Policies & Practices- Student Handbook Input by Andrea Landis

2025-05-07 12:23:34 UTC

Some thoughts on dress code: The wording on the shorts, skirts and unacceptable length is very vague. We're also seeing lots of short shirts and shoulders. Dress code really hasn't been enforced for a lot of years. Will we be enforcing it? Whose responsibility will it be to check dress code? Do we really want "pajamas" on the list since kids often wear pajama pants?

2025-05-07 13:06:32 UTC

Cell phone use: Perhaps add a section that states that they may have use of it only with teacher permission. I know I've had to let some use it when we've had technical issues. I do think we all need to get better at enforcing this...we started out strong and then we let it slide. Students are FAR too distracted by their phones and it's probably the #1 reason they don't get their work done.

2025-05-07 13:24:50 UTC

Tardiness: Not really an addition, but we've been seeing more 504s that are allowing students to be tardy. This did not used to be the case prior to Covid. Why is this becoming acceptable if the student handbook states all students must be here on time? How do we explain to the other students who aren't permitted to be tardy why another student has no repercussions for the same offense? Being here regularly for classes was an issue post Covid for all students, so do we really want to excuse any of our students from that requirement? We find grades plummet with poor attendance, so shouldn't we look to improve all attendance in order to improve student success?

azwalkuski — 2025-05-07 14:39:59 UTC

I am not sure that we need to add any new policies, but attendance, or lack there of, is an ongoing issue. It seems as if students with IEP/504 Plans have a free pass to miss as much school as they would like, but they are still being granted diplomas. It is not fair that our students who come to school and work hard every day to earn that diploma get the same piece of paper as students who are rarely here.

2025-05-07 18:07:06 UTC

I think cell phones use should be at the teacher's discretion. My students have been very respectful about keeping it away when I'm teaching or they have an assignment to do. When they are finished, they do get it out but it actually helps to keep them from distracting the kids that are still working. When we are playing a game to review or practice, scanning the QR code is faster than the laptops. They also take pictures of the periodic table, solubility rules, etc and then use the picture rather than finding the papers. It's not how I personally how I would like to look at the papers, but it is how many of them like to work.

2025-05-08 11:34:52 UTC

I think the dress code policy could be revised to more closely match what will be enforced. Key items like hats, headwear, and sunglasses should be specifically called out and enforced. Although having all the "too tight", "too short" wording is nice, these types of statements are a challenge, at best, to enforce and become forgotten.

2025-05-08 11:42:58 UTC

Tardiness and Truancy. Until I saw the other posts, I was unaware that we are writing 504 and IEPs to accept tardiness. I don't believe that is a beneficial practice. But, in general, it does not seem like we follow our own published "rules". And, I am just asking, but do we follow the Act 29 standards? I haven't heard any students grumbling about losing driving privileges, which leads me to believe this is not happening. Does it need to be written in the policy? Tardiness consequences - Is this being enforced?

2025-05-16 14:05:36 UTC

Cell phone usage. Students need to understand that they are not allowed to have their phones out during class. If some teachers allow it and others do not it makes it difficult to enforce.

2025-05-17 11:43:41 UTC

I would agree with what others have said: cell phone use should be at the teacher's discretion. While I do admit that there are some students whose work ethic is compromised by their cell phones, there are other students who use their phones for educational purposes or only use it when they are finished with their work. In the past, I have enforced the policy when cell phone use has impacted a student's work on a case-by-case basis, but to police cell phone use for an entire class is, in my opinion, overwhelming and nearly impossible at times.

2025-05-18 21:59:31 UTC

Cell phone and head phone use is completely out of control. We could spend all day asking students to put them away, but we wouldn't get anywhere.

There might be a random time that you have students utilize their phones in class, but those times are rare.

Many of the behavioral issues that we have had in school can be traced back to phone use. Students feel that they can sent or post anything they want during school.

The head phones have no purpose other than to distract students from learning.

2025-05-18 22:12:14 UTC

Student attendance and arriving late to class has become a major issue the past few years. In the past, if a student is absent without a valid excuse, any work they missed was given a zero with no chance to make it up. There are students that are missing 1 or more days a week and somehow they are still passing. In the "real world", these individuals would be released from their jobs. We need to start preparing students for life after school. Our District's mission statement mentions: to prepare its students to become contributing, responsible citizens and life-long learners with the ability to adapt and to succeed in a competitive world.

asnyder144 — 2025-05-19 11:18:10 UTC

Cell phone policy. It is hard to enforce when the students, especially Freshman, are allowed to use them in some classes and not the others. I can see how the older students may have self control and be able to manage themselves, but the younger students still need to learn this skill.

asnyder144 — 2025-05-19 11:21:56 UTC

AI use for assignments. I have had many situations this year where a student turns in work that is clearly written with AI. It is hard to appropriately assess the situation, as there is not technically anything against it. It can fall under Academic Dishonesty, but it is not outright prohibited. Not only have I seen push back from the students who are caught, but the parents are also pushing back. I believe we need to have a clear statement about AI directly in the handbook to set the standard for everyone.

mrshintz — 2025-05-19 11:44:08 UTC

I think our cell phone policy and/or Academic Policy need to be examined. What is considered cheating in the age of AI, and how might we have appropriate consequences? How might we track this? Students take pictures of each other's work and copy. They use Snapchat AI to find instant answers. I have caught students in study hall using Snapchat AI just to do IXL problems. Students can quickly take a snap and everything on a page is filled in correctly. Phones can be useful tools, but taking a picture is quick and the temptation to escape the work is quite great.

2025-05-19 14:05:53 UTC

Cell phone use is hard to enforce because even in a class where I do not allow them, students will sneak them out and then hide them again. Kids will walk the halls with them out, go to the bathroom and take them out, etc... even our very well-behaved students seem to think they can use phones until the bell rings at times and also try to take them out in the last minute or two of the period. Then, there is the earbud/headphone use; same thing with sneaking them, using in the halls. Too many kids just have no idea where appropriate boundaries are and some of it is so pervasive the damage is hard to undo. The important thing here is teaching and learning and progressing, so I do not want to spend my day just "enforcing rules", but this cell phone/headphone thing is a problem. In some ways, things have been better this year than the last few years, but still room to have higher expectations for kids. Jamie Yates

2025-05-19 15:38:26 UTC

I think there should be more consequences and accountability for chronic absence, lateness, and unexcused absences.

2025-05-19 16:17:31 UTC

Cell Phone/Hall and Bathroom Pass:

Students do not need their phones to go to the bathroom. Often time, I think kids walk to the bathroom and then text their friends to meet up. It's also unsanitray and contributes to kids staying in the bathroom longer playing games/texting/calling/what ever....Phones should be turned into the teacher when kids ask to use the bathroom. I can't take credit for this, it was a parent who suggested it this year.

2025-05-19 16:26:26 UTC

Hall Pass:

Student should not be allowed in the hallway without a pass. This should help provide support to the entire faculty when they confront kids in the hall about wandering.... We will all know that if they don't have a pass on them, they are skipping class essentially.

2025-05-19 16:37:24 UTC

Cell phone usage is a major issue. The way it is written in the handbook is good in theory, but in reality, we as a collective group do not enforce it. It needs to be enforced by all staff to be consistent. However, not the easiest to enforce. The handbook states that cell phone usage is only permitted during lunch. This is currently not being followed. SRO's could maybe help monitor hallways between and/or during classes to help enforce??

2025-05-19 17:18:54 UTC

Absences is not clearly written in the handbook and the lack of attendance for many students is a concern. Handbook states ,"after a student accumulates ten or more absences, the parent will be notified by mail that an official excuse is required for each additional absences for the remainder of the year". So, are we allowing 10, and the rest need a parent note? What is the cap for missing days? (none listed) HB states, "Dependent upon the number of unexcused days, the school may require an SAIP ...", what is that number? HB states, "Students who accumulate 6 or more UNEX absences are considered habitually truant and MAY BE referred to the count children and youth for services. Additionally, the school may file a citation against the parent in the magisterial district court." This wording should be more concrete.

I know this is a sensitive issue, but it has become out of control. Parents should be held accountable and hold education to a higher standard for their student(s). This has become an increasing concern since 2020 and we would all benefit to get it back to where it was.

2025-05-19 18:09:15 UTC

I would reword the cell phone and headphone policy to be explicit that there is no use of cellphones or headphones in study hall, bathrooms, or public places expect the cafeteria during lunch. I would include that phones should be off and in bags (not pockets) during class except in the RARE circumstance that the teacher instructs students to use them during a lesson. Headphone and cell phone use have become a safety problem especially when students are unaware of their surroundings (Like today's fire drill).

2025-05-19 18:14:40 UTC

Dress code - It needs to be clear that certain clothing items like crop tops are not OK even if a zippered sweatshirt is used occasionally to cover up throughout the day because it becomes a game. Hooded sweatshirts are the same issue. Multiple time a day I see students coming in and out of classes with hoods up. This is a safety issue because it makes it difficult to identify students and because a hinderance to communication.

2025-05-19 18:18:04 UTC

A disciplinary consequence between a warning and in-school suspension (like detention). The number of warnings students receive from teachers is too high. Offenses for phone/headphone, hoods, etc. that may not rise to the level of an in-school suspension but do require more than a warning --- especially after repeated offenses.

2025-05-20 15:33:31 UTC

Cell phones in the hallways and bathrooms are a huge problem, and they cause many student discrepancies. I understand many students use phones in class, but unfortunately, that leads to distractions in other classes. We should go back to only allowing them at lunchtime. A parent mentioned that a place in the classroom for students to deposit their phones before they leave for the restroom would be a good idea. I also understand that enforcing this rule would be overwhelming, at first, because it has been allowed to slide for far too long.

2025-05-20 15:44:30 UTC

As a monitor during lunch duty, I think our students have entirely too much freedom to wander about during lunchtime. Rarely do students have passes when they ask to go to a teacher's room or come from other classes. They are in the bathroom for excessive amounts of time, and there are kids who "stop by" during study hall to eat lunch with friends. I think that all students in the cafe would be a much better setup. No more panther den lunches.