Parents' Right-To-Know Letter

School/Student/Parent Compact

For information regarding Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School's teacher and principal evaluations for the school year 2009-2010 - click the links below.

Parents' Right-To-Know Letter

Board Policy on Parent Involvement

School/Student/Parent Compact

Board Policy on Parent Involvement

The Board of Trustees shall, in accordance with law, strive to overcome the effects of any previous patterns of discrimination in school and classroom practices and shall systematically monitor school procedures to insure continuing compliance with anti-discrimination laws and regulations. The Board recognizes its responsibility to maintain policies of equal educational opportunity to be by resolution by the Board. The school shall inform the community of this resolution. The Board recognizes its responsibility to develop two affirmative action programs or plans, which shall include timetables for corrective action, as follows: (1) school and classroom practices; and (2) employment/contract practices.

An individual appointed by the Principal/Chief Advocate shall serve as Affirmative Action Officer and shall coordinate all activities designed to implement this policy. The Principal/Chief Advocate or his/her designee shall identify and recommend the correction or removal of impermissible bias based on race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sex, social or economic status, or disability with the purpose to address all forms of prejudice and discrimination in all school programs, practices, curricula, instructional materials and assessments.

The Principal/Chief Advocate shall:

1. Review current and proposed curriculum guides, textbooks, and supplemental materials for bias and determine whether such materials fairly depict the contribution of both men and women and various racial and ethnic groups in the development of human society;
2. Develop an ongoing program of in-service training for school personnel designed to identify and solve problems of bias in all aspects of the school program;
3. Review current and proposed programs, activities, and practices to insure that all students have equal access to them and are not impermissibly segregated in any duty, work, play, classroom, or school practice except as may be permitted under rules of the State Board of Trustees;
4. In accordance with Title IX, insure that similar aspects of the school program receive commensurate support as to staff size and compensation, purchase and maintenance of facilities and equipment, and access to such facilities and equipment;
5. Insure that tests, procedures, and guidance and counseling materials, that are designed to evaluate student progress or rate aptitudes, or analyze personality, or in any manner establish or tend to establish a category by which a student may be judged, are not impermissibly differentiated or stereotyped.

Parents or legal guardians, students, staff members, and members of the public shall be informed annually about the school's affirmative action plan for school and classroom practices, the designation of the Affirmative Action Officer, and the procedure by which an affirmative action complaint may be filed and processed.

20 U.S.C.A. 1701
N.J.S.A. 18A:36-20
N.J.A.C. 6A:8.1 et seq.

Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School's Internet Safety Policy is designed to clarify issues pertaining to filtering and Internet monitoring for the all users of the school network whether adults or children.

Filtering
Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School maintains a single point of access to the Internet. We use Surf Control software for filtering. Internet filtering system is maintained to block material inappropriate to children. Among the items filtered are obscene visual depictions, child pornography, or material harmful to minors. It should be noted that, due to the nature of the Internet, no filtering system can be perfect; therefore the service provided to Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School has the ability to add additional blocked sites or to remove sites found to be inappropriately blocked.

Monitoring
The teacher or staff member supervising any pupil has the primary responsibility of monitoring the Internet for pupil safety and appropriate use. Pupils are prohibited from using the Internet without direct supervision of a teacher or staff member.

Messaging
Messaging includes posting items such as text to a bulletin board, discussion groups, use of email, and "chat" features including instant messaging. Pupils are prohibited from using messaging, except within the classroom between the teacher and pupils enrolled in an individual class, or within other schemes approved by the school.

Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School maintains the right to monitor all messaging on its system.

Responsibility
Each user must take responsibility for his or her use of the computer network and Internet. If a pupil accesses an offensive or harmful site by mistake, they must click on the Home button or switch off the monitor and report what has happened to a member of staff. Similarly, if a pupil notices that another pupil has accessed such a site, they must also report it to a member of staff. These responsibilities are clearly laid out for pupils in the school's Code of Conduct" which is shared with all pupils and displayed by each year group in their learning area.

Identification of Pupils on the Web
Pupils' work published on the web will not be identified by their surnames. Including photographs of groups of pupils on the school website can be motivating for the pupils involved, and provide a good opportunity to promote the work of the school. Such photographs will only be used for educational purposes and the identity of children will be protected. The full name of a pupil will never be included alongside the photograph.

Parents who do not wish their child's photograph within a group picture to be used on the school website, are asked to notify the school office in writing.

Confidentiality of Pupil Information
Personal information concerning Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School pupils will not be disclosed or used in any way on the school website without the specific permission of a parent or guardian. Pupils are not permitted to provide private or confidential information about themselves or others on the Internet.

APPENDIX
Recommendations for Internet use by pupils at home Personal Safety for Children

When using the Internet:

• Children should never reveal personal information such as their name, home address or phone number or any information that might allow someone to locate them.


• Children should never agree to meet a person face-to-face whom they have "met" on the Internet without their parent's permission and without an adult being present.


• If someone attempts to arrange a meeting with a child through the Internet, the child must report this communication to their parent or guardian.


• Instant messaging should not be used by children at home unless explicitly approved and supervised by parents.


• Children should choose screen names carefully (e.g. Soccer_Kicks is better than Pretty_Sally13).


• Children should never phone an online 'acquaintance' without parental permission, because caller ID can trace a phone number and from that information, the child's address can be found.


• Nobody should reply to harassing, threatening or sexual messages but should report any such communication immediately to the police.

Filtering at home
There are a number of filtering programs that allow parents to block sites and monitor their child's use of the Internet, including the time of day, number of hours and types of access (such as chat, web, or newsgroup activities). It is recommended that parents use this type of filtering if their child will be using the Internet without direct parental supervision. Filtering can be set to restrict all Internet use when parents are not home.

For more information refer to:
http://www.childnet-int.org/
http://www.getnetwise.org/
http://www.safekids.com/

Location of Computers in the Home
It is recommended that parents place computers used by children in a heavy traffic area of the home. The best place for a home computer used by a child is in an area such as the living room or kitchen. The worst place is a child's bedroom.

Parent / Child Dialogue
It is recommended that parents:

• Have constant dialogue with their child about what they are doing online
• Encourage their child to show them what they are doing
• Consider establishing a "Code for Internet Use" for the home

Violations
The Internet has much value in today's world and is available in many public places including our libraries. If a child violates the home "Code of Internet Use", it is recommended that parents try to use the situation as an occasion for learning in the first instance, rather than immediately "pulling the plug" on all home Internet access.

Reporting
It is imperative that any illegal or suspicious contact with a child on the Internet is reported to the police immediately.

Q: Where do I go to log into Powerschool?
A: The address for the parent portal into Powerschool is:_________. There is also a Powerschool blog for parents.

Q: My password isn't working. What is the problem?
A: The IDs and passwords are case sensitive. You also need to be careful not to confuse the letter "I" with the number "1" or the letter "O" with the number "0".

Q: Can I change the ID or the password?
A: The passwords or IDs cannot be changed. Also there will be new passwords and IDs issued each school year. This is done for security purposes.

Q: Iʼm having trouble emailing a teacher through Powerschool. What can I do to solve the problem?
A: The PowerSchool email system does work.. If there is an issue sending an email to a teacher it is more than likely an issue with the manner in which the senderʼs computer is configured. To overcome this, if one is so inclined, one may need to adjust the settings on you computer that deal with your default email provider (e.g. SMTP server). Please remember that the staff email addresses are available on the school website and that one may find it easier to go into your personal email (Yahoo!, Optimum, AOL, etc.) and send an email to your child's teacher from your usual email client software.

Q: Can I email my child's teacher with a question?
A: Yes! We are in the process of finalizing the details of the email system. We expect parents to be able to email teachers starting on or about Thursday October 9. To email a teacher through Powerschool click on that teacher's name and the email box should appear.

Q: What types of things are OK to email about and what things aren't?
A: Each teacher will establish his or her own boundaries with regard to email. Some may be more comfortable with this medium than others. That being said, emails are a written form of communication and are legal documents. General questions about a project or assignment may be OK. Questions about a student's grade may be something better discussed in person or over the phone. Email should not be used for emergency situations or anything that requires an immediate response. There is no guarantee that the teacher will be able to read the email in time. Situations like these should be handled according to school policy. When all else fails, common sense should prevail.

Q: Why does my child's absence say "unexcused" even though I sent in a doctor's note?
A:

Q: I can see my child's average but I don't know how the teacher got to that number. Is there a way to see the individual grades?
A: Yes, you can see the individual grades. Anything that appears on any of the Powerschool pages that is BLUE is clickable. That means that if you click on it you will be brought to another page with more information. This will show you the assignments and individual grades that went into that particular average. This also works for the days absent and days tardy. Clicking on either will show you a list of dates. Please remember that the grades are not final until they have been entered on the report card. Most teachers have a subjective portion to their grade like class participation. This will be applied between the end of the marking period and the release of the final grades.

Q: Some of the information on my child is incorrect. How can we get it corrected?
A:

PowerSchool is an Internet based student data information system designed to share information between parents, students, and teachers regarding student grades and attendance.

Administrators can use the program for letters and forms for communication to government agencies, teachers, and parents.

Teachers are able to provide grade information and comments with this program through parental connection.

Students and Parents will be able to view grades and future assignments in order to work together for the students' academic success. Email notification is available for parents as an option.

Resources for Parents:
Parent Portal Opening
Parent Blog
PowerSchool FAQ

Nov. 2009 Newsletter

Oct. 2009 Newsletter