Moses Lake School District 2017-2018 Elementary School Parent Handbook
District Overview The Moses Lake School District s mission statement is A caring community dedicated to the success and well-being of all. Our programs have been developed to provide high quality learning opportunities for our students. Our commitment to excellence ensures all students the chance to develop academic and personal skills, which prepare them to be healthy and competent members of society. We are dedicated to providing academic opportunities in oral and written communication, science, math, social studies, technology and vocational skills. Our students participate in multicultural activities, performing and fine arts, athletic and academic extracurricular activities and other enriching experiences. The school district is committed to a community-wide partnership with families, private and public agencies and businesses assuring the personal and educational development of our students. Attendance Regular attendance is critical to successful student learning. Students are expected to be at school on time. Please make every effort to assist your child to develop good habits like regular school attendance and promptness. If your child is going to be absent or late, please call the school office in the morning between 8:00 and 9:00. We will attempt to contact the parents of students whose absence has not been excused. The district attendance policy and state law requires students between the ages of 8 and 18 to attend school. Each time a student has an unexcused absence the parent will receive a letter from the school advising the parent of the consequences for the unexcused absence. After two unexcused absences within a month there will be a conference between the parent and the principal. The purpose of the conference is to develop a strategy for improving student attendance. If the strategy fails and unexcused absence continues, the school district is required to petition the juvenile court. Student Discipline Maintaining a good learning environment and assuring the safety and well-being of all students are primary concerns of our staff. We take student behavior very seriously and we don t tolerate weapons in our schools. The possession of firearms on school property will result in a mandatory one-year expulsion, subject to appeal, with notification to parents and law enforcement. Students who bring nun-chu-ka sticks, throwing stars and/or air/co 2 guns to school are subject to expulsion. The expulsion will apply to all school districts in the state of Washington. Policy 3241 and its procedures provide very serious consequences for possession of dangerous weapons, firearms and dangerous objects. Students violating those rules are subject to long term suspension and expulsion. Services Hearing screening is provided to students in grades kindergarten, 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd, and 5 th. New students to the district are also screened for hearing. The screening is done by trained personnel with a portable audiometer. Parents will be notified of any suspected problems and referred to the appropriate specialists. Hearing screening is coordinated through the Special Services office at 766-2670.
Vision screening is provided to students in grades kindergarten, 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd and 5 th. New students to the district are also screened for vision. Parents will be informed of any suspected problems and referred to the appropriate specialists. Vision screening is coordinated through the Special Services office at 766-2670. Student insurance is available for your child in either a school hour coverage or 24 hours per day coverage. Please contact the school office for more insurance information. Migrant Education/English as a Second Language Migrant services are provided for students who have moved within the past 3 years for agricultural purposes. This supplemental program assists students in reading, math or language to make up for lost instruction time due to frequent moves. English Language Learners Program This state funded program provides extra language help to students who are learning English as a second language. Special Education Moses Lake School District provides Special Education services to all with disabilities ages birth through twenty-one. Parents and other qualified persons who believe a student may be eligible should contact the building principal. A variety of services are available to students based on their needs and individual education program. Gifted Program Criteria, in compliance with state regulations, are used to select students in grades 3 5 to take part in the district s Gifted and Talented Program, NOVA. Through a pullout model, these students are presented with additional academic challenges and enrichments designed to meet specific needs of the highly capable learner. Volunteers Volunteers are encouraged at schools and can do many things to help students succeed. Volunteers serve schools in many ways. They can help teachers by assisting with special projects, sharing their vocation or reading with a child. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact your child s teacher or the school office. State law now mandates background checks be run on all school volunteers who work with children. The school secretary will be happy to work with you in this effort. Lice Our students sometimes struggle with cases of lice. We do as much as we possibly can to remedy this situation, but we need your assistance. If you discover your child has lice, please notify the school immediately. We ask that students not return to school until the live lice are removed and there is an improvement in amount of nits. Students will be checked prior to return to class.
Lice Prevention Procedure: 1. If your child is infected, notify the school immediately. 2. If notified your child has lice, please pick your child up at school immediately. 3. Treat the child for lice. 4. Carefully examine all other members of the household and treat if necessary. 5. Remove nits. 6. Follow procedures for treating possible areas of infection. 7. Re-examine child and household members every few days. 8. Remind children not to share combs, hats, scarves, coats, etc. The School Will Discreetly 1. Notify parent immediately if lice or nits are discovered. 2. Remove a child from class if live lice are discovered, parents will be called. 3. Provide a fact sheet regarding treatment plan to parents. 4. Classes will be screened if more than two nonrelated students are found with live lice per class. Meal Program Our food service program has an automatic accounting system. Each student will receive a meal card which is specifically assigned to them. They do not need to keep the card with them. When the student pays for a meal, his account will be credited and the student will receive a receipt. These cards are scanned each time the student eats a meal and the cost of the meal is deducted from the student s account. When the accounts are deficient, a note is sent home with the child. It is the responsibility of the parent to monitor the account. If you have any questions regarding your child s account, please call the school office and we will connect you with food service. Free and Reduced Meal Program Free and reduced meals are available for children that meet the eligibility guidelines. A new application is required at the beginning of each school year. If an application is not received by October 1 st of the current year, the student will be put on as a Full Pay status. All students qualifying for reduced meals will receive free breakfast. Due to an increase in state funding, K-3 students qualifying for reduced lunch will receive their meal free. Application forms will be sent home with students or they may be obtained from the office. Meal Prices Lunch Student $2.60 Reduced $.40 Reduced K-3 Free Adult $3.60 Milk $.40
Breakfast Student $1.60 Reduced Free Adult $2.60 Milk $.40 Field Trip Policy Field trips are an important part of our students educational experience. Most of our field trips are to local businesses, industries and other facilities. Occasionally, students will travel out of the area or stay overnight. Parent permission is required for all of our field trips. Your child will bring a permission slip home in plenty of time to sign it and return it to school. Visitors Visitors are welcome at our schools. We like to share our program with our parents and community. Please contact the school office before you visit to let us know that you are coming. That will allow us to schedule your visit around testing and other critical classroom activities. When you arrive at school, please stop by the office and pick up a visitor s pass. You will be asked to sign in and out so we can keep track of our guests. If you would like to eat lunch with your child, please call in the morning so we can order you a meal. Emergency School Closure We are fortunate to have excellent weather in Moses Lake, however, occasionally we are forced to close or delay school due to weather conditions. You may call the transportation department at 766-2676 and listen to the automated message regarding closure or you can access the district homepage, www.mlsd161.org. Our local radio stations cooperate fully to deliver information to our parents and students. If school is delayed or cancelled by poor weather, local radio stations will be announcing the news by 6:30 a.m. Please don t call the radio stations. They will be making announcements as often as possible. You can also tune to the Spokane television stations, which display area school closures on the screen during their morning news programs. The radio stations carrying our school closure information are: AM Stations FM Stations FM Stations KBSN 1470 KDRM 99.3 KULE 92.3 KULE 730 KWIQ 100.3 KPQ 101.9 KPQ 560 KNWR 90.7 KIOK 94.9 KWIQ 1020 KWWW 96.7 KPLW 89.5 or 89.9 KZML (Spanish) 95.9 Immunization Records Every child enrolled in school in the state of Washington is required to present proof of immunity to selected communicable diseases or to furnish a certificate of exemption. Specific information on immunization is available from the school secretary.
Medications All student medications must be dispensed through the school office upon directions provided by a physician. Parent permission forms are available in the school office. The school is not allowed to give medications, including over the counter medications, without a current medical authorization on file in the office. Students with Disabilities It is the intent of the school district to ensure that students with disabilities under the definition of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are identified, evaluated and provided with appropriate educational services. Section 504 Notice of Nondiscrimination Moses Lake School District provides equal educational opportunity and treatment for all students in all aspects of the academic and activities program without discrimination based on race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, marital status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. The District will provide equal access to school facilities to the Boy Scouts of America and all other designated youth groups listed in Title 36 of the United States Code as a patriotic society. District programs will be free from sexual harassment. Auxiliary aids and services will be provided upon request to individuals with hearing, vision, or speech disabilities. The following employees have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: TITLE IX OFFICER AND COMPLIANCE COORDINATOR Mrs. Barb Shimek, Human Resources Manger 920 W. Ivy Moses Lake, WA 98837 509.766.2650 bshimek@mlsd.wednet.edu SECTION 504 COORDINATOR Mr. Dave Balcom, Executive Director Student Support Services 920 W. Ivy Moses Lake, WA 98837 509.793.7699 dbalcom@mlsd.wednet.edu Releasing Student Information Most information about Moses Lake School District students cannot be made public without consent of parents or guardians. Federal law prohibits schools from releasing information without permission, except for what is termed "directory information". Directory information about students may be released by the district without parental consent, according to the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. The school district will not release directory information for commercial purposes. Directory information is defined as the student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of enrollment, photographs, most recent school attended, diplomas and awards, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and weight and height of athletes. Photos of students are sometimes used on the school district website or other school district related websites or in district or school-produced publications or for use by the news media. The district takes special care not to identify the photographed students by name or by the school they attend in most
cases. However, published photos in yearbooks, student/school newspapers, school handbooks, etc., are considered public domain and can be reproduced by the media. Parent/guardians who do not want this directory information or photographs released must notify the school principal in writing by October 1. Student Accountability It is the responsibility of the student to apply consistent and sustained effort toward learning experiences that are assigned. Promotions from grade to grade should be based on the attainment of the academic standards for that grade level and consideration for the best interests of the student concerned. Should a student be recommended for retention, the parent/guardian shall be informed of progress throughout the review process and shall be provided a conference prior to the final decision being made. Academic achievement, emotional and social maturity and other factors will be carefully considered when individual students are recommended for retention. The final decision on retention shall be made by the school s principal.