms off of medication.  Students with a cough or fever will be addressed with parents for everyone’s safety.  We will not administer over the counter or prescribed medication with the exception of an emergency EpiPen.  If a child reports that they are not feeling well or becomes ill, we will contact the parent.  If we cannot reach them, secondary caregivers shall be contacted.  The student must be picked up within the hour.

 

If a family needs to quarantine, our teachers will provide learning activities for the student to help them keep on track.  We will not provide “make up” work for regular absences.  Our teachers will do their best to catch the student up once they feel better.  No school work will be provided for vacations, but we will note the objectives being covered so that the parent can homeschool those skills missed.

 

Dress Code

 

Students are encouraged to dress in comfortable clothing and wear safe footwear for movement activities.  Clothing must cover body parts that would normally be contained in tops that would cover a sports bra with a hem to the waist and bottoms that would cover boxer length underwear.  Please refrain from wearing items that are fancy as we do creative activities that could cause damage to clothing.  No sleepwear is allowed.

 

A student’s job is to get an education.  Just like going to work, students should present themselves in a clean and tidy appearance.  As teachers work with teaching speaking skills, pleasant breath is appreciated. Please add deodorant when that growth spurt happens, but refrain from heavily fragranced products as others may have allergies.

 

Behavior Policy for Children

 

Children shall treat one another with kindness including words, body, and objects.  Asking a teacher for help with disagreements is encouraged so that we may walk the children through conflict resolution strategies such as: sharing, taking turns, avoidance, using humor, coming back later, compromise, flipping-a-coin, and/or asking for outside help.

We will not tolerate injury to another person.  We will call home and handle situations on a case-by-case basis based on age and/or circumstance. We will not enroll children with known behavior problems at past schools.

 

Behaviors that stop learning will not be allowed.  This includes refusal to follow reasonable directions, refusal to move to time out or the administrators office, throwing/kicking of items, profanity, and injury to others or school property.  We understand that children may have a day that is not their normal, self-managed behavior due to extraordinary circumstances such as death, conflict, or illness.  If a problem occurs, the administrator will reach out to a parent via telephone and we will try to problem solve for success.  If there is a second occurrence, a parent will have to come in and meet with the child and administrator to ensure we solve problems with a plan.  Upon a third occurrence, we will withdraw the child from our programs.  Tuition paid through the end of the month will not be returned for the academic year or for the week of enrichment programs.  Tuition for future programs will be returned.

 

Our Discipline and Guidance Policies

 

Model appropriate behavior.

Offer choices to gain cooperation.

Redirect if necessary.

Talk about how to solve problems and offer suggestions if needed.

Focus on good behavior.

 

Action Plan

1. Verbal warning.

2. Five minutes of time out in the learning space.

3. Call for an administrator.

 

Our Safety Procedures for All Occupants

 

No smoking/vaping is permitted on campus.  All materials brought on campus shall be free of these odors.

 

Firearms or any significant hazard that poses a risk for children are prohibited.

 

All floors must be kept clear of tripping hazards.

 

All children must be actively monitored by all staff.

 

Scissor, knife and tool safety must be taught before children are allowed to use these items.

 

Any toys that a child places in their mouth should be washed with soap and water, rinsed, sanitized and air dried.

 

First aid should be provided immediately.  Protective gloves should be worn when touching a student while providing care. Any injury should be reported to the campus manager or administrator who will follow up with parent contact.

 

If a fire alarm is sounded, teachers will escort students out the nearest exit ensuring that all spaces they pass on the way out are vacated.  The administrator will check the restrooms.  Fire exits must be kept clear.  Know the locations of fire extinguishers.

 

Suspected child abuse must be reported per state policy.  It should also be brought to the attention of the administrator immediately.  

 

Staff should never cause physical harm to a student while addressing behavior.  If attacked, put a barrier in place for self or other students. Call for help immediately.  A student hurting others will not be tolerated.

 

Sexual abuse or harrassment is prohibited.  Any conduct that may lead to either must be reported.

 

Student photography or videography is allowed without student names. Student names may be written in newsletters, etc. if no photo or video is used in conjunction of the shared item.  All shares should be positive and meaningful.

 

Windows and/or doors shall not be covered so that a person cannot monitor the room from outside of it.

 

Lapsitting for younger students shall be limited and only permitted with an open door and unobstructed view.

 

Volunteering

 

We welcome volunteer parents or grandparents on campus.  Please see the front desk for more information on our policies and procedures.  Any volunteer must have tasks to complete.  Just reach out at our front desk and we will have lots of ways to participate!

 

Attendance

 

All students will be checked in daily so that we may keep up with attendance per our licensure.  Please email or call us to let us know that we will miss your child for planning purposes.  

 

It is important to be in class.  When your child misses, the teacher will have to do a soft restart for concepts missed which takes away from the synergy of the unit.  If your child is out and misses more than three days, the student will need to make up for that learning at home with parent led instruction.

 

We certainly appreciate your child missing when they are ill.  We value time with family and those learning experience-trips which give enrichment for a child’s learning.  To help, we have scheduled a fall break and spring break.  The week before each, the students will be taking assessments.  Please schedule extended absences for the week after.  Any testing missed will need to be made up during a tutoring session.  Absences and tardies will be factored when scholarships are awarded.  

 

Tardiness (after 8:00) not only causes the late student to miss learning, but can interfere with the learning of others as it is a disruption to have a student join a lesson in progress.  Each student will be allowed a tardy per month with entry into class.  After that, the student will be held out of class to read to self until the next class rotation.  All work missed should be made up with parent instruction that same day as to not interfere with the next day’s learning.  

 

Tardiness and absences will be monitored for awards of scholarship and financial aid.

 

Security Protocols

 

Once student arrival time concludes, the front door will be locked until pick up times begin.

 

A student may not leave the building with any staff member, except in an emergency.  If we must vacate the building for safety reasons, we will meet at the Pooler City Hall building to shelter in place.

 

Any contact with students off of campus is not under the management of Advanced Academics.

 

Any changes in pickup must be reported to the front desk.  If there are any exceptions to who may pick up a student, please have the administrator flag that person on the child’s file.  At the time of pick up, the person picking up the child will be asked their name and if the child does not acknowledge the relationship, we will ask for identification.  We pre-appologize for any inconvenience, but if we are unsure, we will hold your student until we have confirmation.  We value extended family members' roles in a happy childhood and consider their participation important!

 

If you are at an event and choose to use video or photography, kindly do not use student’s names in posts.

 

Items from Home

 

Please do not allow your children to bring items from home that are not necessary for learning activities.  If a child needs a fidget item, it must be small enough to be contained in the hand and out of sight. If an early learning student needs a comfort item, please use consideration to attributes that would not distract others.  All items should be marked with the student’s name including water bottles, coats, lunch containers etc.  Unmarked and unclaimed items will be disposed of at the end of the month.

 

Backpacks:  Only middle school students as they may transport their laptops.

 

Lunchboxes: Only students who eat lunch on campus.  Snacks need to come in bags such as gallon Ziplocks with serving sizes for the week and may be stowed in their mailbox.

 

Coats: With the exception of a few freezing days, students usually can manage walking in without their coat.  Our air temperatures are kept comfortable for those without a sweater or hoodie.  These items often end up on the floor as tripping hazards.

 

Water Bottles: Students may refill their bottles at our filtered water dispenser on the refrigerator.  They will be asked to take them home each weekend.

 

Internet Safety

 

Middle school students will bring their own laptop and calculator to campus.  Please set your parental controls appropriately.  Elementary students will have use of on-site laptops and tablets.  Parental controls have been set and students must use them in sight of a teacher for monitoring purposes.  Even the best controls have gaps as children find work-arounds.

 

It is expected that all parents teach their child about internet safety before they use devices on campus.  A healthy level of concern is a good deterrent for not viewing inappropriate material.  However, each parent knows how to best address the dangers of the internet based on their values.  KidTube and Kiddle.co are great alternatives for YouTube and Wikipedia.  Students will be guided to sites that are kid-safe, and asked not to surf the web as they should be focused on their learning task and can play on the internet at home.

 

Information

The primary way to communicate is via papers in your child’s daily folder.  We will also utilize our webpage (www.AdvancedAcademicsAcademy.com), our social media accounts, and postings in the front office.