Baxter Elementary School Policies

WELCOME

The purpose of policies at Baxter Elementary School is to improve the educational environment and communication for all students. Education involves personal responsibility and self-discipline with a respect for order, governance, and learning. Good communication is the key in establishing a positive atmosphere conducive to learning.

This publication is provided to acquaint you with the goals and standards needed to provide the maximum potential for each student while establishing an orderly and pleasant educational setting.

The school makes special efforts to create and promote a good relationship between the home and school. Newsletters, regular conferences and direct contact with parents are part of these efforts. Parents are encouraged to initiate their own contacts whenever necessary.

BAXTER ELEMENTARY PHILOSOPHY

Baxter Elementary is a community based school that strives to involve parents, community members and other interested people at all levels of education. We do this by opening school facilities and grounds for community use, offering educational programs to parents and pre-schoolers, and allowing parents the opportunity to participate in their child's education and learning environment.
The community, in turn, contributes time and resources to the school through a volunteer program, an active parent-teacher organization, the availability of community resources and a business adoption program. The school reflects the stability of the community. Community and faculty share a sense of family pride and ownership in the school.

Baxter Elementary School is committed to the total education of each individual pupil. Programs are provided for both the physical and intellectual development in order that each child will achieve his greatest potential. The curriculum is designed to follow the guidelines set forth by the Tennessee State Department of Education. Instruction in the fine arts is provided through the cooperative efforts of teachers, parents, and other available resources. Efforts are being made to incorporate technology into all aspects of the curriculum. The staff at Baxter Elementary School is dedicated to the development of socialization skills and the enhancement of positive self-esteem. The staff works with parents/guardians to supplement and complement their efforts to meet the physical and emotional needs of their children.

As a staff, we endeavor to instill the love and desire of learning in order to prepare the individual pupil for future success. Guidance is given to establish career and self-awareness. Children are taught the relationship between formal education and future success.

We, the faculty of Baxter Elementary, are a democratic body that maintains a code of professionalism that works to serve the best interest of our pupils. Though we have a single purpose in educating all pupils to the best of our ability, we still retain our own personal identities and individual styles in our classrooms. We believe this enhances the quality of instruction and the relationships within the school. We welcome the opportunity to participate in the preparation and induction of beginning teachers.

We have an informal relationship among our professional colleagues and support personnel. Open lines of communication permit all teachers to supplement the curriculum to best serve the needs of all pupils. The support personnel play an essential role in the efficient and effective operation of the school. In addition, our students are taught to respect authority and the individual needs of others within the school community.

BAXTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OBJECTIVES

As a result of experiencing the curriculum of Baxter Elementary School, the pupils shall, within the limit of their abilities:

1. Be proficient in the basic academic skills.
    
2. Locate and use information and exhibit critical thinking skills.
    
3. Be well-rounded with positive self-concepts that create an eagerness to continue educational pursuits.
    
4. Be good citizens who are responsible for personal actions, respectful of authority, aware of relationships within the world, and exhibit sensitivity and responsiveness to the needs of others.
    
5. Accept the differences among people and appreciate the uniqueness of each individual.
    
6. Possess habits that are indicative of sound physical and mental health.
    
7. Appreciate the rights, freedoms, privileges, and responsibilities of our multi-cultural, democratic society.
    
8. Appreciate the beauty found in the Arts and nature and be a conservator of these gifts and resources.
    
9. Be constructive risk-takers applying decision-making skills to provide creative solutions for daily living.
    
10. Be aware of the diversity of career fields and occupational opportunities including emerging technologies.
     

ATTENDANCE

Baxter Elementary School complies with county and state compulsory attendance laws. Excused absences shall include: personal illness, family illness, death in the family, special religious holidays, planned family trips over which the student has no control and is required to accompany the family - provided the student's parents or guardians notify the principal in advance. Students must obtain classwork assignments, complete the assignments and submit them to the teacher prior to the absence or on the first day the student returns to school. Parent's and doctor's notes should accompany the student's return to school. Each child with an excused absence will be given one week to make up missed assignments. Otherwise zeros will be given for the work not completed. Unexcused absences will automatically receive a zero for missed assignments. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STUDENT TO REQUEST AND ACCOMPLISH THIS WORK. (School Board Policy - JB)

TARDINESS/EARLY PICK-UP

Students tardy to school shall report to the office to sign the student log and to have the principal sign their note from their parent/guardian. Tardiness will be recorded along with absence. Students who are picked up before 2:50 p.m. must also have a written excuse because this is also considered truant. Missed class work or tests may not be made up if the absence is unexcused.

BOOKS

Any textbook lost or destroyed must be paid for before a new one will be issued. Library books that are lost or destroyed must be paid for before checking out another.

BUS REGULATIONS 

Riding the bus is a privilege. Improper conduct on the buses will result in that privilege being denied. Only regularly scheduled bus students are to ride the school buses. If it is necessary for a student to ride a bus that is different from the regularly scheduled one, parents are to send a note requesting that a child be permitted to ride that bus. The note must be signed by the child's teacher and the principal. The note is given to the bus driver when boarding that bus. Bus students are to go immediately to the buses as soon as they are dismissed from school.

CAFETERIA

Breakfast and lunch are served in the school cafeteria at a nominal cost. Free or reduced-price breakfasts and lunches are available for those who qualify. Breakfast and lunch tickets may be purchased on MONDAY mornings for one, two, three, or four weeks. Tickets will be kept in the cafeteria and will be punched each day the students eat. Please send money for tickets for the exact amount - not extra milk. Extra milk may be purchased on a day-to-day basis at the cash register as the students go through the cafeteria line. If a student forgets his lunch money, he/she will be allowed to charge ONE day, a note will be sent home informing parents of the charge. If a student needs to charge a second time, he/she will be requested to telephone his/her parents. There will be no charging for breakfast.

In order to keep the cafeteria clean and pleasant, the following rules will be observed by all students.

1. Leave the top of table clean.
    
2. Leave floor free of debris, even if left by a previous group.
    
3. Leave chairs upright and under table.
    
4. Trays and utensils are to be passed courteously to cafeteria personnel.
    
5. Excessive noise and/or unacceptable conduct will not be tolerated, and may result in loss of cafeteria privileges.
    
6. No changing of seats or tables.
    
7. No cutting into the food line.
    
8. No bothering another's food tray.
    
9. Students must return by the shortest route to their classes.
    

DRESS CODE

Students are encouraged to uphold high standards of dress, grooming, and appearance. Students are not appropriately dressed when their attire is disruptive to the learning environment or when it creates a health hazard.

The following are inappropriate as school attire:

1. T-shirts that make reference to drugs, alcohol, sex, or obscenities
    
2. Tank tops, fishnet shirts, halter-tops, or tube tops
    
3. Short-shorts or excessively short skirt lengths
    
4. Saggie pants, skirts, shorts - should fasten above hip level - No skin or underwear should be showing.
    

MEDICINE

No school officer or teacher shall routinely dispense medication to students except in unique situations in which a child's health is dependent upon emergency medical aid. If under exceptional circumstances, a child is required to take oral medication during school hours and the parent cannot be at school to administer the medication, only the school nurse or the principal's designee will administer the medication in compliance with the regulations that follow:
 

1. Medication Forms signed by a parent and physician will be required and must include:
• child's name
   
• name of medication
   
• purpose of medication time to be administered
   
• termination date for administering medication
   
• dosage possible side-effects
   

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

"The Putnam County board of Education does not discriminate in any program, activity, or employment on the basis of handicap, sex, race, or national origin as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973."

PARENT CONFERENCES AND VISITORS

Parents are to call or send a note to request an appointment with a teacher. When parents use class time, it is not fair to the rest of the class.
 

PARENTS AND ALL VISITORS ARE TO FIRST REPORT TO THE OFFICE WHEN VISITING THE SCHOOL.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Physical education is a required subject in Tennessee, therefore, every student is expected to participate. These items will offer a better understanding of the physical education program.

1. For your child's safety, he/she must wear soft shoes. No boots, sandals, clogs, stack heals, black hard soles, or rubber spikes can be worn on gym floor. If your child wears a pair of one of the above, he/she will have to change to soft sole shoes or go barefoot.
    
2. Girls should wear tops and pants or shorts. Boys may wear shorts and T-shirts.
    
3. Please send a note from a doctor, parent, or guardian when your child has an illness or injury stating the condition and the length of time your child is excused from physical education class.
    
4. If your child has any condition, such as allergies, asthma, diabetes, etc., that would limit physical activity, a note should be sent from a doctor.
    

REPORT CARDS

Report cards for grades 1-6 are distributed every six weeks with the distribution taking place approximately one week following the close of the six weeks. Report cards should be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to school within three days. Kindergarten report cards start the second six weeks.

SCHOOL CLOSING

If the school is closed due to inclement weather or an emergency situation, announcements will be made on the local radio stations and Channel 7 television station. Please listen to these stations rather than call the school. Jammed telephone lines hinder instructions being received from the Central Office. In the event of early school dismissal, students who are walkers, car riders, or bus students will follow "Snow Plans" which were filled out the day that the child registered for school.

SCHOOL HOURS

The school shall be open at 7:15 A.M. for bus students and car riders. These students shall report to the cafeteria.
The first buses leave Baxter Elementary at approximately 3:00 PM. WaIkers and car riders are dismissed at 2:50 PM. Walkers are expected to Ieave the grounds immediately. Car riders should be picked up by 3:15 PM.

S.A.C.C.

Baxter Elementary School's S.A.C.C. program (before and after school program) is open from 6:00A.M. until 7:15A.M. and from 3:00PM. until 6:00 RM. Students may be enrolled in this program for a fee by contacting the S.A.C.C. coordinator at the school.

SCHOOL INSURANCE

School insurance is available to all students. A packet will be available for each student on registration day. Purchase of this program is optional. Please refer to the insurance policy for specific benefits and rates.

SCHOOL POLICIES

We, the staff of Baxter Elementary School, believe good discipline is an essential element of the learning environment.

We expect students to exhibit self-discipline in the school, on a field trip and while riding the bus. We also solicit and expect parental support in our effort to promote these traits. The ideal classroom environment is one free from disruption, one in which teachers can teach and students can learn.

To help promote self-discipline, the following policies have been established:

1. Follow directions the first time they are given.
    
2. Assume responsibility for completing all required assignments.
    
3. Keep hands, feet, and objects to one's self.
    
4. Avoid writing on or damaging school property or the personal property of others.
    
5. Refrain from using vulgar language and gestures or possessing obscene material.
    
6. Walk while inside the building or when entering or exiting the building.
    
7. Refrain from stealing school property or the property of others.
    
8. Avoid the chewing of gum at school.
    
9. Detention - Students may be detained before or after the school day as a means of disciplinary action. (School Board Policy JCC B)
    

SUPPLY STORE

The supply store is open from 7:45 A.M. until 7:55 A.M. Students may purchase paper, pencils, and other supplies.

THE SCHOOL AND THE LAW

Any unlawful act taking place on school grounds or buses not only makes the student subject to penalties which the court or school board may prescribe but also may result in suspension or dismissal from school.

USE OF THE TELEPHONE

Students use of the telephone is discouraged. Permission to use the phone will be granted if the teacher, secretary, or principal feels that the call is necessary. Delivery of telephone messages disrupts the classroom. Only emergency messages will be delivered. Transportation. arrangements for individual students should be worked out between student and parent prior to the start of the school day. Making arrangements for after-school social affairs is not considered an acceptable reason to use the phone.

WITHDRAWALS, TELEPHONE AND ADDRESS CHANGES

Parents should notify the school prior to the student's withdrawal. When all textbooks, library books, materials and charges have been cleared, records will be forwarded to the new school. Please notify the school immediately if there is a change in your address, telephone number, or person to contact in an emergency.