Policies & Procedures

Administrative Team

In the absence of the Principal, the Assistant Principal shall serve as the administrative head of the school. While working in this capacity, the Assistant Principal shall be responsible for all school operations.

Attendance Reporting Process

In accordance with state requirements, all students (K-12) shall be expected to be in attendance every student activity day as scheduled by the School Board. In order to receive course credit, middle school students shall be in attendance a minimum of 160 days per school year. A student can miss no more than 10 days of school to receive course credits. Exceptional pupils must fulfill the same attendance requirements as regular pupils. Enrollment and absence records for all students in all grades must be maintained on the District’s Student Data Base.

Bulletin 741 defines attendance as follows: Attendance (whole-day): A student is considered to be in attendance for a whole day when he or she (1) is physically present at a school site or is participating in an authorized school activity and (2) is under the supervision of authorized personnel. In accordance with adopted policies and standards of the State Board of Education regarding student attendance as published in Bulletin No. 741, the ONLY exception to the attendance regulation shall be the extenuating circumstances listed below.

Extenuating Circumstances

1. Extended personal physical or emotional illness as verified by a physician or dentist within 5 days.

2. Extended hospital stay as verified by a physician or dentist.

3. Extended recuperation from an accident as verified by a physician or dentist.

4. Extended contagious disease within the family as verified by a physician or dentist.

5. Prior school system approved travel for education.

6. Death in the family (not to exceed one week).

7. Natural catastrophe and/or disaster.

8. Religious observance of special and recognized holidays of the child’s faith.

9. For any other extenuating circumstances, parents/guardians must make a formal appeal to the Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance.

Procedures for Having Absences Excused

Students who are absent from school and wish to have the absence validated as excused due to extenuating circumstances MUST follow the procedure outlined below.

1. Exceptions to attendance regulations can only be made when proper documentation of extenuating circumstances is presented to the homeroom teacher.

2. The homeroom teacher shall complete the Excused Absence Attendance Form and attach the doctor’s note, court summons, or death notice to the form.

3. Completed Excused Absence Attendance forms must be turned in to the school secretary.

4. Written communication from parents or other documentation not listed on the Excused Absence

Attendance form must be turned in to the school secretary so the an administrator can make a determination as to whether or not the absence is excused or not excused.

The homeroom teacher is responsible for conducting attendance checks for all students enrolled in their homeroom classes. If a student is absent three consecutive days, the teacher shall contact the parent by phone. If the telephone contact cannot be made, a written notification should be sent to the absent student’s home. If by the fifth consecutive day of absence the student does not return to school through the efforts of the teacher, the teacher shall inform the school counselor or intervention specialist in writing. The counselor/intervention specialist shall be responsible for providing the appropriate follow-up services and informing the principal.

Student Early Check-out Procedures

The procedures listed below will be followed for students to checkout of school for reasons of personal illness.

Student must obtain an official check out slip from the assigned teacher. Forms will be issued to teachers with extra copies in the main office.

Student must complete the entire check-out slip, give it to the teacher for review and bring the slip to the office.

Office personnel will telephone the parent/guardian to inform them of the situation.Student will be sent back to class until someone arrives to pick them up.

Student will be called from class to leave with approved parent/guardian/representative.

Tardy Policy

Students who report to homeroom after 9:00 a.m. are tardy. The following procedures shall be followed by homeroom teachers in monitoring student tardiness:

All students tardy to school MUST report to the main office to receive a Late Arrival Card. Students must present a copy of the Late Arrival Card to the Homeroom/First Period Teacher.

1st and 2nd TARDY in each semester – Verbal warning with student’s signature on Late Arrival Card and one mark on student’s Star Card.

3rd TARDY in each semester – A non-suspension conference with the student’s parent/guardian and a referral to the counselor.

4th and 5th TARDY in each semester – School detentions of one (1) hour or other disciplinary action.

6th or more TARDIES in one semester – Suspension

Emergency Closing

Please be advised that WWL TV Channel 4 or 870 AM on your radio dial is the official source of school closing information. You may also check your GroupWise account for email updates from your administrative team.

First Aid/ Medication

Band-Aids and ice packs are available in the front office. School personnel are not allowed to provide sedatives, aspirin, cough drops or any other medication to students. If you observe a student in possession of medication of any kind, please confiscate it and turn it to any office staff member.

Fire/ Tornado Drills

As per state code, fire and tornado drills must be held each month. Evacuation routes will be posted in all areas of the school campus. Please familiarize yourselves with the evacuation route and make certain that your students are aware of the procedures as well. Teachers must bring their roll books and be sure to call roll once you have reached your designated location. All doors must be closed and lights off during a fire drill. During a Tornado drill, all students should exit the classroom and enter the interior space away from windows and doors. Students should sit on the floor with their heads held between their knees.

Smoking

JPPSS prohibits the use of tobacco and/ or cigarette smoking on any of the campuses. This applies to faculty, staff, and students. A smoking area has been designated and should be used by all smokers. Office personnel will direct you to that area.

Teachers MUST NOT permit the following rule infractions: card playing; possession/use of cellular telephones or pagers; wearing of bandannas, caps, hats, scarves or any other non-uniform apparel.

Discipline Policy

It is the policy of the JPPSS that students conduct themselves properly while under school supervision and comply with all polices and regulations set forth in the Code of Conduct contained in Procedures and Polices for Parents and Students. Each teacher will receive a copy of this document.

A teacher has the right to establish a classroom structure and routine that provides the optimal learning environment in light of his/her own strengths and weaknesses. Toward this effort, each teacher must post classroom behavior rules to include—but not be limited to—the following:

Report to class daily and on time
Bring covered books/supplies daily
Follow teacher directions
Complete all assignments
Remain seated and in class
Keep hands, feet, objects to oneself
Do not use obscene language
Do not eat/chew gum in class
Do not wear sunglasses, hats, earrings (boys), medallions, curlers, bandannas
Do not possess radios, headphones, beepers, electronic games, playing cards/dice

The classroom teacher must assign students who break minor classroom rules an appropriate disciplinary action. Such disciplinary actions include: marking student’s Star Card, teacher monitored detentions and parent conferences.

Students who disrupt the classroom and/or impede learning may be referred to an administrator by buzzing the office for assistance. A written description of the specific misbehavior MUST be sent immediately following student removal from class.

Students who commit any criminal offenses must be referred to an administrator for immediate removal from class and/or school.

Safe and Drug Free Schools

If an employee observes student behavior that may indicate drug or alcohol use, it should be reported to the S.A.P.E Chairperson in writing on a Drug Free Schools Referral Form immediately.

School Safety Provisions

The Jefferson Parish School System has issued metal detectors for random school searchers. The administrative team will be responsible for performing these scans.

Child Abuse

If an employee of JPPSS suspects a case of child abuse or neglect, it should be reported immediately to an administrator and/ or social worker. The matter will then be reported to the child protection agency. Child protection will thoroughly investigate the validity of the claim. Please follow this procedure.

Field Trip Procedures

Field trips are a valuable part of the school curriculum and should be planned as learning experiences that enrich students’ understanding and appreciation of academic subjects or cultural experiences. Each academic discipline may schedule two (2) field trips per year (one per semester.) An application for a field trip must be prepared at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of the activity. The cost of the field trip must be discussed with the account clerk prior to completing the application. Monies collected for field trips must be submitted to the account clerk by 10:00 a.m. Written permission to attend a field trip activity must be secured from parents prior to the date of a scheduled field trip.

Fund Raising Activities

Fund raising activities at all schools are restricted by guidelines established by the School Board. This includes fund raising projects of student and parent organizations. The principal must acquire prior approval before the initiation of any fund raising project. Accordingly, all fundraising activities MUST be approved by the principal prior to the sponsorship of any activity–at or away from the school site. Immediately (within 24 hours) following approved activities, the principal must receive a complete accounting of proceeds derived from the sponsored activity on a form supplied by the account clerk.

Homework Policy

Homework is an important resource in helping students learn and should be included as an integral part of the instructional program in grades K-12. Meaningful and productive homework assignments assist students in:

increasing time on learning tasks;
reinforcing skill development acquired in the classroom;
extending and enriching understanding of concepts;
acquiring self-pacing and time management skills;
assuming responsibility for independently completing tasks.

In accordance with the Homework Policy of the Jefferson Parish Public School System, all homework assignments at Westbank Community will be:

assigned a minimum of three (3) times per week in Reading/Language Arts and Math;
designed to require no more that 20 minutes to complete;
related directly to curriculum work in the classroom and included in weekly lesson plans;
designed to address the needs of the group and the individual student;
varied at least once per marking period to include long-range projects, research and/or reports;
planned for the purpose of reinforcing , extending, enriching and/or strengthening skills;
viewed and/or graded by the teacher on the day that the assignment is due.
monitored to ensure that parents are informed of students’ excessive failure to complete assignments.

Cooperative Endeavor/Law Enforcement

It is the policy of the Jefferson Parish Public School System to provide a safe school environment for students and employees. Therefore, there exists a cooperative endeavor among these agencies: law enforcement, juvenile justice, the district attorney, parish administration, human services authority, and the Jefferson Parish Public School System. The goal of the cooperative endeavor is to keep the schools in the parish safe from drugs, weapons, and criminal acts of personal violence.

As soon as a criminal act perpetrated by a student is detected, the appropriate law enforcement agency shall be called.
The responding deputy or police officer will come to the school, arrest the student if the investigation warrants, and secure the evidence. Initial notification of the parent/legal guardian of the juvenile’s arrest will be made by a school official. The school official will instruct the parent/legal guardian that the juvenile has been arrested and taken to Rivarde Detention Center.