WELCOME [franklines.bcps.org]



Franklin Elementary SchoolParent Handbook 2016-2017 33 Cockeys Mill Road410-887-1111Ben Mertes – PrincipalTiffany Livingstone – Assistant PrincipalWelcomeThis parent handbook has been developed by the Franklin Elementary School to provide you with helpful information about the school, its policies, procedures, and programs. Of equal importance is the desire to extend a warm welcome to new parents and foster an appreciation for the special qualities of our school.Starting a new school can be an exciting prospect, but it can also be daunting and confusing. We hope that your association with Franklin Elementary School will be enriching and productive, and that this handbook will help you come to know the friendly, cooperative atmosphere and excellent educational experience the school offers. If you need additional information, please call the school office at 410-887-1111.Vision StatementFranklin Elementary’ s strives to develop respectful, responsible and productive citizens who will meet the challenges of the 21st century.We believe that high quality education in a safe and orderly learning environment is a fundamental right of all children. We strive to provide diversified learning opportunities for our students, guaranteeing the opportunity for academic and personal/social growth in an atmosphere that is engaging and challenging.The School DaySchool Hours8:15 AMSchool office opens.9:05 AMStudents enter the building and line up in the front lobby to be sent to classrooms.9:20 AMStudents are in their classrooms for the start of the school day. Late arrivals must report to the office.11:50 AM Morning EC3’s dismissal1:10 PMAfternoon pre-kindergarten begins3:45 PMPrep for dismissal3:50 PMDismissal-Car Riders and First buses are called4:05 PMLast buses are called (Weather, substitutes, and Traffic can impact times of travel be from school to home).We will make every attempt to share information about buses being late through our phone system. However, we aren’t’ always able to do that in a timely manner. We ask that you wait 20 minutes from your scheduled time of arrival before contacting the school. Especially on inclement weather days.For a three-hour early dismissal, school is dismissed at 12:50 p.m. Morning Pre-K and kindergarten students will be dismissed with the entire school at 12:50 p.m. (Afternoon Pre-K and kindergarten will not be held.)Transportation: Reference Policy and Rule 3410BusesHave your child at their assigned stop at least five minutes early so that children are ready to board the bus when it comes to a complete stop. Children must be standing on the loading side of the stop prior to bus arrival. Children should never walk in front of or behind a bus. Children are permitted to ride only on their assigned bus and may get off only at their assigned stop. If it is necessary for the student to ride another bus or get off at a different stop, they must bring a written note from their parent/guardian to the office for approval. Approval will be granted only if there is room on that particular bus. Students must board and un-board at the same location 5 days a week. Substituting different stops on different days will not be allowed according to rule and policy.52578001143000Bus rules state that all students must:follow directions from the driver stay in a seat at all times and body parts inside the buskeep hands, feet and personal property to self3577590-733425 Carpool We kindly ask that you follow the law and not use your cellphones while driving during drop off and pick up.The location for carpool drop-off is on the east side of the building if you are looking directly at the school. Please use the second entrance on Cockeys Mill Road and follow arrows. Do not park and walk your children up to the door. Stay in your car (even pre-k and kindergarten) and follow traffic. Children should be dropped off between 9:05 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. Adult supervision is provided only during this time period in the morning. Drivers should follow the signs through the parking lot and drop the children off by the sidewalk. Children should not leave cars until they reach the sidewalk area as marked, eliminating the need for children to walk through the parking lot. As the cars pull up to the sidewalk, children should be ready to leave the cars from the passenger side doors in a timely manner. Teachers are there only to assist as needed and are not responsible for opening and closing doors. All students should enter the school through the doors closest to the drop off area. Students should not be dropped off in front of the school, as this area is reserved for buses at this time of day.Carpool dismissal in the afternoon will begin at 3:45 p.m. Children will leave their classrooms and report directly to the gym. They will not have long to wait as our afternoon carpool process is usually completed fairly quickly. Drivers in the carpool line may not park or leave their cars in the line. We also ask you pay attention and stay with the car in front of you as traffic gets backed up on the main road.In the morning and afternoon, vehicles entering the parking lot from the direction of Reisterstown Road should not make a left turn into the school if the line extends beyond the parking lot. All vehicles coming from the east (from the direction of Reisterstown Road) should continue past the school to the Temple next door. Pull into the Temple parking lot and circle through the lot and back onto Cockeys Mill Road and into the carpool line. This will avoid a dangerous backup on Cockeys Mill Road. If the carpool line extends out of the school parking lot, it will line up west bound only, allowing traffic to continue moving along Cockeys Mill Road. Vehicles should not be parked on either side of Cockeys Mill Road. While waiting in line on Cockeys Mill Road, vehicles should pull toward the right side of the road.Students will exit/enter vehicles as they arrive in the carpool area only after they come to a complete stop. Children may not walk through the parking lot to meet their rides. Please arrange your vehicle to allow children to enter on the passenger side only. After loading, vehicles should pull up to the stop sign, being careful of pedestrians crossing and bus traffic, cross the school driveway and exit onto Cockeys Mill Road. All drivers should drive in a slow, cautious manner while on the school grounds during this very busy time.The school will give you a sign to put in your front passenger window printed with the names of your carpool riders. Propping it in the window, on the visor, or on the dashboard as you approach the sidewalk will be helpful to the assistants. This procedure will improve the flow of the line.Franklin Elementary has a policy of not dismissing students early to parents after 3:30 for safety reasons. It disrupts our safety procedures and dismissal procedures. If there is a need for parents to pick up children before 3:30 p.m. or to enter the school, vehicles will need to be parked. Please don’t park in the bus loop after 3:00 as you will block the buses. It is difficult to park in the Franklin Elementary parking lot due to limited space. The Temple next door has given permission for our families to use their parking lot. If there are no spaces available in Franklin’s parking lot, parents should park their cars at the Temple and walk to Franklin Elementary School. Care should be taken when crossing the parking lot.Please review these procedures and discuss them with your children. These procedures have been adopted to improve carpool dismissal and increase the safety of children and families. We ask everyone involved to understand that these procedures will involve a certain amount of time and to plan schedules accordingly. Your patience, courtesy, and willingness to work together will assist us in a smooth dismissal. Your input regarding these procedures is welcome. Please contact the main office at 887-1111 if you have suggestions, concerns, or questionsMaryland Law and BCPS policy does not require a parent to be present at the stop for students in Kindergarten through grade 5. Pre-K requires a parent to be present at the stop for drop-off. Our drivers are awesome and will usually return a kindergarten student if a parent isn’t not at the stop, however substitutes and contractual drivers may not always. Always have the discussion with your child what to do if someone isn’t there. Whose house can they go to? Is there a key to get in the house? Do they know how to make a phone call to you or the police if needed? Always have a back-up plan, doesn’t matter how young.Health ServicesThe nurse’s suite has relocated to a new location this year. It is now located directly across the library.5721985372110A full-time nurse is on staff to provide first aid, health assessments, and interventions for medical issues. At Franklin Elementary, the nurse may be reached at: (410) 887-1172. Please remember that students should not be sent to school if they have any signs of illness (fever, sore throat, inflamed eyes, rash, nausea etc.). The following required health forms are available from the nurse or the school office:Immunization FormsRecords of immunizations are legally required by the State of Maryland and are necessary for every child to start school. Contact the school for details.Health Inventory and Dental FormThe first page of the Health Inventory is to be completed by the parent and pages two and three are to be completed by the physician or health care provider. Dental health plays an important role in keeping a child healthy. The Dental Form is to be filled out and signed by your child’s dentist.Consent for Discretionary MedicationsAt the beginning of the school year, parents are asked to fill out and sign a discretionary medication form so that the nurse may treat your child for occasional minor health problems (e.g. Tylenol for headache, throat lozenges for sore throat, etc.). These medications are dispensed according to protocols from Health Services and authorized by a physician from BCPS. In order for your child to receive any of the medications offered, parents must sign and return the required form to the school nurse. A note from the nurse will be sent home with your child if medication has been administered at school. Prescription and Non-Prescription MedicationsIf your child requires medicine to be administered at school, a doctor's order must be completed by the prescribing physician. This applies to both prescription and over the counter medications. All medications must be brought to the nurse in the original pharmacy package. The only exceptions are the medications checked on the signed Discretionary Medication Form.Hearing and Vision ScreeningOnce a year, a technician from the Baltimore County Health Department comes to the school to administer hearing and vision screening tests. Students new to Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS), as well as kindergarten, third, and fifth grade students are routinely screened. At the request of parents, guardians, or teacher’s other students may also be tested. The dates for the screening change each year and parents will be notified prior to the screening.If a child fails either the hearing, vision, or both of the screenings, the Health Department will notify the parent/guardian and the school. They request the parent/guardian to seek further evaluation and send the results to the Health Department. The Health Department will forward the results to the child’s school.Food Allergies and Food Policy: Many students have a variety of food allergies. Our nurse shares this information with teachers and anyone who may need to know. We do not have designated areas for allergies. We ask you pay close attention to the school menu and continue to discuss with your child the type of allergies he/she may have and what he or she should not eat. Policy: Superintendent’s Rule 5470: wellness states, “Foods and beverages should not be consumed for educational purposes except as defined in the general education curriculum or when indicated in a student’s IEP.” As such Franklin Elementary will discontinue the practice of food at holiday’s and donuts or pizza for birthday’s. Holiday parties may be planned by the teacher in advance to include heathy treats at the principal’s discretion. Parents have the right to control what foods should and shouldn’t be given to their child. Non-Food rewards and parties will be allowed at the teachers discretion. Instead of donuts parents can provide a variety of items. Such as pencils, stickers, bracelets, yo-yos, etc… 467868022860LunchStudents have lunch accounts that parents can add money to at any time. Notices are sent home periodically to inform parents of the amount of money on the lunch accounts when in deficit. After $5.00 deficit on account – children will receive cereal until paymentis received. We do not allow children to share food in the cafeteria.The Guidance ProgramThe guidance program provides a variety of programs and services to help ensure the social and emotional well-being of every child. Consultation and support services are provided to parents, students, and teachers. Individual, classroom, and special group guidance are integrated into the counseling program. In addition to counseling students on an individual basis, we offer classroom guidance sessions which are given throughout the year in such areas as assertiveness, anger control, self-esteem, school safety, character education, bullying and harassment and tolerance. We also offer group guidance in special programs that run for 8 to 10 week sessions during the school year and provide guidance and counseling services in areas pertaining to loss, changing families, or friendship. 3075305-653415Safety and Crisis ManagementFire drills, emergency evacuation drills (from the school and buses) and weather emergency drills are conducted throughout the year on a random schedule to ensure preparedness. We also have procedures in place for a number of other potential emergencies, as part of our School Emergency Safety Plan. Evacuation Procedures: If it becomes prudent or necessary for us to evacuate the school building, students will go to the soccer field behind the school. In a real emergency, parents may report to the command center and dismissal procedures will be followed prior to releasing your child. If there is an event which requires us to evacuate our building and move to a temporary location, we will walk students to Franklin Middle School (1st choice) or to the Temple next door (2nd choice) located at 115 Cockeys Mill Road, depending on the circumstances necessitating the move. BCPS will use the media to inform parents/guardians of where they need to go to pick up their children. All individuals who are picking up children must be listed on either the standard Emergency Card or in our school databases and must have valid identification. Lock-down or Shelter in Place Procedures:During certain types of emergencies, it may become necessary for us to lock-down the school. Students and adults close and lock doors and shelter in an area away from the door and windows and remain silent in the classroom. This means that no one will be allowed entry or exit from the school. After the emergency has passed, parents, guardians, or other designated individuals will be allowed to sign children out of the building. Inclement Weather (or other school-wide emergency)Sometimes schools open late, close early or do not open at all because of bad weather or other unforeseen emergencies (e.g. power failure). Emergency changes to the schedule are announced over local TV and radio stations (e.g.: WBAL at 1090 AM, WJHU at 88.1 FM and the cable TV education channel). In addition, information regarding schedule changes can also be accessed on the internet at and on the BCPS weather line at (410) 887-5555. Listen for news concerning Baltimore County public schools, check the web site, or call the weather line prior to sending a child to school on inclement weather days. Please avoid calling the school, as it is crucial that the phone lines remain open. Note: Franklin Elementary is not in the Hereford Zone.Early Closing ProceduresIn the event of an early school closing, due to an emergency, or for reasons as stated in the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) calendar, the following applies:*If School closes three hours early, lunch will be served to grades K-5. All bus riders will go home together on the regular afternoon bus. This also includes kindergarten students. Afternoon pre-k will be canceled.*If School closes two hours early: same as above.*If school closes one hour early: same as above.Please complete all Emergency Forms so that the school will know how your child will be coming home in the event of an early closing. Have a back-up plan as a dismissal can happen at any time for a lot of different reasons.VisitorsFor security purposes, all doors are to remain closed and locked. ALL visitors and volunteers must enter through the front entrance and report to the office to be placed in Raptor (registration system). ID is required for everyone who enters the building. No exceptions! At that time, you will be given a Visitor/Volunteer Badge. In the interests of everyone in the building, please observe this rule strictly.Note: Classes should not be interrupted. For this reason, parents are not allowed to leave the office to walk their child to the classroom or go to the classroom to pick up their child. Please go to the office to sign out your child. If it is necessary to get a message to your child, speak to the secretary in the office.There are several structured opportunities when parents/guardians are invited and encouraged to visit the school and classrooms. Please follow the sign- in guidelines detailed above when visiting the school.Conferences – please schedule in advance with the teacher so that the teacher can set aside the appropriate amount of time and give you her or his full attention. 277114021907500After visiting, parents sometimes wish to take their child home early. Children MUST be signed out in the office.VolunteeringVolunteering is a wonderful and fulfilling way to serve your community and become more aware and involved in your student's activities. We welcome parents, grandparents, and guardians to join us in any way that they are able to assist our efforts to teach our students and enrich their environment. There are many different ways to volunteer with flexible time commitments. As part of Baltimore County’s safety program, ALL volunteers need to participate in the online training program. It takes about fifteen minutes and can be completed online. You must take the training to chaperone field trips, visit during school hours, or any event that interacts with other children during the day.Middle school volunteers may not ride the bus home from volunteering. Transportation policy restricts this option. Behavior and Discipline In order to provide a proper atmosphere for learning, students should be respectful, orderly, and demonstrate good citizenship while in school, traveling to and from home and on field trips. At the beginning of each school year, each student receives the BCPS Student Behavior Handbook. This outlines BCPS policies and procedures for safety and expectations of student behavior. It also outlines the disciplinary measures that can be expected if students disobey school rules. This handbook will be presented and reviewed by teachers and administrators, and then sent home to be read with parents/guardians. Parents/guardians and students are required to sign and return the last page of the booklet indicating their understanding of the behavior code.486092531750Attendance: Reference Rule 5120 In accordance with state laws, students are required to attend school for 180 days as outlined on the BCPS calendar. The attendance standard is 94% of school time. The best way to help your child succeed is to have him/her in attendance and on time to school every day. Please try to avoid scheduled absences as each lesson missed may impact your child's learning. Please note the following attendance policies:Absences An absence is excused only in cases of illness, death in the family, hazardous weather conditions, religious holidays, work approved or school sponsored event, state emergency. A note should be sent to the teacher giving the dates and reason for the absence. Please call the school office if you need to discuss a prolonged absence with a teacher. Vacations are not considered lawful absences. **Vacations: teachers are not required to provide student work in advance.Tardiness/LatenessChildren must be in seated in their classroom by 9:20 a.m. All children who arrive after that time are considered to be tardy and must first report to the office before proceeding to their classroom. Please send a note to the teacher if you know that your child will be arriving late the following day (e.g. a scheduled doctor's visit). This will help to avoid the child from being marked absent for the day. Students who ride a bus and are late due to transportation will not be marked late. This does not apply to car riders.Early DismissalIn the event of an unavoidable appointment during school hours, please send a note stating the reason and the date and time you will be picking up your child. Please report to the office to sign your child out in the early dismissal book. 36957003810000Franklin Elementary has a policy of not dismissing students early to parents after 3:30. It disrupts our safety and dismissal procedures. Please plan ahead as we will not sacrifice safety. Dress PolicyThere is no formal dress code at Franklin Elementary School; however, children should be dressed appropriately for safety, personal hygiene, and climate. Sneakers and appropriate clothing should be worn on physical education days. On hot and cold days, if you decided to allow them to wear it to school then it is okay for them to be outside in it. For example, shorts on a freezing cold winter day. It is the teacher discretion for outdoor play/recess. Typically, the rule of thumb is 32 degrees in the winter and that includes wind chill. For heat index days if it is declared a code orange or code red day for heat, students will remain inside.Technology: Reference Board policy and rule 6202The student handbook sets forth the student acceptable use policy. Students will be held responsible for appropriate behaviors when using technology in school. Students are expected to be respectful and responsible and demonstrate good digital citizenship at all times. Communication:Teachers will update BCPS One every two weeks. Please reference the new assessment and grading procedures manual for clarification and can be found at . Often times the school will relay most of the important information through email, phone, and monthly newsletter to parents. Classroom teachers will communicate the most important information daily and weekly. The school as a whole will communicate items of importance to the general public on a monthly basis or more frequently as needed. With our collaboration with the PTA all communication will go out through our connect ed system. We expect timely and appropriate communication from all individuals within the Franklin Community. Should you have concerns about the classroom, please reach out to the teacher and set up a conference. Most communication concerns can be resolved at the teacher level. If you feel that more information is needed you can always reach out to the administration. Our school phone number is 410-887-1111. You can also find a list of emails on our school website at . Check back often for updated information as well as through BCPS One.We hope that you find this handbook helpful. Safety is our number one priority. Educating your children to the highest level of expectations is our second priority, but they go hand in hand. We can’t do any of this without your cooperation, your guidance, and your support. Thank you!Franklin Elementary School 3034665288925 ................
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