1.   ACCIDENTS…..ALL ACCIDENTS that occur on the school campus or building must be reported to the principal immediately or to Weldon Thompson at the superintendent’s office.  An injury report must be completed on a claim form regardless of immediate pain or injury.
 
2.   ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENTS…..In Texas, children between the ages of 6 and 18 are required to attend school unless otherwise exempted by state law.  School employees should report suspected violations to the office for further investigation.
In order for a student to be promoted they must be in attendance for at least 90% of the days during the school year.  Students that exceed more than 18 days (excused absences) or have 10 unexcused absences can be retained unless the attendance committee finds that there are extenuating circumstances such as the following:
a.an excused absence based on personal illness, illness or death in the family, quarantine, weather or road conditions making travel dangerous, or any other unusual cause acceptable to the superintendent or principal.
b.Days of suspension
c.Participation in court proceedings or child abuse/neglect investigation
d.A migrant student’s late enrollment or early withdrawal
e.Days missed as a runaway
f.Late enrollment or early withdrawal of a student under Texas Youth Commission
g.Participation in a substance abuse rehabilitation program or psychiatric hospital stay
If the attendance committee finds that there are no extenuation circumstances a student will be retained.  A parent may appeal the attendance committee’s decision to the Board of Trustees.
 
     3.    BETWEEN CLASSES…..Teachers should step to their doors between classes and assist in supervising the hallways and restrooms.
 
CHEATING OR STEALING…..Cheating or stealing in any manner is absolutely intolerable.  Disciplinary action should be taken by the teacher or principal.  Cheating shall be defined to include giving or receiving information on a test or submitting duplicate work for outside assignments. 
CHECKING IN….Sign in on the sheet provided in the workroom each morning     by 7:45 am.  The beginning time for the daily work schedule for teachers is 7:45 and 7:30 for aides.  This is defined as the time a teacher/aide will be in his/her work station (hallway, classroom or gym) with all sign-in completed.  The work day will end at 3:45 for teachers and 3:30 for all aides.  Everyone is expected to remain on campus until that time unless they have prior approval of the building principal to leave early.  This schedule does not preclude assignment of teachers/aides to morning or afternoon duty. 
COLLECTION OF MONEY….All money collected should immediately be turned into the school office and a receipt should be completed.  Do not leave money in classrooms over night. This includes money for fundraisers, field trips, etc. 
CONFIDENTIALITY….Staff members are not to discuss students with persons other than the students parent or guardian.  Staff members should not discuss students if it does not directly relate to them.  If a parent would like to discuss their child and it involves other staff members, you should refer them to the child’s teacher of record or to the principal or counselor.  Please be aware of substitute teachers in the building at lunch and other times throughout the day when discussing students. Substitute teachers do not need confidential information or any type of information that may be repeated outside of the school and reflect poorly on the school. 
DRESS CODE FOR STAFF…..All staff members are expected to follow the faculty dress code at all times unless prior permission has been obtained from the campus administrator.  First impressions of our school are formed many times by your appearance and dress.  As a school employee, you should carefully choose the clothes you wear to school.  Do not allow yourself to become careless in your attire and grooming.  You are to set a good example for the students.  The following rules are to be followed at all times:
a.Jeans may be worn on Thursdays & Fridays, the day before a holiday or other days determined by the campus administrator.  Jeans should not have holes.
b. Walking shorts are permissible as long as they come to the top of the knee.  These should be dress shorts-no jean shorts.
c. No shower shoes/flip flops.  Sandals may be worn.
d. No tank tops unless they are worn under another garment that may be too revealing
 
9.   DISCIPLINE…..The most effective discipline is teacher enforced.  Well run classrooms often practice a proactive disciplinary approach rather than a reactive disciplinary approach.  This can be accomplished by the following:
a    Assigned seats
b.Established rules that are clearly understandable and enforceable.
c.   Class lessons that are interesting and keep students actively engaged
d.   Pacing lessons and using a variety of teaching methods to prevent students from becoming bored
e.   Adjusting the length of the lesson so that students have something constructive to do at all times
f.   Avoid “free time”-this is usually less supervised and more likely to create problems.
OFFICE REFERRALS…..Teachers are expected to handle their own disciplinary problems as much as possible.  In general, students should not be referred to the office until other efforts have been made to bring about behavior changes and these efforts have failed.  Students that are consistently disruptive, rude or insubordinate should be either sent to the counselor or the principal.
All disciplinary actions should be documented.  Each time a form has been completed it should be mailed immediately to the parent.  By the time a student is sent to the office, the phone call from the principal should not be a surprise to the parent that there was a problem in the classroom.
CLASSROOM TEACHER’S DISCIPLINARY EXPECTATIONS:
a.Students should be disciplined with a constructive objective in mind
b.Parents should be contacted early in the disciplinary process
c.Students should be disciplined only after other methods (praise/counseling) have been tried and failed
d.Student discipline should be applied equally and fairly to every student.
e.Disciplinary measures should not be a surprise to the student
f.Students should never be disciplined when the teacher is angry
g.Students should not be intimidated in being disciplined
h.Students should never be called names during disciplinary actions
i.Keep hands off students when they are being disciplined
j.Teacher demands should not be made by yelling at the students
k.Group disciplinary actions should not be made-such as punishing the entire class.  Not all students deserve to be punished.
l.ALWAYS….consider how you would want your own child to be treated by other teachers and treat all children in that manner!
 
SUPERVISION/DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS IN BUILDING…each staff member must have and does have a flexible type of authority which extends over any child in the school at anytime when no other staff member is present who should rightfully handle a given situation.  This type of authority should be directed towards guidance of the pupil at all times.  All staff members are responsible for maintaining order at all times and in all parts of the building or campus.  The following rules must be followed by all staff members and administrators at Coleman elementary concerning discipline:
a. Discipline will be administered only when necessary to protect   students, school employees, property, or to provide an atmosphere conducive to learning.
b. All students will be treated fairly and firmly.  Discipline for each circumstance should be carefully thought out, and action taken should reflect the following considerations:
1.seriousness of the offense
2.student’s age
3.frequency of misconduct
4.student’s attitude
5.any disability that the student may have

 Each teacher should post the school list of classroom expectations that students are to follow to maximize learning time:
1. Sit up
2.Track the Speaker
3.Ask & Answer Questions
4.Respect Others

Teachers should inform students of consequences of not meeting classroom expectations, such as (examples):
1.   first violation-name on board, mark in disciplinary folder, or verbal warning
2.  second violation-phone call to parent with missed recess/P
3.  third violation-after school detention with parent given 24 hour notification
4.  fourth violation-trip to counselor or to the principal
NOTE: Any severe violations should be sent to the principal immediately.  The final step for any classroom or non-classroom violation should be a trip to the principal’s office.  Only the principal will administer corporal punishment with parent permission and with a professional employee as a witness.
 
10.  FIELD TRIPS…..Plans for field trips should be formulated well in advance.  All necessary arrangements should be cleared through the principal’s office.  Teachers are responsible for completing a transportation request.  As soon as plans are finalized the trip information should be given to the school secretary to assure that the information is placed on the school calendar.
 
11.  FURNITURE….furniture should not be moved from its location, room to room,        or out of another part of the building without notifying Kristi Greaves.  You may email her at kristi.greaves@colemanisd.net with the item, description and room it was removed from and new location of item.  This assists us with the inventory when proper procedure is followed.
 
12.  GRADING…..Many of the problems that teachers have with parents are due in part to their grading practices.  Grades are taken seriously by parents and students alike, and a teacher should strive, above all, to be fair in his/her grading practices.  Grades should be recorded in GradeBook on a regular basis.  Do not wait until the end of the six weeks and have a failing grade surprise a parent that has checked their students’ grades on a regular basis.  All students should receive a progress report at the end of the third six weeks regardless of their grades.
 
 
 
 
 
Coleman ISD has implemented the following grading policy:
 
 Grades 3-5: 70% of a student’s grade will be based upon tests with no test accounting for more than 30%.  These grades must be tests or major projects.  No grade will be counted twice.  No AR test(s) should be counted as a major test grade.  This means you must have a minimum of 3 major grades each six weeks.
 
50% will come from daily grades that may include daily assignments, quizzes, projects, AR points, AR tests, notebooks, etc.  No single assignment may account for more than 10%. This means you should have a minimum of 5 daily grades.
 
13. HOMEWORK…..A reasonable amount of homework is an important part of a student’s education. (Maximum 30 minutes) It can serve to develop within the students a sense of responsibility, independent study habits and self-discipline.  Teachers should adhere to the policies and philosophies outlined below:
i.Make sure that the assignment is a reflection of the work in class.
ii.The assignment should have a distinct purpose.
iii.The assignment should be sufficiently differentiated to meet the needs of all students depending on the academic ability
iv.The assignment must be clearly understood by all students
v.The assignment should be reasonable in length
 
14.ILLNESS….If you find that you will be absent, please contact the school secretary at 260-6994 (call or text), Please call after 6:00am and no later than 6:30am.  After 7:15 am, call the school at 625-3546.  If it becomes necessary to leave school during the day due to illness, check out with the principal or secretary.  After illness, an Absence from Duty report must be signed and if the absence consisted of five or more consecutive days, a written doctor’s statement must be provided.
 
15.KEYS….You are responsible for the keys to the building and to your classroom.  If they are lost this needs to be reported immediately to campus principal for security purposes.
 
 
16.LATE….call the school if you know that you will be late getting to your workstation in the morning
 
17.LEAVING CAMPUS…..Teachers and Aides are expected to be on campus between 7:45 and 4:15 each day with the exception of their 30 minute lunch period.  This includes Teacher Planning Periods.  If there is reason to leave campus, teachers should sign out in the office and let someone in the office know that you will be gone.  If you must leave before 2:00, you must take ˝ day personal leave.  If you leave after 2:00, you are responsible for finding someone to cover your class AND you must inform the office that you are leaving early.  If leaving early becomes habitual you will be required to take ˝ day personal leave each time you leave.  Asking others to cover your assigned classes should be only for emergency situations and not as a convenience to yourself.  Please keep in mind that having someone cover your class takes them away from their duties as well.
 
 
18.LESSON PLANS…..Lesson plans should be turned into the office on Monday mornings. Emergency lesson plans should contain a schedule, time allotment, details about attendance, information about extra duties, lessons and activities for the day and safety drill information should a substitute teacher be handling your classes.  Teachers out on maternity leave are responsible for lesson plans for the entire time you are going to be out.  This includes all materials, papers, manipulatives, etc. that are necessary to complete each lesson.  You are the teacher of record, you are responsible for the grades recorded in gradebook while you are out.  This means you should make regular contact with the substitute.
 
19.LUNCH…..Teachers have the privilege of cutting in front of students.  Teachers are responsible for purchasing their own lunches and breakfasts.  A teacher may charge meals but should be responsible for paying the cafeteria for all charges incurred as soon as they have received their paycheck each month.  Teachers may leave campus during their 30 minute duty free lunch period but please be back in time to pick up your students from the cafeteria.
 
20.MAKE-UP WORK…..Students should have an opportunity to complete all missed work regardless of the reason for the absence.
 
 
21.PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES…..When a conference has been requested through the office, a note will be placed in your box notifying you of the date and time.  Make every effort to meet the parents promptly in the office and escort them to your room.  If you feel that there may be a problem with the parents please let the principal know that the conference needs to be held in the office.  When possible, have another teacher, the counselor or the principal present during conferences to protect yourself.
 
22.PERSONAL EQUIPMENT…..the school will not and does not assume any responsibility for the personal equipment or materials of teachers and aides that are lost or stolen from campus.
 
 
23.PHONE MESSAGES/CELL PHONES…..Incoming teacher messages will be placed in your mail box.  Only emergency calls will be delivered immediately.  Cell phones should not be used in classrooms when students are present-  this includes texting. 
      Have your phones on silent or vibrate only.
 
24.POSTING IN HALLS AND ROOM WALLS….please do not use tacks, nails or hot glue on woodwork or furniture.  Do not use anything that may cause a permanent mark on the building or furniture.  Please limit the tape that is placed on the painted surfaces as it tends to take the paint off when it is removed.
 
25.PRESENCE IN THE CLASSROOM…..Teachers are to be in their rooms the entire time a class is in progress.  Should you have to leave for any reason, please have a neighboring teacher or aide watch your class while you are out.
 
26.PROMOTION & RETENTION…..students will be promoted based on academic achievement or demonstrated proficiency in the subject matter of the course or grade level.  In grades 1-4, promotion is based on standards established by the State of Texas.  A student must maintain an average of 70 or higher in three of the five core academic areas (Math, Reading, Science, Social Studies and Language arts/English) AND have an overall average of 70 for the year. 
 
 
27.RECORD KEEPING OF STUDENT ATTENDANCE…..You as a teacher have a legal and professional responsibility to your school administrator, your school board members, and your state to maintain accurate daily attendance records.  This is a highly important responsibility as this serves as the basis for computing average daily attendance figures on which the state funds are distributed to our school district.  Teachers must post their own attendance.
 
28.REPORTING SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE…..All employees are required by law to immediately report any suspected child abuse or neglect to Child Protective Services.  Teachers and other professionals are required to file a report within 48 hours of the event that led to the suspicion.  Under State Law, any person reporting or assisting in the investigation of reported child abuse or neglect is immune from liability unless the report was made in bad faith or with malicious intent.  Employees who suspect that a student has been or may be abused or neglected should report their concerns to either the school nurse, counselor or school administrator.
Procedure for reporting abuse:
A written report should be filed on the internet at https://reportabuse.ws
User name: professional
Password: report1
You will receive confirmation from CPS that your report has been received.
 
 
29.ROOM CARE…..Each teacher has a certain amount of responsibility with regard to the care of the classroom.  It is asking too much to expect the custodian to do everything in your classroom.  Before leaving each day, you should do the following:
i.See that all windows have been closed and secured
ii.Turn off all lights/air conditioner/heater
iii.Turn off all computers
iv.All candles should be extinguished
v.Have students pick up paper and trash off floor before leaving for the day
vi.Please stack all chairs
 
30.SCHOOL DISMISSAL…..The sounding of the bell is a reminder to you that the school day is over.  It does not mean that students are automatically dismissed.  You should always dismiss your class.  You should never dismiss your students before the end of day bell.
 
31. SEATING CHART…..A seating chart by periods should be maintained as a part of your lesson plan.  Keep this up to date as this will be used during major emergencies and by substitute teachers as well.
 
32.  STUDENTS LEAVING THE ROOM…Do not allow students to leave the room unless the situation reaches the point of urgency.  It is extremely important that each student going into the hall has a legitimate reason along with some kind of hall pass.  If a student is removed from the class for disciplinary reasons, they should be sent to the office.  A student should never just be sent out of the class.  DO NOT put students in the hallway for disciplinary purposes.
 
33. SUGGESTED CLASSROOM PROCEDURES AND ORGANIZATION…..Each class in our school should be consistent in its organization, procedures and discipline.  The more consistent we are, the better the academic attitude.  Therefore, the following procedures are suggested for each class:
Assign each student a seat in the room.
Have the students understand that they are expected to enter your room and be seated.  A warm-up activity will assist with getting students on task immediately while you take attendance.
Do not allow students to get up and leave your class at the end of the period until you have dismissed class.
Do not allow students to “just study”.  Maximize students’ time engage in learning activities. 
34. SUPPLIES…..All teacher supplies may be obtained through one of the office staff. Please let LaNita know if you need anything out of the vault. This will help in knowing what inventory is needed.
 
35. STUDENT HANDBOOK….A student handbook has been prepared for students and their parents.  It can be accessed on the web-page unless a parent makes a request for a hard copy.  You have been given a hard copy in your faculty notebook and should be familiar with its contents.
 
36. TEACHER BULLETINS…..notes may be placed in your mail box or sent through the school email system.  Please make sure you check both before leaving each day.
 
37. TEACHER WORKROOM/LOUNGE…..The teacher’s workroom is supplied with copy machines and plenty of paper.  Each teacher is responsible for taking proper care of the equipment.  Anytime a machine needs repair, report this to the office staff as soon as possible.  Please keep the workroom clean and orderly, leaving it as you would like to find it.  If you need assistance with one of the machines, one of the secretaries in the office should be able to assist you.  Please keep the lounge clean and free from your personal trash after meals.  Dirty dishes should be washed before you leave for the day.  All food items not eaten should be thrown in the trash.  DO NOT LEAVE FOOD ITEMS ON THE TABLE FOR OTHERS TO EAT OR THROW AWAY!  This creates an environment for pests.
 
38. TEXTBOOKS…..Textbooks are issued to students by individual teachers.  It is your responsibility to keep accurate records of book charges to students.  Be especially diligent about keeping up with texts charged to you but not issued to students such as dictionaries, class sets of texts, etc.  Have students write their names in ink in the front cover of each assign book so that found books may be returned to the rightful owner.  State law requires that textbooks are to be covered at all times.  Book covers are available in the workroom or bookroom.  When assessing textbook fines, please collect the money and turn it into the office as soon as possible.  If a student has to pay for an entire book, have the student do so in the office so that a receipt can be made out to the student.
 
39.  STAFF MEMBER’S CHILDREN…Your responsibility is to the students of Coleman Elementary during regular school days/hours.  Your own children should not be present when school is in session or at any time when students are present in your class.  Your own children may not attend staff development with you.  Your children may be present in your room only on scheduled workdays.  They should remain in your room and be supervised by you at all times.  Students are not allowed in the teacher’s lounge unless you are present.  Please do not send them in to buy snacks by themselves.
 
40.  DONATION OF SICK LEAVE…..
The District shall establish a sick leave bank that employees may join through contribution of local leave.
Leave contributed to the bank shall be solely for the use of participating employees.  An employee who is a member of the bank may request leave from the bank if the employee, the employee’s spouse, or a child of the employee experiences a catastrophic illness or injury and the employee has exhausted all paid leave.
If the employee is unable to request leave from the sick leave bank, a member of the employee’s family or the employee’s supervisor may submit the request.
The Superintendent or designee shall develop regulations for the operation of the sick leave bank that address the following:0.
1. Membership in the sick leave bank, including the number of days an employee must contribute to become a member;
2. Procedures to request leave from the sick leave bank;
3. The maximum number of days per school year a member employee may receive from the sick leave bank;
4. The committee or administrator authorized to consider requests for leave from the sick leave bank and criteria for granting requests; and
5. Other procedures deemed necessary for the operation of the sick leave bank.