Austin Discovery School - Parent-Student Handbook

Text Box: We saw that the only way children learn is through real life experiences that show how things work by actually putting real objects in the children’s hands!
--parent of CDC preschooler Since 1991, Children’s Discovery Center (CDC), a child development center in Austin, Texas, has provided preschool child care to children ages 6 weeks through 5 years old. Directors Kyle Holder and Kelly McRee often heard back from families that graduated from this program about how unhappy they were with the educational opportunities available to them, including public, parochial, private and other charter elementary schools. These comments made it clear that it was time to take our preschool philosophy of teaching to the next step by opening our own charter school.

The founders of the Austin Discovery School wanted to create a school that was a united vision for a better elementary school experience that is grounded in proven philosophies but also adaptable to student’s needs. With the formation of a non-profit 501©3 corporation in 2003, ADSI was formed, the sponsoring entity for Austin Discovery School. In 2004, ADSI was awarded a charter from the Texas Education Agency to operate Austin Discovery School using our vision of a modernized educational model for an elementary school.

Our Community: A Unique Aspect of Our School

The Austin Discovery School sees a school as a community of people working together to achieve a goal: the successful education of its students. This involves a unique and personal relationship between our faculty, the students and the parents. The environment of this community and good nutrition also play important roles.

Faculty

The faculty of the Austin Discovery School is unified in our approach to education. It is a huge drawback for most elementary schools to not have an overarching philosophical approach that all the staff must adhere to. They just hire teachers that go about teaching in whatever style or philosophy that they want. At Austin Discovery School, the staff will all be trained in our philosophy of education. They will have to agree to teach within this framework in order to be hired. This puts us at a great advantage to have all the staff on the same page philosophically, and will ensure that the children are all getting the same messages and are dealt with in a similar manner from grade to grade.

Austin Discovery School’s student/teacher ratio is sixteen children to one teacher. This is a tremendous asset to insure quality education. Most people agree that it is very difficult for a teacher to be effective with a room full of 25 to 30 five year olds. We have seen low ratios work wonders in preschool education, and know it translates to higher grades. With lower ratios, you have fewer discipline problems, more time to devote to each child, and a real opportunity to give children the attention they deserve. These lower ratios will also help us to spend the time needed to assess each child’s strengths and individual learning styles. We believe co-teaching (i.e., two teachers working together in a classroom) is integral to our curriculum. It is a mutually supportive environment and allows them to be engaged professionally. You will see two teachers and approximately 32 students in each classroom. In some cases early on, we may have one teacher with 16 students until our enrollment is at capacity.

To further the staff’s ability to plan conscientiously, we will have students picked up by 12:30 on Friday, leaving the rest of the afternoon available for professional development for teachers. On Fridays, we will have staff round table discussions about student growth, curriculum, and the development of curriculum, which may include educational seminars.

Management

Sam Greer – Executive Director/ Superintendent

Currently a PhD candidate in Education Administration at the University of Texas, Sam’s dissertation emphasis concerns charter school management. He received a portfolio certification in management from the RGK Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies. Previously a Dean at Kirby Hall, then founding principal of Cedars International Academy (charter school) in Austin, he is an experienced school administrator. Sam also served as the international studies curriculum designer for the Austin ISD Fulmore Magnet program, project coordinator for American YouthWorks and National Council of La Raza’s middle school project, and project intern with the Texas Business and Education Coalition.

Kelly McRee – School Principal

Employed as Educational Director for The Children’s Discovery Center pre-schools in Austin, Kelly managed a staff of twenty teachers and worked closely with the 100 families from both schools. She was instrumental in designing the growth of that program, including designing the second campus on 6 acres of hill country utilizing straw bale construction and rainwater collection as well as the use of huge banks of windows to make the environment an integral part of the curriculum. Kelly's degree is in elementary education and she has had over ten years experience working in both private and public educational settings. She co-authored Austin Discovery School’s innovative academic plan accepted by the State Board of Education for this Charter School.

Students

The students of the Austin Discovery School deserve a cooperative, non-competitive, non-threatening environment that will enable them to develop their minds while remaining enthusiastic towards learning. We realize that learning is optimized in a safe, creative environment. Our goal is to inspire students’ own self-motivation and we view our roles, as teachers and parents, as facilitators to their learning.

In order for this to occur, we believe that curriculum needs to take place in a hands-on atmosphere, engaging children to become excited about learning. Learning takes place when you tap into each child’s unique learning style and interests. Children become excited about learning when they get active experiences, have some ownership of the process and understand the academic goals set forth for them. One of our favorite educational consultants, Bev Bos always reminds us “the kids have to have it in their hands before they can have it in their heads!”

Students are more than numbers or percentages; therefore, we do not give letter grades. Instead, we keep authentic (or portfolio) assessments, allowing you, as a parent, to actually see your child’s work and progress. This truly gives you an insight into your child’s progress, as well as their strengths and areas for growth. We schedule three conferences during the year to ensure parents are well-informed of the student’s progress (as described in the “Student Progress: Conferences” section.)

We believe students learn best when their school day schedule accommodates their needs. While we strive for academic excellence, we will devote more time to specific studies as needed. This means that if the students are actively engaged in a math project, but a literacy activity is scheduled next, we will not interrupt the flow of learning by enforcing an arbitrary break. Every subject may not be covered every day, but they will all get covered over the course of the year. This will enable students to make long lasting connections with each subject instead of simply scratching the surface. It also shows them that the teachers are aware of their interests, and are willing to shape the day around the successes of the group dynamic. We, as professional educators, will be cognizant of students’ needs and will not simply bend to an arbitrary time schedule. We do, of course recognize that there are some important scheduling parameters, but within the main time frames we plan to be flexible.

Parents

We realize that the parents of the Austin Discovery School are just as integral to the success of this school as the faculty or students. We expect parents to be an active participant to ensure their child’s educational success.

The Austin Discovery School will have a much higher demand on parent participation than most schools, and you should carefully weigh this aspect before enrolling. To create an optimal learning environment and experience, we must have a community of like-minded individuals. To create this sense of community, we require that all parents offer at least 20 hours per year of volunteer time around the school. We also require parents to attend our parent education nights, which will occur three times an academic year. These nights will include extensive talks about philosophy, child development and a host of other topics.

You can aid us in achieving the goal of maximizing student potential by helping us maintain a focused learning environment. Interruptions are distracting to the children. Staying with your child in the classroom for more than a few moments does not help him/her focus on learning. We welcome you to join us for lunch. If you are bringing food to have with your child during lunch, please wait in the reception area for your child’s class to begin lunchtime. We are happy to have you visit the classroom. Please notify us and schedule a time to do so.

Please try to get your child to school on time, and do not take him/her out unnecessarily. Much of the learning is in the discussion and group tasks that cannot be recovered once missed. If you have a concern or question regarding your child, please e-mail or call for an appointment with the teacher (see “Communications” section). If an emergency arises and you are unable to volunteer as scheduled, please let us know.

Environment

The environment for learning is a critical component to education that is often overlooked. As we discussed earlier, the internal school-learning environment will be one of respect and creativity.

The school site is situated on 200 acres of land in East Austin, a short 15 minutes from downtown Austin, with a breathtaking view of the city. You will find our campus surrounded by nature with all the conveniences of a large school. The environment will provide students with enough space to run and play, take hikes, examine ecosystems, and learn how to create a sustainable food source through gardening. The campus has a full size gymnasium with a stage and bleachers, a softball field, a soccer field, 2 swimming pools, a basketball court, acres and acres of woods and a fishing pond.

We believe children, as part of our society, have become distanced from the origins of their food source. We have an extensive, comprehensive science/gardening component to our curriculum. Students will work daily with an experienced science/gardening coordinator in actual gardens to learn the basics of planning, growing, maintaining, and harvesting produce. The planned gardens will be a peaceful and exquisite site to enjoy.

Lunches

One of the unique aspects of our school is that we take nutrition very seriously.
We feel that if the children are getting a well balanced diet, they will perform better academically, will have more energy and will be more balanced emotionally. Therefore, we will enforce strict food policies for lunches. Please weigh this commitment to high quality nutrition before you sign up, as it is integral to our curriculum.

We require that all students adhere to the following guidelines concerning food at school: no Lunchables, frozen kid cuisine, sodas, juice drinks that are not 100% juice, caffeinated drinks or food and no chocolate. Also please respect a low sugar policy. We also ask that you screen foods and not send items that contain the following: MSG, artificial coloring or flavorings or partially hydrogenated oils.

We are not able to serve food yet, but we will strive to set up a commercial kitchen so that we can serve organic foods and offer a lunch program with healthy lunch choices.

Students will participate in ongoing cooking projects in their classrooms with the fruits of their labors as the garden yields its harvests. As soon as the commercial kitchen is set up, we will try and incorporate the food we grow into the lunch program, as allowed by law. In the lower elementary grades (K-3) the gardening program will serve as an introduction to the community service programs that we will expect from the fourth and fifth grade students.

Curriculum Innovations

At Austin Discovery School, we create a learning environment at our school that fosters independence, cooperation, divergent thinking, creativity, and a love for learning that lasts a lifetime. We believe that learning happens when it is meaningful for a child. Our hands-on approach to education lends itself to learning that occurs in a natural way instead of memorization, meaningless drills, dittos and worksheets.

Language Arts/ Literacy

Our language arts/literacy curriculum is based on a whole language/whole child philosophy which includes various strategies such as shared reading, guided reading, phonics, pictorial clues, predictable and rhyming text, dictated stories, spelling approximations and phonetic spelling to help a reader/writer to succeed. We want children to be exposed to quality children’s literature and books where reading success is guaranteed. It is important to understand that children will become readers and writers on their own and in their own time frame. Our job as educators is to provide the opportunities and encouragement but never to push them to a level that they are not ready for! Children learn to talk by listening to others talk, and they gain exposure to language when others talk to them. This is the same principle when learning to read. Children do not gain anything by being prematurely pushed and pressured, and ultimately can do much worse. We are not worried about your child being a reader or writer by some pre-determined deadline that is meaningless. We must make the journey available by providing the opportunity for them to become successful readers and writers when they are ready.

Social Studies

Imagine a chance to experience a moment in history or create your own government or legal system as a way of understanding events and places for your social studies curriculum. Our hands-on, interactive approach transcends textbook learning and creates an unparalleled understanding of historical events.

Math

Our math curriculum helps to create a solid foundation for higher order thinking. Students are exposed to manipulatives so they learn about mathematical concepts concretely, so that when they are posed problems with abstract concepts, they are able to expand on this learning and master the tasks. We are using an amazing curriculum that has unique word problems called cognitive guided instruction. We want students to become problem solvers. By using this approach, students solve word problems with multiple strategies.

Science/Gardening curriculum

Our approach to science education is inquiry based, hands-on experiments to learn scientific concepts. We will be implementing the junior master gardener curriculum as well, to support, and strengthen our work in the gardens.

Fine Arts and Specials

As many elementary schools are cutting funding for fine arts, we are dedicated to having a full fine arts offering that we will NEVER cut. Students will have special classes each day that include at least one class period of art, music, Spanish, physical education and gardening. As with all of our curriculum elements, we will be using a hands-on approach to discovering each of these special areas. Elements of all these areas will be integrated into the entire curriculum as well. That way, as we become attuned to each student’s learning style, we can draw on these aspects to compliment children’s individual learning strengths in the classroom.

Community Service Opportunities

Parents as Active Participants

We expect our parents to be an active part of our school community by offering at least 20 hours of volunteer time to the school. We will provide a huge variety of ways for parents to help around the school that are sure to fit anyone’s interests, including reading with students, going on field trips, being a “room parent” in your child’s classroom, helping in the gardens, and many other options.

Check with your child’s teachers in ways you can help out in their classroom or check in with the school office to find out ways you can help around our school. We want to create an extended family atmosphere so we will have regular potluck dinners to spend time getting to know one another.

As mentioned above, parents will also be required to attend the three parent education nights. Child care will be provided during these evenings and a potluck dinner will be served. These evenings are intended to keep our community unified so it is essential that you attend.

Student Service

All students will see “service” as an integral part of their daily activities through their participation in, for example, cleaning in the classroom, recycling efforts, and reading with other age groups. Beginning in fourth grade, students will be provided with opportunities to participate in community service projects. A community service project will be required, but the students may choose from several opportunities. These opportunities may include experiences with:

Capital Area Food Bank
Sustainable Food sources
Habitat for Humanity
Amnesty International
Working around the Austin Discovery School (helping the school-community)

Arrival and Departure

School Day

The academic day at Austin Discovery School begins at 8:00 a.m. and concludes at 3:30 p.m. All classes on Friday are from 8:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. After-School childcare is available from dismissal until 6:00 p.m., five days a week. The After-School program will also offer care during most of the breaks and holidays.

Outside of School Hours

Children may be dropped off as early as 7:30 A.M. There will be a staff member to supervise the children. Students enrolled in After-School care will proceed to the appropriate after care location when dismissed. Children who are not picked up by 3:45 P.M. will also be sent to After-School Care, and parents will be responsible for paying the drop-in rate for that day.

Arriving Late or Leaving Early

If your child arrives late or leaves early, you must come into the school to sign the child in or out.

Releasing Students

Austin Discovery School personnel will release children only to parents, guardians, persons listed on the emergency/health forms, or those authorized for carpooling purposes. Provide the school with documents about restraining orders or custody limitations. Notify your child’s teacher if there is any concern that an individual with restricted access to the child might attempt to contact or collect the child from school.

The school staff needs to release each child to the right person. If you are in a carpool, please write a note letting them know which children are in the carpool and which adults are driving. If your child is going with someone else after school, please send a note about this as well. Please make sure the office personnel are aware of any of these arrangements as soon as possible.

Student Attendance

Attendance philosophy and overview

At Austin Discovery School, it is important that we share a partnership with our families to ensure the best possible school environment for your child. Each year Austin Discovery School, adopts a calendar that identifies 170-180 days of academic instruction. While we encourage and desire our students to be in school all school days, we have set an upper limit of nine absence (9) days. Attendance is taken by 10:00 a.m. each day. If your children are not present at that time, they will be counted absent. Attendance is primarily the responsibility of students and parents.

Most importantly from a financial standpoint, Austin Discovery School only receives funding for days that students actually attend school. Therefore, adherence to the attendance policies is twofold. In order to operate a school with a top-notch educational program and without major budget cuts, we expect our students and parents contain absenteeism to no more than nine (9) days. The money lost for each absence, regardless of the reason, is approximately $40 per student per day, which translates into fewer materials and fewer activities for our students.

Daily attendance and active participation in each class are critical parts of the learning process. Our policies and procedures established at Austin Discovery School also designed to help students create a sense of community, learn responsibility and increase their potential for success.

Austin Discovery School’s year round calendar allows for more vacation time throughout the year. We are asking that students do not vacation during the days of academic instruction. Additionally, we ask families to respect that Fridays are instructional days and ensure that students attend these days.

Definitions Of Tardy And Absenteeism

Tardies

A student is considered TARDY when the student arrives at school between 8:05 a.m. and 9:59 a.m. Because late arriving students disrupt the learning environment for all students, we strongly discourage students to arrive late.

A student’s tardy record may also cause additional absences if the student has accumulated 6 or more tardies in one nine-week period. (The first 3 tardies of each 9 week period are considered “free” tardies. For every 3 tardies thereafter, e.g. the 4th-6th tardies, a student will be charged with one absence.)

Absences

A student is considered ABSENT when they are not in the classroom by 10:00 a.m., with the following exceptions (excused absences):

· Observation of a religious holiday; or

· Attendance at a school sanctioned function, or;

· Arriving at school after 10:00 a.m. with a doctor/dentist’s note indicating that he/she had a doctor’s appointment.

Austin Discovery School does distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. Our policy is to permit nine (9) unexcused absences for each school year. We do caution that use of these days for vacations may result in a lack of available days for illness or family emergencies. If students have more than 9 absences per year at Austin Discovery School, they may lose academic credit for the entire school year, be retained in their current grade level, or jeopardize future enrollment.

Religious Observance

When your child will be absent for religious observance, please send a note to school before that date. If you do, state regulations allow children absent for religious observance to be counted as present, but class work may still be needed to be made up. (So, absences for religious observances are not counted toward your nine absences.)

Return To School After Absence

All absences will require a note from the parent/guardian in order for the student to return to school. Absences must be cleared ON THE DAY OF RETURN with a written note signed by the parent/guardian. Notes should be submitted to the receptionist and they must contain the student’s full name, specific dates, and reason(s) for absence.

Due Process For Excessive Absenteeism

Step I - All Absences

When a student is reported absent, a school representative may call to inquire into the absence. We expect each child’s family to let us know on a specific day that they will not be attending.

Step II - Four (4) Absences

When a student has been absent four (4) days, a letter will go home with the student advising the parent of the total number of absences and tardies to date, advising the parent of Austin Discovery School attendance policies, and asking the parent to commit to the attendance requirements. This letter must be signed and returned to the school.

Step III - Seven (7) Absences

After the seventh (7) absence a meeting will be called with the student, parent, and one administrator. At that time, each absence will be discussed. A plan of action will be agreed upon to ensure that the student does not miss additional days of school unless for medical reasons and/or is under a physicians care.

Step IV – Continued Absenteeism

Continued absenteeism will lead to a recommendation for dismissal. Austin Discovery School will allow a student with excessive absences (more than 9) to remain enrolled only after review of the following:

· The parent/doctor notes (required after each absence)

· Whether excessive absences have been a pattern.

· Whether the student/parent followed the agreed plan of action in Step III above.

· Whether the student is on grade level based on their chronological age and is making satisfactory progress.

· Whether the student/parent agree to adhere to the Austin Discovery School attendance policy in the future.

Health Care

Illness Policy

A child who is ill should not be sent to school, since this may result in his/her health becoming worse and exposing others. Our policy states that students should be kept home if they have experienced fever or vomiting within the previous 24-hour period.

Head Lice

State law prohibits children who have head lice from being at school. When children have head lice or their eggs (also called nits) in their hair, it will be treated as an illness. They will be isolated from other students, and you will be called to pick them up. They may not return to school or After-School Care or After-School activities until there are no more signs of head lice, either adults or eggs.

Illness and Injuries at School

When children become ill or injured at school, they will receive prompt attention from the staff. Students with a temperature of 100 degrees or more must be sent home. If your child is ill or injured beyond first aid or simple comfort measures, you will be called to take the child home or to the doctor. In an emergency, appropriate action will be taken, and you will be informed immediately. If you cannot be reached, other designated adults listed on the child’s emergency card will be notified. It is essential that you keep the school informed of any change in address and/or telephone numbers so that a responsible party may be reached in an emergency.

Medicine

Students are not allowed to have any medication with them (in classrooms, desk, or backpack). All medications must be kept in the school office at all times. If it becomes necessary for a student to take a prescription or over-the-counter medication during school hours, the following state policies must be followed:

1. Parent or guardian submits written request. Authorization forms may be obtained at the reception desk, or you can send a written note that gives details for the following:

The name of the student taking the medication
Time(s) when it is to be given to the student
How much and how often it should be given
How long the student will be taking the medication
Your signature and a phone number in case of questions

2. Prescription medications must be in the individual’s pharmacy-labeled container. (Pharmacies will give you an additional container upon request if some doses will be taken at school.) Over-the-counter medications must be in the manufacturer’s container with dosage and expiration dates.

3. Remember to include dosing spoons or other necessary equipment.

4. Records stating student’s name, medication dosage, time taken and the signature of the person and administering medication is kept by school personnel.

Administration

Enrollment Regulations

Enrollment at Austin Discovery School is governed by regulations for charter schools set forth in Texas state law and Texas Education Agency rules. Any child residing in the geographic boundaries below will have an equal opportunity to enroll in the Austin Discovery School.

Geographic Boundaries

The following school districts in our boundary are:

Austin Independent School District
Eanes Independent School District
Georgetown Independent School District
Lake Travis Independent School District
Leander Independent School District
Manor Independent School District
Pflugerville Independent School District
Round Rock Independent School District

Admission Application

Admission is by application. The application period is March 24 to March 31 of every year. Any applications received by March 31^st will be given space in the school as available. In school year 2005-2006 we will serve K-4, adding 5^th grade in 2006-2007.

In the event that more applications are received than spaces available, a lottery will be held with all those applications, and the spaces will be filled by a random lottery. After March 31^st, any applications received will be given a space if one is available. If no space is available, the application will be put on a waiting list, and when a space becomes available, all applications on the waiting list for that grade will be put in a lottery, and one will be randomly selected. Applications are taken on a continuing basis.

School vacancies are filled on a lottery system by selecting randomly from the pool of applicants. Siblings of currently enrolled students and children of staff members receive preference in filling vacancies. Returning students must re-enroll during the application period to retain their space.

Austin Discovery School is an open-enrollment public charter school and as such, is open to all students in the geographic boundary, regardless of physical disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry.

To transfer from an independent school district, you do not have to go through their transfer process, simply enroll in the Austin Discovery School, and submit a notice of withdrawal to the old school.

Special Note Concerning Enrollment for Fall 2005

The Board has the discretion of whether or not to conduct 4^th grade in school year 2005-2006 if there are fewer than 16 applications for that class.

Registration

Once a child has applied to and been accepted by Austin Discovery School, students are formally enrolled. At the time of enrollment, the following information is required:

Any updates to the application

Immunization records
Social Security Number
Birth certificate
Current school records (withdrawal forms, report cards, assessments)
Telephone numbers of parents’ places of employment
Names and telephone numbers of emergency contacts when parents cannot be reached by phone

To complete the registration, we request that parents also provide the following:

Written essay about your child (explained below)

Signed receipt of agreement to “Parental Involvement Agreement” and receipt of Suggested Reading List

Written Essay

You, as a parent, are your child’s first teacher, and you obviously know them best. We would like to hear your insights about your child, their strengths and weaknesses. We want to know anything that will help us get to know your child better, so that we may be better prepared to help them learn.

Please notify your child’s teacher if any of the registration information changes. It is essential that the office have accurate information regarding your address, home telephone number, daytime phone number, and emergency contact numbers.

Placement of Students

Each child is placed in a multi-age classroom based on criteria established by the staff. Every effort is made to maintain a balance in each class with regard to student ability, ethnicity, gender, and age.

Withdrawal from School

If your child will be withdrawing from school please notify the office of your intent to withdraw at the earliest possible date. A “withdrawal form” should be filled out and signed for a student to be considered formally withdrawn. The withdrawal form provides us with the name and address of the school your child will be attending. Student records will be forwarded upon receipt of the request from the new school. All fines must be cleared and all school property must be returned before withdrawal. If a student is absent for 5 consecutive days without the school being notified, the student will be presumed voluntarily withdrawn. Additionally, voluntary withdrawal can be triggered by a parent’s failure to adhere to school discipline policies and procedures as stipulated in the discipline section.

Lost and Found

Every effort is made to return lost articles to the rightful owner. Clothing and other items worn or brought to school are easier to return if marked with your child’s name. Items found will be placed in a box near the reception area. Students and parents may check the box for lost articles at any time. All unclaimed items are given to charity at the end of each nine-week period.

Hazardous Weather

The Principal and Superintendent make decisions regarding the closure of schools due to hazardous weather. If this happens before the school day, it will be announced via local media sources and posted on the internet website. If Austin Discovery School closes for any reason during the school day, the staff will only release students as you have authorized.

Communications

Notices and Announcements

The school newsletter is a regular means of publishing the school calendar, issuing reminders, and thanking volunteers and contributors. Other announcements and reminders are sent home on Thursday afternoon with children (to be returned on Friday). Notices will be sent home with the youngest child of families with more than one student. The principal must approve all announcements prior to duplication and distribution.

Telephoning

In general, school telephones are for business use by the staff and for educational use by the students. Students cannot use the phone at school except in emergency. You can leave a message in the voice-mail box for your child’s teacher. The teachers will monitor their messages twice a day. The telephone list is in the Contacts and Information section of this handbook; please replace it when updates are issued.

E-mail

You can send email to the school principal at kellymcree@austindiscoveryschool.org or the school superintendent at samgreer@austindiscoveryschool.org. You can email teachers at “first name last name” (for example, janedoe@austindiscoveryschool.org) Parents are encouraged to send communications to their children’s teachers via e-mail.

Visitors

Badges will be used to help teachers recognize visitors and volunteers in the school. All visitors (including parents) must sign in at the beginning of their visit at the reception desk and receive a badge to wear. At the end of the visit, visitors must return to the reception desk to sign out and leave the visitor badge. These procedures are designed to protect our children from unauthorized individuals and also to document parental involvement.

The Austin Discovery School will schedule tours of the school every third Tuesday of the month at 10 a.m. for prospective parents to see the school. This will ensure that the class learning environment is not unduly interrupted.

Student Progress

Teachers approach each child as an individual, assessing their needs and then tailoring instruction to those needs. Rubrics and checklists are used to evaluate quality of content, competence, and presentation. Austin Discovery School does not provide letter or numerical grades or report cards for our students. Conferences and narrative reports provide more descriptive information regarding the student’s progress toward mastery of the content and progress during the year.

Conferences

There are 3 conferences scheduled during the year. The first is a goal-setting conference and a time for writing the Individual Learning Plan (ILP). During the first parent-student-teacher conference, a review of the student’s current strengths and needs will be discussed, goals for the year set, modifications necessary to support the learning, and any other elements deemed appropriate for the ILP. These goals and the assessment data, which are provided by the teacher along with the child’s own ideas, will be the central discussion of the conference. The second is held in the third 9-week period to provide feedback on progress towards goals. The third conference is held near the end of the year to let the students present their portfolios and to discuss the year’s learning experience.

State Mandated Assessments

Austin Discovery School participates in all state mandated assessments including the TAKS test.

Student Behavior Standards

We will maintain high expectations for behavior just as we do for academics.

Students will be held accountable for their choices and experience natural logical consequences. Please review these Behavior Standards with your child.

Underlying Principles

At Austin Discovery School, we believe children who learn to solve problems constructively at an early age develop lifelong skills that will help them solve more complex problems, as they get older.

The behavior plan is based on the following principles:

Students learn from their experiences.
Students have an innate curiosity for learning.
Students solve their problems without making additional problems for anyone else.
Students do as much or more thinking about their behavior as adults do.
Students think, make decisions, and live with the consequences of their actions.
Consequences of all choices are as fair and logical as possible.

Each person and each offense is dealt with on a personal, individual basis.

In order for school to be a safe, happy place for learning, each person needs to honor each other’s rights, act responsibly, and follow certain rules. Along with personal rights comes responsibility. At Austin Discovery School, we emphasize this natural relationship.

Code of Conduct

We believe it is more effective to have a few comprehensive rules, including:

Respect yourself and others.

Respect the learning.

Respect the environment.

Take responsibility for your own actions.

During the first days and weeks of school, teachers and students will spend a great deal of time discussing, role-playing, and practicing what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like to respect yourself, others, the learning and the environment.

Student Rights

A right belongs to me and should not be taken away by anyone. All students have a right to learn in a safe environment.
I have the right to be respected and treated with kindness at school. I should be treated fairly regardless of my abilities or differences.
I have a right to learn and enjoy myself at school. Others should not laugh at me, make fun of me or intentionally hurt my feelings. I am also expected to treat others with respect and kindness.
I have the right to tell my side of a problem. This means I may talk about my ideas and feelings while respecting the rights of others.
I have the right to make choices. When I make appropriate choices, I feel good and good things can happen. If I choose poorly, break a rule or take away someone else’s rights, there will be fair and logical consequences for my behavior choice.
I have the right to due process. “Due process” means that I am entitled to oral or written notice of the charge, or the rule that has been broken, an explanation of the evidence, and an opportunity to present my side of the story.

Student Responsibilities

Respect myself.
Respect Others— I am expected to follow the directions of the people who work at Austin Discovery School. If I talk back or refuse to do what I am told, I am not showing respect for others.
Use appropriate language— Name-calling, put-downs, insulting or demeaning words or gestures are NOT allowed in this school.
Choose appropriate behaviors in class, on the playground, and on field trips— All of my time at Austin Discovery School is for learning, even when at play. I will choose to conduct myself in ways that increase the learning.
Attendance— I must attend school every day unless I am sick or injured, or unless I am absent for other reasons that have been approved by the administration.
Safety— It is my responsibility to use all equipment and property in a safe way. This includes such things as desks, chairs, restrooms, school supplies, science equipment, playground and PE equipment.

Discipline & Safe Learning Environment

If a student demonstrates repeated disruptive behaviors, these consequences may result in removal from the learning environment and contact with other children. No student will be allowed to disrupt the learning of other students.

The following behaviors will not be tolerated:

· intentional hitting or physical abuse

· damaging property of the school or others;

· inappropriate language; and behaving dangerously (i.e. throwing things at others or bringing weapons).

Austin Discovery School Charter School maintains a discipline policy whose goal is twofold. The first is to ensure the right of each child to a safe and orderly learning environment and the second is to help each student develop positive behavior patterns.

Our expectations for student behavior are based on respect. We expect students will respect themselves and others, the learning, and nature. All personal interactions fall under one of these aspects of respectful behavior. The Austin Discovery School staff will discuss with students what it looks like and sounds like to be respectful in these ways.

Every effort will be made to work with students and their parents to resolve behavioral issues by helping the student learn acceptable boundaries, self-control, problem-solving and effective communication. Students who are disrespectful of their peers, teachers and who continually disrupt the learning environment may eventually be dismissed from the Austin Discovery School program.

Discipline Management Plan

Students are given clear, reasonable expectations as participants in the learning environment. When students disrupt the learning environment or behave in unsafe or unhealthy ways, their choices will have consequences.
The Austin Discovery School Staff has very low child to teacher ratios to minimize student misbehavior and uses positive guidance techniques to deal with any misbehavior. We will administer appropriate consequences that may range from removing a child from the immediate area of the problem, a verbal warning, and possibly an immediate removal from the class for a portion of the day based on the seriousness of the infraction. A discipline referral, a note, or a phone call will serve as notification to the parents. Infractions include but are not limited to inappropriate or aggressive physical behavior, foul language, inappropriate off-task behaviors that disrupt the learning, defacing or vandalizing the facility. Please see the Parents Suggested Reading list to find out more about appropriate consequences and positive guidance.
Referrals are not generally made unless a student has been first warned. A student may be referred without warning for seriously disruptive, disrespectful, or dangerous behavior.

Non-Probationary Referrals

The classroom teacher will deal with referrals as appropriate. A principal may be consulted or brought into the conversation as needed.

The student is reviewed for disciplinary probation after repeated referrals. A student will lose privileges such as serving as a mediator, monitoring younger students, attending field trips, etc. if they have been reviewed for disciplinary probation.

Probationary Referrals and Parent Shadowing

Parent Shadowing, suspension and expulsion are options that will be considered when the student is disruptive to the point that the learning is affected or the student is a threat to the health or safety of the other students. (Students in suspension must complete all work missed while in suspension in order to receive credit.)

After repeated referrals during any three month period, the principal may direct a parent to accompany their student throughout the school day. Failure to fulfill this obligation constitutes a voluntary withdrawal from the school. Parents shadowing students are quiet observers. A meeting with a school administrator will take place near the end of the school day to review the student’s behavior plan.

Dismissals

· A Principal may suspend students who fail to comply with discipline policies.

· Students who habitually fail to comply with these policies and/or who present an immediate threat to health and safety may also be suspended and later dismissed upon recommendation of the principal.

Parents will be notified if habitual problems exist.
Each time a discipline referral form is issued, the form will be sent for parent signature.
Prior to dismissal, students will be accorded due process unless the student’s conduct presents an immediate threat to health or safety. In accordance with section 37 of the state education code, students whose conduct does present an immediate threat to health and safety will be afforded due process within three days of dismissal. The Superintendent will review all dismissals. The school will include suspension and expulsion data in its annual performance report to the State Board of Education.

Parents’ Suggested Reading List

How To Talk So Children Will Listen and Listen So Children Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Smart Moves-Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head by Carla Hanford, Ph.D

Books by Jane Healy, Ph.D

Endangered Minds-Why Children Don’t Think and What We Can Do About It

Failure to Connect: How computers affect our children’s minds-for better or worse

There’s Gotta Be a Better Way-Discipline that works by Dr. Becky Bailey

Books by Alfie Kohn

Punished by Rewards

The Schools Our Children Deserve

Standardized Testing

What Does it Mean to beWell Educated?

Books by Howard Gardner

Multiple Intelligences

Frames of the Mind

Books by Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D

7 Kinds of Smart

Awakening Your Child’s Natural Genius

In Their Own Way

Books by Dr. Mel Levine

One Mind at aTime

The Myth ofLaziness

The Power of Their Ideas by Deborah Meier

The Whole Story by Brian Cambourne

A is for Ox by Barry Saunders

Austin Discovery School Charter School

Parental Involvement Agreement

Please return this page to your teacher.

As a parent of a student at Austin Discovery School,
I acknowledge that I am taking part in an innovative approach
to education. In doing so, I agree to the following responsibilities:

1. I will be responsible for the prompt and consistent attendance of my child(ren).

2. I will attend conferences with the teacher three times per year.

3. I will attend the three Parent Education nights.

4. I will volunteer for at least 20 hours per year in school activities.

5. I will stay in communication with my child(ren)’s teacher regarding problems and/or progress.

6. I will do my best to support my child’s educational experience by reinforcing respect for the teacher and the learning environment.

7. I will adhere to all the policies and procedures outlined in the Parent Handbook.

Signed: ________________________parent ___________date

________________________parent ___________date

Children’s names (and grades):

_________________________ ________________________

Comments:

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