Belton Independent School District Disciplinary Alternative Education Program On the Cutting Edge of Education Parent/Student Handbook 2012-2013 Belton Independent School District Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, 302 Blair Street, Belton, Texas 76513 (254) 215-2571, FAX (254) 215-2551 Ted Smith, Coordinator
There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them." Denis Waitley Ted Smith Coordinator, BISD DAEP August 15, 2012 Dear Student and Parents/Guardians: The Belton ISD Disciplinary Alternative Education Program is a unique educational setting for students whose behavior has seriously or persistently violated the Belton ISD Student Code of Conduct. Our charge is to guide students toward improved behavior, academic discipline, and social skills so they may return to their home campus and function effectively as a student and community member. With your support and cooperation we hope to assist your child in making positive choices and decisions that will provide a new or renewed path to success in school and in life. Sincerely, Ted Smith Coordinator, BISD DAEP - 2 -
Arrival/Dismissal Times School starts at 8:30 am and dismisses at 3:30 pm. Students are not permitted to leave campus after arriving on campus and are admitted to the building starting at 8:00 am. School dismisses at 3:30 pm and students must leave school grounds as soon as their transportation arrives. Students are required to leave campus no later than 3:40 pm. Attendance Attendance, after assignment to DAEP, is mandated by the State of Texas compulsory attendance law. Students must be in attendance at school at least 90% of the time that a course is offered, to receive credit for that course. Also, students do not make progress toward dismissal from the program when they are absent from school. Therefore, attendance at DAEP is very important. If a student is to be absent from school, the parent/guardian must call the DAEP office at 215-2550 to report the absence before 8:30 am. Any student who is absent from school must bring in a note or excuse the day he/she returns to school. After this time, the absence will be recorded as unexcused. An absence of three or more days requires a dated note from the doctor or the clinic. Excessive absences will be reported to the Belton ISD attendance officer for appropriate action. Appointments Parents/Guardians are asked to schedule routine doctor or dentist appointments for students after school hours. When this is impossible, the student should return to school after completion of the appointment. Students who return to school the same day as a medical appointment with a note from the doctor will have their absence coded as excused. Communities In Schools Part of the counseling plan for the DAEP is to have community agencies work with our students to address a myriad of social issues facing students. The Communities In Schools (CIS) program is an important piece of that plan. The CIS program will be available to students while they are in DAEP and can continue with the program upon return to the home campus. The CIS program is administered by the CIS staffs from all three middle schools and Belton High School. Contact Information For the safety of your student, please inform the staff of the DAEP of any change in your address or phone number, or any change in the people authorized access to your child as listed on his/her emergency information card. - 3 -
Counseling Services Mrs. Karen Gooch, the DAEP counselor, is available to meet with your child while he/she is assigned to the program. Students often have established relationships with a counselor from their home campus. For this reason, we try to utilize home campus counselors whenever possible. Criminal Trespassing Students assigned to the DAEP are not allowed, for any reason, on any Belton ISD campus other than the DAEP campus. A DAEP Student s presence on any BISD property, or at any BISD sponsored event, either on or off campus (social, academic, or athletic,) is criminal trespassing and may be punished with fines and/or jail time. The trespassing order is in effect for students loitering within 300 feet of any BISD campus as measured from any point on the campus. Students traveling past a BISD Campus either on the way to or home from school must ensure they do not take any action to disrupt the educational setting of that campus or to interact with students assigned to that campus. Curriculum The curriculum for the DAEP Program is the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) as specified in the Texas Education Code for the core courses of English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, History, and self-discipline. Students will participate in this curriculum via certified classroom teachers along with APEX, a TEKS based online curriculum. Other tutoring or assistance may be offered using various strategies including peer tutoring, individual or small group tutoring, and an online curriculum program. Computer assignments will be supplemented with appropriate written work which will be included for grades. Elective courses will be offered to the extent possible, but may be altered if DAEP does not have a particular elective course available to offer. Students may have the opportunity to make up credits missed during summer school. Daily Schedule Students assigned to DAEP will follow the tentative schedule below. Times are subject to change based upon the needs of the students and demands of the curriculum. 8:00 Students may enter the DAEP building, place any jackets in the appropriate storage container, sign in for attendance and meals, and submit to a search. Students will then be allowed to proceed to their classroom to read quietly and/or eat their breakfast. 8:30 8:35 Announcements, Pledges, Words of Wisdom 8:35 12:30 - Academics 12:30 1:00 - Lunch 1:00 1:30 Advanced Academic Time 1:30 3:30 - Academics 3:30 Dismissal - 4 -
Discipline The DAEP is a disciplinary facility. Therefore, a high standard of behavior is expected for students to be considered successful. Our philosophy is to help students learn the habits of success by requiring them to practice those habits rather than the habits of failure that brought them here. In keeping with that philosophy, the following is a list of rules and some possible disciplinary techniques and consequences that will be employed here: Student Regulations/Rules: 1) Respect yourself and others at all times. 2) Students assigned to DAEP are only allowed on the DAEP campus between 8:00 AM and 3:40 PM on school days. Student presence on campus at any other times with out the approval of the coordinator or his designee is considered criminal trespassing. 3) Disruptive communication is prohibited. 4) Students will abide by the DAEP student dress code at all times while on the Belton ISD property, to include district transportation. 5) Students will remove all outerwear (jackets, gloves, hats, etc ) upon entering the school building. 6) Students are not permitted to carry any items in their pockets during the school day except for a wallet and will not be in possession of any prohibited item while on campus. A student is only allowed to carry a wallet, containing no more than five dollars in cash in his/her pocket while on campus. Any other item brought to campus is considered prohibited and will be confiscated. Confiscated items will be returned when a parent or guardian can come to the DAEP office to collect the item. Earlier return of confiscated items is at the discretion of the Coordinator of DAEP. 7) Students will stay on task (for example: awake and engaged in the assigned work) at all times. 8) Students will not bring lunches, snacks, or drinks to the DAEP campus area at any time unless in the case of a bona fide medical condition (medical documentation required.) 9) Students will not bring backpacks to the DAEP Campus. 10) Upon dismissal from school each afternoon, students are required to leave campus and go home or to the place coordinated with their parents. Before or after school, loitering within 300 feet of any BISD campus or property is prohibited. 11) Students are responsible for knowing and following the rules. This list of rules is not exhaustive and can not possibly cover all incidents that could occur at the DAEP. Therefore, the Belton ISD Student Code of Conduct is the definitive source for student behavior while assigned to BISD DAEP. The discretion of the Coordinator is the final authority on campus for disciplinary matters. - 5 -
Consequences: Possible disciplinary consequences for violations of the student code of conduct or DAEP rules or procedures may result in one or more of the following consequences: Verbal cues, reminders, corrections or reprimands Office visits/referrals Loss of daily points/loss of credit for the day Phone calls to parents Phone call to probation officers Suspension students do not earn credit for DAEP assigned days while suspended. A suspension may add up to 5 days to the DAEP assignment. Students who received two suspensions may be referred for an expulsion hearing for repetitious misconduct. Police citations for violating the law Daily Behavior Monitoring of Behavior: On a daily basis, teachers will monitor student behavior closely. Teachers will ensure expectations for behavior remain clear and standards remain high. Any student observed in minor rule violations should expect, at the minimum, to be penalized by the deduction of daily points. Definition of a Good Day Students must earn seven points for the day to be counted as Good and to be given credit for completing a day of DAEP. Students who earn less than seven points will be required to repeat the day. Persistent Misbehavior If misbehavior is persistent, a student may be sent to the Coordinator or his designee with a disciplinary referral. The coordinator may employ one or any combination of the consequences listed above. Parents will be notified each time a student is referred to the Coordinator for disciplinary problems and will be notified weekly of their student s progress toward dismissal from DAEP. A student who is suspended two times may be placed on a behavior contract. If the student does not meet the conditions of the contract, s/he may be referred to the Director of Student services for an expulsion hearing. If a student receives a referral to the office and the result is a suspension, that student will be demoted to the next lower color level. If a student is at the white level and receives a suspension, that student will remain at the white level until he or she earns 150 additional points. - 6 -
Dress Code The mission of the DAEP program is to instill in students the skills necessary to monitor their own behavior and performance so that each student can be successful upon return to the regular education setting. Therefore a high standard of dress and grooming is necessary to create an atmosphere of high expectations and personal discipline. Students must show respect for themselves before they can genuinely display appropriate respect for others. Compliance with the dress code is one way for the student to show respect for themselves as well as for the rules of this program. Students are expected to come to school clean and appropriately dressed in accordance with the following guidelines: 1) All clothing must fit appropriately and be clean. Baggy or excessively large clothing is not acceptable for the DAEP setting 2) Students will wear a white, long-sleeved, Oxford-style shirt and blue or black pants. All buttons will be buttoned with the exception of the top button on the shirt. Any undershirt will be white. The student may wear only one T-Shirt beneath the white shirt. Layering of T-shirts, A-Shirts (muscle shirts) is prohibited. T-Shirts with writing, messages, or pictures are not permitted. 3) Shirts will be tucked into the pants so that the belt line shows. 4) The jeans must be pulled up to and rest at the waist. a. Pants may have no more than five pockets (Two front, one change pocket, two rear pockets.) b. Sagging is strictly prohibited. c. Hem of the pants must not drag on the floor. 5) A plain brown or black belt must be worn. No writing or message is allowed on the belt or buckle. Large or adorned belt buckles may not be worn. 6) Undergarments must be worn. The wearing of shorts (cutoffs, athletic, etc ) beneath the pants is not permitted. 7) Hair must be clean and remain out of the student s eyes at all times. 8) Unnatural coloring of the hair is prohibited. 9) Hairstyles of a distracting nature may not be worn. Designs may not be cut into the eyebrows or hair. (Discretion of the administrator) 10) Socks must be worn on the feet. 11) Any tattoos must be covered. 12) No facial hair is permitted. 13) No excessive or extreme make-up is permitted. 14) Only clear nail polish is permitted. 15) Closed toe shoes must be worn. The following are prohibited: 1) Hats or head covering of any kind while on the DAEP Campus. 2) Any clothing with an emblem, slogan, or logo deemed to be distracting to the educational setting 3) Clothing that is cut or torn 4) Shorts or skirts 5) See through clothing of any kind 6) Any type of clothing or style that is determined by the staff or administration to be gang related. 7) Jewelry is prohibited: no necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings or other piercings (e.g. Nose, lip, tongue, etc ) One wrist watch may be worn. - 7 -
The Coordinator or his designee is the final authority on dress code issues. Students with dress code violations will lose three points and be instructed to comply with the dress code. Refusal to comply or persistent dress code violations will be considered defiance and students will be subject to the appropriate disciplinary consequences. Early Sign-out of Students Parents or guardians who need to sign a student out of school early must report to the DAEP office. Students will not be allowed to leave school with anyone other than those listed on the emergency card. Picture Identification will be required. Changes, additions or deletions from the emergency card must be made in person by the parent or guardian. Emergency School Closing In the event of inclement weather, tune to local radio and television for closing information. Grades/Grading The passing standard in DAEP is 80%. Any assignment on which a student receives a grade of less than 80% will be corrected or redone until the grade is above an 80%. The grading system will reward students for passing the assignment on the first attempt and will reflect a lower grade when an assignment is taken more than once. Mastery is considered achieved when the student earns eighty percent on an assignment. The grade recorded in the gradebook will be an average of all attempts on a particular assignment. Student grades will be classified as Major (60% of the final reported grade) or Minor (40% of the final reported grade) Lunch Prices Students are offered breakfast and lunch meals daily. The prices for these meals are listed below: Regular Price Lunch $2.40 Reduced Price Lunch - $0.50 Regular Price Breakfast $1.25 Reduced Price Breakfast - $0.40 Lunch money may be brought daily or can be paid in advance. Upon dismissal, students can transfer any amount remaining on their accounts back to the home campus. - 8 -
Medical Information/Medication at School Students may not carry any over-the-counter medication to school. Any medication taken at school must be prescribed by a doctor and administered by trained school personnel. Documentation of the prescription is required and the school district form must be signed by the doctor prior to administration of medication. Chronic Medical Problems and Food Allergies On-going medical problems and food allergies which require special attention and/or restrictions at school, require written notification from the student s physician at the beginning of the placement at DAEP, with updates provided as needed throughout the year. Medical Guidelines If any of the following symptoms exist, the child should NOT attend school: 1. Fever of 100.4 degrees or greater. (Please do not mask a fever by administering aspirin, Tylenol, etc. prior to sending child to school). 2. Vomiting 3. Diarrhea We want to encourage good school attendance, but at the same time, it is important to control the spread of illness among our students. Medication NO medication will be given without a written order from your doctor and written permission from a parent. This includes all prescription and over-the-counter medications such as aspirin, Tylenol, antihistamines, throat lozenges, cough syrup, cough drop, etc. Under NO circumstances will medications be administered that is not brought to school in the prescription bottle or original container. The school does not furnish medications. All medicine sent to school with student MUST be kept in nurse s office with the exception of inhalers with physician s order. A student with asthma who has written permission from parents and his physician may be permitted to possess and use prescribed asthma medication at school or school-related events. The student and parents should notify the school nurse of this medication. We strongly suggest that parents bring all medication to the school rather than sending the medication with the student. Messages for Students DAEP staff will relay emergency messages to student at the end of the instructional day. Students will not be allowed to receive or place phone calls except under the direction of the DAEP Coordinator or his designee. Money Students do not need money during school hours except to pay for lunches. Lunch money must be given to Mrs. Lamb in the DAEP office as students enter the building in the morning. Students arriving with money in excess of $5 will have the money confiscated to be returned to the student upon dismissal from DAEP or to the parents. - 9 -
Point System The DAEP Program runs on a point system. Each day the student starts with ten points. As the day progresses, students that do not follow the rules of DAEP may have points deducted from their ten daily points. If poor choices continue by the student, further disciplinary referrals may occur and result in further loss of points or other disciplinary measures. At the end of the day, the number of points remaining from the daily ten will be subtracted from the Review/Dismissal balance. The balance will be reflected on each student s weekly point sheet which is sent home each Monday afternoon. Students must earn seven points to receive credit for a Good Day. A student may receive an administrative review if allowed under the terms of the original DAEP Placement Order. Return to regular campus is not guaranteed at review and decisions will be made based on the seriousness of the offense and the recommendations from the DAEP staff. For persistent or serious misbehavior, a students review may delayed until that student earns a higher amount of Good Days.. For instance, if a student is suspended from school, instead of receiving a review at 30 Good Days, that student may not receive a review until s/he earns a total of 40 Good Days. Color System Upon assignment to DAEP, student progress will be tracked by three color levels which represent a student s progress in the program. Each level represents the student s individual progress toward the goal of being dismissed from DAEP. Each level carries slightly different privileges and responsibilities: White Level This is the level at which students begin the program. Students will stay at the white level until they earn 200 points. Blue Level Students who earn 200 points will be awarded the blue level. Students at this level may wear one piece of jewelry (e.g. one necklace or one ring.) Red Level Students are awarded the Red Level when they earn 400 points. The red level indicates that the student has proven his/her commitment to the goals set in DAEP and has proven his/her progress toward those goals. Students at this level may wear two pieces of jewelry, they will have additional lunch and activity privileges. - 10 -
Prohibited Items Students are only required to bring correspondence from the home to the school, any necessary supplies, a billfold, and lunch money to school. Any other item is prohibited unless otherwise spelled out in this handbook or coordinated with the DAEP staff. Prohibited items will be confiscated and held until the student is dismissed from DAEP. Items that violate the student code of conduct will only be returned to parents. Illegal items will be destroyed or turned over to law enforcement. Students in possession of illegal items will be referred to the police. Restraint/Reasonable Physical Force In the event that a student acts out and causes an imminent threat to the safety or security of staff, other students, or property, DAEP staff will respond by using minimal force to ensure the safety of this facility and the staff and students here. All staff members are trained in the use of non-violent crisis intervention techniques designed to ensure the safety of the student. School Supplies Students are need to bring a writing utensil with them to school daily, all other school supplies will be provided for them. Transportation District transportation will be provided to students who live at least 2 miles from the DAEP campus. Students are required to abide by the DAEP dress code while on district transportation to and from school. Students who receive discipline referrals or bus safety notices (those who get written up ) risk suspension from district transportation for the duration of their placement in DAEP. Students who are required transportation because of an ARD committee decision will continue to receive that transportation while assigned to DAEP. Vandalism Students who cause damage to school property will be required to repair or pay for the damages. Disciplinary action may also result. - 11 -
Contact Info Office: Ted Smith Ted.Smith@BISD.net 215-2550 English: Margaret Chadwick Margaret.Chadwick@BISD.net 215-2558 Math: Murry Franklin Murry.Franklin@ BISD.net 215-2556 Science: Bill Coats Bill.Coats@ BISD.net 215-2553 History: Bryan Ward Bryan.Ward@ BISD.net 215-2557 - 12 -