El Rancho School, Inc. Elementary School Policies & Procedures
Effective August 18, 2008

HOURS OF OPERATION:  El Rancho School is open from 6:30 AM – 6:00 PM Monday – Friday.  It is not safe to drop off your child at the school prior to 6:30 AM.  The school closes promptly at 6:00 PM.  We have a late fee, not to generate revenue, but to strongly discourage parents from picking up their child/children after the school closes.  Sometimes parents arrive at 6:00 PM and have lengthy conversations with their children about their day.  Please keep in mind that 6:00 PM is when we lock the school and leave.  Our Fee Schedule and Fiscal Policy states, “There is a $5.00 per child late charge for children picked up after 6:00 PM which doubles every five minutes or portion thereof, payable immediately.  This charge is a penalty to discourage late pick-up.  Parents who habitually pick up their child after 6:00 PM will be asked to disenroll.”  The fees are as follows:  6:01 to 6:05 = $5, 6:06 to 6:10 = $10, 6:11 to 6:15 = $20, etc.
We are down to 2 staff members at 6:00 PM.  For the security of our staff and children, we lock the front gate at 6:00 PM.  If you are unavoidably late, and must pick up your child after we close, please ring the after-hours bell located on the pillar to the right side of the gate.  Please bring a check or cash to pay the fee when you pick up your child after 6:00 PM.  We will prepare a receipt the following day for a cash payment.

ATTENDANCE:  Class begins promptly at 8:15 AM for 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th graders, 8:30 AM for kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd grade classes, and 9:00 AM for preschool students.  A parking lot attendant will greet students between 8:10-8:30 AM and will escort students through the front gate.  Kindergarten students are dismissed at 12:30 PM, 1st and 2nd graders at 2:30 PM, and 3rd through 6th graders, at 3:00 PM.  If a child needs to be excused from P. E. for a medical reason, please send a note to your child’s teacher.  The child will go to P. E. class, but not participate.  The authorized adult picking the child up from school will sign the child out.  The sign-out sheet is on the podium across from the school office.  School correspondence to parents is placed in the card file on the recessed shelf near the sign-out podium.  You will know that you have a note if a “Pick Up Note” stamp is next to your child’s name.  Changes in family addresses and phone numbers must be reported immediately.  Failure to do so will result in the inability to contact you in the event of an emergency.  Please be conscious about this.

Students who are tardy will not be allowed into their classroom until their parent or guardian goes to the school office, requests and signs a Tardy Slip, gives it to their child, and walks the child to the outside of the classroom door.  If your child is tardy, the adult driving them to school must fill out a Tardy Slip located in the front office.  The adult must then walk the child to the class door.  We ask that parents not accompany their child into the room, as it is a distraction for the rest of the class.  If a parent/guardian drops off their child and does not fill out a Tardy Slip, the parent will be phoned and the child will be required to wait in the office until the parent returns to school and fills out a Tardy Slip.  If a child has four tardies in any semester, the next tardy (No. 5) will require a parent/principal conference before the child may return to the classroom.  Exceptions to this policy are medical, dental, or situations of an emergency or urgent nature, or at the discretion of the principal or her designee. Students who are tardy miss out on important morning activities and instruction.  It is very disruptive to their classmates and teacher when a student enters class late.

Kindergarten children must be walked into the school (if they are not greeted by the parking attendant), and taken to a staff member who will place an electronic security sensor on their clothing.  The sensor will be removed, by our staff, when the child is picked up from school by an authorized adult.  The security sensors and/or tags have a small unavoidable failure rate.  The school takes no responsibility for defective sensors/tags.  This is only one small part of our security system.  A parking lot attendant will greet students between 8:10-8:30 AM and will place a sensor on their clothing, while escorting kindergarten students through the front gate.

Please keep conversations with the classroom teachers brief when dropping your child off in the mornings.  All our teachers do their preparation for morning lessons prior to starting class.  If you would like to meet with your child’s teacher, please schedule an appointment through the front office.

Our insurance requires that all students be visually supervised by a trained staff member, unless the student is being escorted in or off our campus by their parent.  Children need to stay with their parent until they are in their car.  Please do not allow your child to stray away from your side, to play or wander, while you are dropping off or retrieving your child.   Therefore, please sign your child out and take care of your communication with teachers, recreation aides, the bookkeeper and administrative staff prior to picking up your child. 

Classrooms are locked after class time because it is dangerous to have any place on our campus that students can be alone and not supervised.  They are given a number of opportunities and reminders to get all of their things out of the classroom prior to being locked.  Please do not ask school administrators to unlock a classroom for your child to get their things. 

California state law requires children who are under 6 years old, or under 60 pounds, to sit in a booster seat while traveling in a vehicle.  Parents are required to provide booster seats for field trips or the child will not be transported.

California state law prohibits leaving children in vehicles when they are unattended for longer than one minute.  Please do not put your child in harm’s way by leaving your child in your car unattended.

Children may not share hair combs or brushes at school.  Students who have lice or nits will be sent home, and may not return to school until they are nit free.  Shampoo treatments do not kill all nits.  Please request lice information from the front office if necessary.

Please mark all items brought to school with your child’s name or assigned hook number.  Rolling or medium to large backpacks are not permitted for students in kindergarten, first, second, or third grade.  The students in these classes usually have worksheets to do, or small books to read for homework.  Not only are rolling or oversized backpacks not necessary for these students, we do not have the facilities to store them.

Children are not allowed to bring personal toys from home, except on teacher-designated “share” days.  On Free-dress Fridays, students may bring toys they are willing to share and are able to fit in their backpack or book bag.  Electronic, fragile toys, “trading type” cards, balloons, and toys that resemble weapons are not permitted.  El Rancho School assumes no responsibility for lost or broken toys.

Students must follow the “Dress and Grooming Policy.”  A notice will be sent to the parents if their child is not in compliance. 

Do not send anything to school in a soft plastic sack that a child can put over his/her head.  Balloon bouquets are not allowed at school.

Please do not bring your pet to school.  Our liability insurance does not cover animals that do not belong to the school.  For our Pet Parade we have a special insurance rider that covers that event only.

Parents may not go in or use student restrooms.  Please ask for direction to an adult restroom.
  
Gum, soda, chocolate in any form, and candy are not permitted at school, in student lunches, snacks, or at class parties.    Please do not send them.  Candy and chocolate must be removed from Lunchable box lunches prior to being brought to school.  We strongly recommend that sugar or sugar substitute treats be omitted from student lunches.  At class parties sugar or sugar substitute treats are not allowed in or on desks, cubbies, inside cards, or in “goodie” bags.  Our staff will not serve them or send them home with students; studies show pitting on tooth enamel within two hours if sugar is present in saliva.  The following are a few suggestions that can be served at parties:  crackers and cheese, meat slices, vegetables and dip, dried and fresh fruit, 100% juice drinks and popsicles, yogurt, sandwiches, deviled eggs, pasta, casseroles, muffins, and salads.  We have found that our students do not notice that their snacks are sugar free as long as they are pretty.  Often we hear that children think a party in itself is a treat and special snacks only contribute to the overall excitement.

We don’t have the facilities to store lunches and snacks in the school refrigerator.  We can’t heat up meals because it takes our staff away from their work area.  Students are not allowed to share food.  All food items that are not eaten are to be taken home, not thrown away, so the parents know what the child has eaten, or not eaten. 

Students must treat others with respect.  We expect all students to be courteous, demonstrate gracious manners, and follow directions.   Students will not push, shove, hit, kick, spit, bite, trip, forcefully handle other children, call other people names, or threaten others.  The school does not allow students to use profanity or language “unbecoming” of children.  Children must not act as if they are playing with weapons.  Weapons are never to be brought to school (guns, razor blades, knives of all sizes, etc.); these are grounds for expulsion.

Annual enrollment fee includes, but is not limited to purchase and/or use of, or rental of:
Standardized testing booklets and scoring
Reading:  books, texts, chapter novels, student resource materials, leisure reading books, periodicals
Purchase of reproducible masters that are duplicated for reading and writing in all subjects
In-class computers, programs, Internet access, student resource materials, i.e. encyclopedias
Consumable workbooks, hands-on manipulative materials, paper, binders, spirals
Pencils, colored pens, colored markers, scissors, rulers, erasers, glue
Art: supplies and student resource materials
Science:  books, reproducible masters, microscopes/slides, equipment for measurement in Standard and Metric units, resource materials
Physical Education:  equipment and supplies     
Musical productions and plays:  audio equipment, costumes, props
Personal products, i.e. facial tissue, band-aids

Occasionally a parent on campus notices a child using inappropriate language or behavior with another student.  Please, do not address such a situation personally; tell a staff member what you observed and it will be handled by one of our staff members, perhaps not at that moment, but as soon as the appropriate person becomes available. 

At parent-gatherings off campus like student’s birthday parties, El Rancho School staff members and school policies are often a topic of conversation.  The school requests that parents be careful that students are not within hearing if negative comments are made.  If you have a problem, dispute, or concern, please address it respectfully with administration so that problem solving can be accomplished.  An administrator is always on campus, but may not be immediately available.  If they are not, please leave a message to telephone you.

There are times when a family chooses to withdraw a student, or not enroll for the following year, based on financial considerations.  It is the school’s observation that families don’t want to discuss finances with other parents and to avoid doing so, often find it easier to tell parents erroneous information about teachers or school services.  Please remember to act honorably and to treat our staff members fairly.  

Illicit drugs are strictly prohibited on campus, as are smoking and drinking alcohol.  We cannot release a child to an adult who looks, acts, or smells as if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Please do not place our staff in the position of trying to determine if you are capable of safely transporting a child.

Birthday Party Invitations  We want to eliminate any hurt feelings among the children and hope this policy will be useful to all.  We have developed a system for invitations to efficiently reach families with plenty of time for RSVP’s.  If you would like El Rancho School’s teachers to distribute your child’s birthday party invitations, please follow the guideline:  (1) All children in the class are invited.

(2) Bring cards or make an invitation on an 8 ½ x 11” paper and copy enough for all the students in your child’s class.  (3) Bring in the invitations to your child’s teacher at least two weeks prior to the party.  (4) The teacher will put one invitation in each Wednesday Folder and send them home.  (5) At the party you may want to gather addresses for “thank you” cards because we can’t distribute them.  Hint:  A birthday party guest book is a great idea, and it can be used year after year.  Note: If you choose to invite a few children to a party, we are not able to distribute those invitations to them.  El Rancho School does not hand out school/class directories, so you may want to ask parents of your child’s friends for their phone numbers. 

El Rancho School Illness Policies

ILLNESSES:  Please do not “mask” childhood illness symptoms, such as a high temperature, by giving Tylenol or other medicines, and then send your child to school.  It is unfair to the child, their classmates, and school staff.  Ill children are expected to be picked up within one hour of the time that the parent is contacted.  Children who are ill or are contagious must not be brought to school.  Unvaccinated students may be temporarily excluded from the program should an outbreak of two or more cases arise. 

School administration notes, on our Illness Board, any students who call in or are sent home ill.  We record the time, the illness, and when the child may return to school.  Please make sure you do not bring your child back to school before this date.  Our Illness Board is located by the school office. 

It is our policy that students with head lice or “nits” (eggs) in their hair will be excluded from school and must be picked up immediately.  To return to school, their hair must be treated and nit-free.

Medicine is only administered by our office staff.  By law this includes aspirin, Tylenol, sunscreen, anything with SPF (ex. lip moisturizers), vitamins, and cough drops or syrups.

If your child needs medication to be administered at your child’s lunch time, please fill out the Permission to Administer Medicine form located in the front office.  All medicine must be walked into the school by the parent, provided in the original container, and have the child’s name on the container.   Parents are responsible for locking medication, which needs to be refrigerated, in our preschool kitchen refrigerator.  The medication is to be picked up by the evening of the last day the medicine is to be administered, after which it will be discarded.  Our license regulations do not allow us to keep medicine past that date.

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- Elementary School Playground Structure.  A maximum of 20 students may be on the structure at any one time.  Students must be at least 5 years old.  Students enter from the far right platform, spine climber, zipper, or rock wall ladder.  There is no jumping off Zipper, bridge, and the top of climbing wall, high decks or slides.  Students will not play tag on or around the structure, or run in front of the slide exits.  Holes may not be dug next to the poles.  A recreation leader must be on the sawdust prior to children entering the playground.

- All Slides.  Wait on the platform for your turn - Go down one at a time, feet first, on your bottom -No climbing up the slides - Students may not stand or play in front of the slide exits

- Zipper.  Total of 3 students on the Zipper at one time - Students may walk across the low green bar or - students may use it as an overhead ladder - Students may pull themselves up, and onto the Zipper - No swinging from the bars with your arms - No swinging or jumping off
- Rock wall.  Total of 10 students on the wall at one time - Do not go over the top or sit on the top
- Bridge.  Walking only on platform, not on the chains or the bars - Do not swing from the platform
- Spine Climber.  Go up or down one at a time
- Telephone.  Students may not yell into the telephone - Students may not put wood chips in the telephone
- Retaining Wall.  Students may sit on the wall - Students may not walk or run on the wall - Students may not dig holes by the wall
- Wood Chips. Wood chips may not be piled onto any slide - Students may not dig holes or throw the woodchips
- Tetherball.  Children should not hang and swing from balls.  Extreme caution should be used so people don’t get hit.
- Sandbox.  The children may not climb into the box unless OK’ed by staff.  Do not add water to the sandbox.  Try to keep all the sand in the box and not around it. Do not cover children with sand.  Throwing sand and toys is not allowed. The sandbox will be covered nightly.
- Basketball Court.  Children may not hang on the basketball nets.  If ball goes over the fence during play the staff will retrieve it weekly.  A recreation leader must be on the basketball court prior to children entering the court.
- Walls and Balls.  The children must use caution when kicking a ball. The classroom walls are not rebound walls.  Balls are not to be intentionally thrown into the trees or on top of buildings.  The children do not retrieve balls or toys thrown over the fences.  Caution children about playing with balls close to fences for this reason. 
- Climbing and Turning Bars.  Children are not allowed to pull or push each other on or off this, or any other piece of equipment.  No standing up on top.  Only 3 children on turning bars at a time.  Children are only allowed to hang on the turning bars.
- Hula Hoops and Jump Ropes.  Children must ask before taking either out of containers.  There is no throwing or rolling the hula-hoops on the ground or in the air.  One hula hoop per child, and no playing “horse”, or sharing hula hoops.  Jump ropes may not be used with Preschool children.  Jump ropes are not to be whirled above children’s heads or used as a lasso.  They are to be used for jumping only.
- The Big Tree.  The children are not allowed to dig or play directly under the tree.  They may not climb the tree.
- Grass Area.  Please remind the children not to pull the grass or dig.  When kicking balls use extreme caution because of the busy street and the fourth grade classroom windows.  If a ball goes over the fence only a staff member may retrieve it.  There is no climbing on the fence or throwing objects over at the cars.  Absolutely no yelling at people in cars driving by, or talking to strangers on the sidewalk.
- Flowerbeds. Children will stay out of the flowerbeds and ivy beds.  Children may not pick or pull at the plants or low branches.  If a ball or toy goes into the flowerbed or ivy bed, a teacher will retrieve it for the children.  Children may not play with the sprinklers.
- Fences and Benches.  Children are not allowed to sit on the fence tops, go over the fences, stand on the horizontal bars, or kick any of the fences.  Children may not walk or lay down on the benches.  They may not pick the paint off or take out the screws.  Children may not jump over benches.  Please report any exposed nails or dangerous conditions anywhere on the grounds to management.  Our staff does not retrieve student toys or shoes that are thrown over the back or side fences. 
- Bathrooms.  Elementary children use outdoor bathrooms, one child per stall.  Frequent checking in the bathrooms helps prevent restroom from becoming a playroom.
- Ping Pong Tables.  These tables were donated by the Storelli Family in memory of their son and dad, and a dedicated employee, Ted Storelli.  Four children in grade 2nd-6th may play ping-pong on one table at one time.  They must use the paddles correctly, and play according to general ping-pong rules.  They may not reconfigure the tables or use the equipment for any other purpose than playing ping-pong.  No more than two balls may be used per day. 
- Boundary.  Elementary children are not allowed any further east than the outdoor bathrooms.  They are not allowed back into the classrooms without a teacher or parent, when the class is outside. 
- Running is allowed only on sawdust, basketball court, and grass areas; never on walks, blacktop, or in classrooms.
- Children are not allowed to scream, unless they are in danger. 
- Children must pick up after themselves.  When the children leave a classroom or playground, please have the children pick up the trash and put it in the cans.  Children need to hang their outerwear on their hook, at the right number.   Jackets and sweaters should be either hung or when inside placed in cubbies, on the back of their chair, or on hooks.  Lunch boxes or sacks should be on the shelves outside.  Swimming suits, towels, and lunches must go home with the child each day, to prevent mildew and odor.

Consequences

The school will notify parents either in writing or by phone if their child misbehaves or does not follow the school rules.  In the event that the behavior is believed by administration to warrant the child being picked up from school, the parent will be notified immediately, and the child must be picked up within the hour.  Repeated or very severe misbehavior, or failure to pickup your child within one hour are grounds for suspension and/or expulsion at the principal’s sole discretion.

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1. Enter at 3:20 PM unless you are in a lesson (music, dance, etc.).  If you arrive after a lesson, please sign in with the time on the clipboard outside the classroom.  Study hall is over at 4:20 PM.
2.  Bring all materials you need plus extra sharpened pencils.  No pencils are provided.  No pencil sharpening is allowed.
3.  Absolute quiet at all times.  No talking is allowed while entering or leaving. 
4.  Have all your work with you.  No leaving study hall and returning.  If you leave, you may not return and will have to finish your homework at the picnic tables.
5.  Use the restroom and drinking fountain prior to study hall. 
6.  No eating in study hall.
7.  Study hall teachers will give assistance when requested, but do not teach or reteach lessons.
8.  Raise your hand if you need help.  If the teacher is busy, skip the problem and do other problems you can do.      
9.  Use dictionaries in room as necessary.
10.  You may read a book in study hall when you are finished with your work if you choose to.
11.  Sign out when you leave study hall, with your name and the time you leave.

Parent Note:  You can monitor how long your child is in study hall by checking the study hall sign-out sheet.

Consequences for Breaking These Rules

1.    First infraction:  Warning from study hall teacher

1. Second infraction:  You will get a study hall dismissal note from the study hall teacher.  If a student leaves study hall they will not be allowed to reenter until the note has been signed by the parent and given to the study hall teacher.  Students will complete their homework outside the school office.

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RAK rules at El Rancho School!  A RAK is anything that is done spontaneously with honest good feelings of wanting to help.  When your child does a RAK at home, you may fill out a small card or write a note for your child to bring to school.  Please have your child give the card to their teacher.  Teachers and staff members are also filling out cards when they see a child doing a RAK.  When a child does a RAK, he/she will earn a character award and/or prize.

Here are some examples of a RAK:
~ Do a household chore that is not required of them                                            ~ Perform a generous act
~ Help a sibling with homework or other task spontaneously                             ~ Demonstrate respectful behavior
~ Accept responsibility and being honest without being told                              ~ Being a good sport
~ Demonstrate unusual compassion/helpfulness for others                 ~ Clean up an area cheerfully
~ Do a favor for a neighbor or friend spontaneously                                            ~ Express patience
~ Show gratitude; being grateful for the good you’ve received                          ~ Help in the yard happily
~ Show respect for property other than your own                                  ~ Demonstrate friendly, inclusive behavior
~ Demonstrate unusually respectful behavior especially to                ~Take out the trash without being asked
         seniors, persons of authority, and people

Anything can be a RAK if it’s good hearted and done out of kindness. 

You decide.     Fill out a card, sign it, and send it in!

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