Student and Parent Handbook
Welcome Families
Dear KIPP Morial Families,
Welcome to the 2018-19 school year at KIPP Morial. We are honored to work with you and your family this year, and for many years to follow!
At KIPP Morial we promise that we will always do our best to support your child or children to and through college. While college may seem a long way off, we believe it is our shared responsibility to ensure that our students are set up with the knowledge, skills, character, and habits necessary to graduate from college and positively shape our community and our world. We recognize that reaching this goal will take a tremendous amount of teamwork on the part of our families, our staff, and our students, and we appreciate your support of the school.
This Handbook is designed to provide you with the important information you need to understand the school’s policies and procedures. We want to ensure our families understand the policies and procedures that we’ve designed to help us provide a consistent, safe, and excellent learning environment for our students.
If ever you have any questions or concerns, please call the school; we are always happy to assist in any way that we can. Thank you for your continued support and we welcome you to KIPP Morial, where we look forward to a successful school year!
Thank you,
Mark Burton and Deanna Reddick
School Leaders
KIPP MORIAL SCHOOL POLICIES
OUR MISSION
The mission of Ernest “Dutch” Morial is to inspire our scholars to be transformative leaders with proud self-identities and trailblazing spirits through rigorous academic, arts, and character-based instruction.
OUR VISION – “THE MORIAL WAY”
We are a team and family. We share a collective vision of excellence while prioritizing the well-being of every individual team member and scholar. We believe happy, healthy, proud scholars and happy, healthy, proud teachers are the foundation of current and future success. We recognize the power of positive ENERGY and hold it sacred in our drive to ACHIEVE academic results, setting our scholars on a choice-filled life path to and through college. We believe in the humanity of this work and, therefore, hold a unique focus on supporting every scholar and teacher to reach his/her full individual potential and see his/her highest self.
OUR CORE BELIEFS
Our mission is urgent and a matter of social justice.
Great teaching within a strong design drives monumental growth.
We choose this beautiful struggle and embrace it with joyful ENERGY.
We are all leaders.
They are who we are.
PRIMARY SCHOOL VALUES (ENERGY)
- Enthusiasm
- Never Give Up
- Empathy
- Responsibility
- Generosity
- You can! You will!
MIDDLE SCHOOL VALUES (ACHIEVE)
- Accountability
- Commitment
- Honesty
- Integrity
- Excellence
- Vision
- Empowerment
HOURS OF OPERATION
Main Office Hours: Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 7:45 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Wednesday 7:45 a.m. – 12: 45 p.m.
Students may be dropped off or enter the school as early as 7:10 a.m. Children will not be supervised or allowed into the building before 7:10 AM and KIPP Morial is not responsible for children dropped off before 7:10 a.m. Scholars must be inside their classroom no later than 7:45 AM to be marked present/on time.
Students not picked up after school by 4 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (and 1 p.m. on Wednesdays) will be considered a late pickup, and parents/guardians are responsible for paying a $5 fine/child at this time. For each quarter hour thereafter an additional $5/child fee will be applied.
ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURE
Arrival Procedure
Buses will arrive at the school between 7:10 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Scholars enter the building through the main entrance. If scholars enter the building before 7:20 a.m. they will immediately proceed to the cafeteria for breakfast. After 7:20 a.m. scholars will have the option of eating breakfast in the cafeteria or walking to their classrooms.
Students may be dropped off as early as 7:10 a.m. through door near the back parking lot on Leeds St, only scholars who are Walkers are allowed to enter via the Grant St. front entrance doors. Children will not be supervised or allowed into the building before 7:10 a.m. and KIPP Morial is not responsible for children dropped off before 7:10 a.m. Scholars must be dropped off and inside their classrooms at KIPP Morial by no later than 7:45 a.m. to be marked present/on time.
Students entering the building or have not entered the classroom at 7:46 a.m. or later will be marked tardy, and must be signed in to the front office. Students riding a bus that arrives after 7:30 a.m. will not be marked tardy, and will be allowed an appropriate amount of time to eat breakfast, as families using our bussing option do so in good faith of timeliness.
Breakfast is served between 7:10 and 7:40 AM each morning, and scholars arriving tardy or after 7:40 AM will not be provided breakfast.
Dismissal Procedure
All scholars will be dismissed beginning at 3:45 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Beginning at 3:40 p.m., scholars will begin packing up. At 3:45 PM, scholars in grades K – 2nd will be escorted to the cafeteria where they will line up by bus number, and then be walked onto the bus. Grades 3rd – 5th will be escorted to the bus lanes for load buses. At 3:50 p.m., scholars in grades 6th – 8th will be escorted to the bus lanes and walked to the bus by a teacher. All buses will leave the school campus by 4 p.m.
Parents/guardians are required to be present at the assigned bus stop 10 minutes before and after the designated drop off time to account for unexpected traffic conditions. If a parent misses meeting their student at a bus stop, the student will be brought to the nearest police station. Repeated incidence of child abandonment at the bus stop will result in the family losing their bus riding privileges for a probationary time. If a child is placed on probationary bus suspension, it is the parent’s or other authorized person’s responsibility to ensure the child has transportation from school at the regular dismissal time. Absences due to lack of transportation WILL NOT BE EXCUSED. If incidence of Bus Abandonment continues, the parent may be referred to an outside social services agency for intervention.
Scholars who are picked up by car will line up in the back parking lot on Leeds St. beginning at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 12:45 p.m. on Wednesdays. Beginning at 3:50 p.m. teachers will escort scholars to their parent’s car via the parking lot entrance door. At 4 p.m.teachers will bring scholars into the building, and parents/guardians must pick students up at the front office, with late fees beginning promptly at 4:15 p.m.
DRESS CODE & UNIFORM EXPECTATIONS
Grades K-8
Uniforms must meet the requirements of the policy in terms of color and style. Students may not change out of uniform before dismissal. The school uniform consists of the following:
Uniform Pants/Skirts
- Regular ankle length khaki pants must be worn.
- Drawstrings are not allowed. Pants are to be worn at the waistline.
- Shorts must be khaki in color and within two inches of the knee.
- Skirts must be khaki in color and within two inches of the knee.
- Pants/Shorts with cuts or tears are not allowed.
- Scholars must wear a solid color black/brown belt with pants/skirts/shorts that have belt loops.
Uniform Shirt
- Short sleeve polo shirts with a collar in one of the following colors:
- Kindergarten – Second: Gold
- Third – Fifth: Green or White-Button Down
- Sixth – Eighth: Purple or White-Button Down
- Shirts must be tucked inside pants/shorts/skirts.
- Black, white, or grey long sleeves are allowed during cold weather under school polos.
- Undershirts must be black, white, or grey.
- Sweaters/Sweatshirts
- A KIPP sweater or sweatshirt may be worn in buildings during the cold weather.
- Non-school sweaters/sweatshirts will not be allowed in buildings.
- No hoods are allowed to be worn inside buildings.
Shoes
- Sneakers are allowed in any colors.
- Footwear that can be considered a safety hazard to the student or students in general (e.g. flip-flops, “tongs”, slides, shoes/sneakers that have laces that are neither tied nor tucked in) are not allowed
Tights/Leggings
- White and/or black.
- Tights/leggings must be plain, with no design, stripes or logos.
Accessories
- Earrings no larger than a quarter for girls; boys may wear stud earrings only.
- Watch and one bracelet.
- One necklace (should be tucked into their shirt).
- No baseball caps, head scarves, or sleep caps (bonnets)
- MESH BACKPACKS ALLOWED.
ACADEMICS
Grading System
Ernest N. Dutch Morial School issues report cards on a quarterly basis. The grading scale is based on the students’ mastery of grade level content standards.
Grades:
A = 90-100% = Student is exhibiting mastery in that subject matter
B = 80-89% = Student is performing above average in that subject matter
C = 70-79% = Student is working on a basic level in that subject matter
D = 60-69% = Student is working below basic in that subject matter
F = Below 59% = Student is not meeting requirements in that subject matter
Progress reports
Parents will receive regular academic progress reports from the school include all current grades in all classes. The progress report is not part of the student’s formal academic record. Rather, it is an opportunity to communicate with parents or guardians how their child is doing at that specific moment in the marking period. A parent or guardian whose child is failing a course should schedule to meet with the teacher of that course to establish plans for the student to raise the grade.
Special Education
The Special Education Program of Ernest N. Dutch Morial School provides students with the tools and skills necessary to become individuals equipped with strong character and values. Students with identified physical, emotional, learning, or developmental exceptionalities have the right to placement in the least restrictive environment, and may receive special education services according to a written Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Within both contexts of small group and individual instruction, the students of Ernest N. Dutch Morial School’s Special Education Program receive high quality instruction and support on a weekly basis from highly trained service providers and instructors.
Students who received special education services at their previous school will receive services at Ernest N. Dutch Morial School as aligned with the content of their current IEP, unless the IEP annual meeting date has lapsed. In this event, our school’s IEP team will reconvene a new IEP goal-setting meeting to determine what support is now needed for the student. If your student has previously received special education services or has been given a Section 504 plan, please make sure to immediately notify our Special Education Coordinator. If you believe that your child may be eligible for special education services, please notify the office as soon as possible in writing.
HOMEWORK POLICY
At Ernest N. Dutch Morial School we believe homework is a useful tool when practice regularly and given feedback. Homework is assigned on a nightly basis and is due the next day unless indicated by a different date on the homework assignment. Teachers check homework each morning at the beginning of homeroom and post deductions on paychecks for homework not turned in or completed. Please note that homework is considered incomplete is all questions have not been answered. In addition to complete and incomplete, homework may also be deemed “does not meet academic excellence” if it does not follow all directions and teacher expectation. Each assignment comes with clear instructions – if your child has any confusion, they are able to call their teachers to ask for clarification. The teacher’s work number is on the bottom of each homework assignment. Lastly, each student has a planner they are given to track their homework – we ask parents to please check to make sure your child has their tracker, is taking down their homework, and sign it nightly.
CELL PHONE POLICY
The purpose of Ernest N. Dutch Morial School’s cell phone policy is to ensure that all scholars are able to fully focus their attention on their learning while at school. I will ensure that my child complies with the cell phone policy in the following ways:
All scholars must place their phone in a pouch with their name on it, and turn their cell phones in to appropriate bin upon arrival at school. After which cell phones will be secured in a locked room in the administration building.
At the end of the school day scholars will line up at the cell phone bins and staff member on duty will return their phone to them. If the phone was turned in without a pouch, a parent must pick it up.
Consequences
1st offense: If a scholar does not turn in a cell phone at the beginning of the day and it is found by a teacher, the child will receive a Tuesday/Thursday reflection and the cell phone will be confiscated and returned only to a parent or guardian that picks them up.
2nd offense: cholars will be issued a the child will receive a Tuesday/Thurday reflection and the phone will be returned to the parent at the completion of the detention
3rd offense: Scholars who do not follow cell phone policy will not be allowed to bring their cell phone to school. If the phone is brought back to school, scholars will lose all Team and Family events and End of Year Trip.
We are NOT responsible for cell phones that have not been properly checked into the office. In addition, we are NOT responsible for scholars who have a phone at school without a signed cell phone policy on file. Please fill out and return the cell phone contract. If you have questions or comments please contact the school at 504-609-228
K-5 BEHAVIOR SYSTEM AND LADDER OF INTERVENTIONS
Our discipline systems and classroom management systems are common across grade-levels at Morial K-5. This consistency will help our scholars internalize the high expectations we set for them. Classroom distractions will be addressed appropriately, and we will always expect 100% to meet expectations, while respecting the dignity of all scholars regardless of their behavior. We teach using the no non-sense nurturing 4-step method to ensure we remain consistent in our management and continue to hold our scholars to high expectations. Beyond the 4 steps of No Nonsense Nurturing, we recognize the importance of keeping our instruction and management and discipline practices positive with the techniques of positive framing and positive pacing/rhythm. The more proactively positive we are and infuse JOY into our instruction, the less reactive discipline techniques we will need to use. The system is founded on the shared school rules/mantra of “Work hard. Be kind. Be proud. Brighten the world.” Each day, scholars receive a certain number of stars or dollars that reflect their behavior choices aligned to these rules and tied to positive rewards and recognition.
Classroom System for each class (K-3) – publicly tracked with clis (resets after lunch for K/1)
|
Value |
Infraction Number |
Intervention |
|---|---|---|
|
4 |
None |
This scholar is considered to have gone above and beyond the set expectations. |
|
3 |
None |
This scholar needed no reminders or warnings or just one reminder/warning throughout the class. |
|
2 |
First |
Star Loss + Logical Intervention (reminder, repeat directions, private conversation, etc.) |
|
1 |
Second |
Star Loss + Restorative Intervention (move seat, reflection, parent phone call, in-class cool down, etc.) |
|
0 |
Third |
Call Home and Buddy Classroom |
|
Value |
Infraction Number |
Intervention |
|
4 |
None |
This scholar is considered to have gone above and beyond the set expectations. |
|
3 |
None |
This scholar needed no reminders or warnings or just one reminder/warning throughout the class. |
|
2 |
First (after initial reminder) |
Dollar Loss + Logical Intervention (reminder, repeat directions, private conversation, etc.) |
|
1 |
Second |
Dollar Loss + Restorative Intervention (move seat, reflection, parent phone call, in-class cool down, etc.) |
|
0 |
Third |
Lunch or after-school intervention assigned |
|
Other |
Verbal/physical aggression |
Admin referral |
LADDER OF INTERVENTIONS
Our job is to create a safe, joyful, healthy, and academically rigorous learning environment for our scholars. We are intentional in our development of our social-emotional skills and moral values and consistently explicit with our expectations. But we recognize that scholars will make mistakes, sometimes big ones, and will break the rules. While we always hold scholars accountable for their actions, we also ALWAYS seek to understand a scholar’s actions and follow up every measure of accountability with a genuine and positively framed restorative conversation that let’s our scholars know we believe in them and will never give up on them, but will continue to hold them to the highest of expectations. Scholars need to be aware of the LOGICAL consequences and interventions for their actions and consistently held accountable for their choices. In order to ensure a safe and productive learning environment for all of our scholars, we will adhere to the following ladder of interventions.
Behaviors:
- Not following directions
- Talking out of turn
- Inappropriate words to teammates
- Minor disruptions
In-Class Interventions:
- Repeat directions
- Private check-in
- Change seat
- Reflection space
- Behavior interventionist push-in
- Individual early-stage interventions
- Planned discussion
- Goal-setting
- Data collection and debrief
- Academic assessments
Behaviors:
- Repeated defiance
- Emerging disrespect
- Refusing to do work
- Not following directions in common spaces (lunch and recess)
Beyond Class Interventions:
- Phone call home
- Buddy classroom intervention
- Lunch intervention
- Recess intervention
- After-school intervention
- Parent conference
- Parent “sit-in”
- Parent “pop-up”
Behaviors:
- Fighting/aggressive behavior (throwing, pushing, shoving with intent to harm)
- Bullying, threatening
- Property damage/vandalism
- Walking out of the classroom
- Severe/pattern of disrespect
Admin Interventions:
- Pull-out to reflection room
- Complete restorative reflection
- Complete “Make it Right” assignment
- Restorative circle
- In-school suspension
Behaviors:
- Physically harming a teammate or teacher
- Leaving the building without permission
- Broken restorative circle agreement
Out of School Interventions:
- Out-of-school suspension
- Return to school restorative meeting
SIXTH – EIGHTH GRADE SCHOOL-WIDE BEHAVIOR SYSTEM
PAYCHECK SYSTEM OVERVIEW
Creating a Consistent School Culture
Clear, fair, and consistent feedback is at the core of our Paycheck System. Without consistency, discipline is unjust. One of the single most important elements of discipline from a moral, political, and just perspective is that it strives to be consistent and applied equally. In addition, when scholars exhibit positive behaviors, they should be consistently acknowledged and commended. The paycheck system is a way of tracking and recording both positive and negative scholar behaviors, as well as reinforcing the behavioral expectations that will be required of scholars when they one day enter the working world. goal is for scholars to learn the habits by which the professional world operates, by teaching them the soft-skills they need to gain access to important fields.
The Paycheck Week
A “Paycheck Week” runs from Wednesday until Wednesday
Attendance
Attendance forms the basis for the paycheck system. Each scholar is awarded $80 at the beginning of the week. If they are absent, they earn a $10 deduction for that day. The following is a table of attendance related deductions:
Infraction Deduction
- Absent -10 (will not be deducted for excused absence)
- Late to School -5
- Early Dismissal -5
All attendance deductions are logged in Kickboard by Operations. Because of our school’s dependence on this system to maintain order, it is imperative that all teachers enter attendance in Kickboard no later than 7:30 a.m. every day.
SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND ATHLETICS
Morial believes that school is a place for children to grow and develop holistically as people. Therefore children must be exposed to those things that give life beauty - whether that is a well written novel, a deep understanding of their history, the technique and meaning of art, the nuance in a well-played brass band, the rhythm of an ancestral dance, the commanding presence of a well-done soliloquy, or the amazing stride of the track athlete. Through the arts and athletics we seek to empower children to lead lives of their choosing and to create meaningful products of beauty.
In order to facilitate children's development in the arts and athletics, we believe that it is essential early on in their education to expose children to all of the different outlets they have available. As such, the children in our primary grades experience each of our class offerings every several weeks. This allows children to begin to formulate a love for the arts and athletics, while teachers are able to instill the basic foundations that are critical to their craft.
As children move to upper primary, we begin to hone in on the art of their choosing while continuing to develop their athletic acumen. This begins the process of specializing the course that will bring a child the greatest amount of joy and fulfillment at the highest level of possible performance of their craft.
By middle school, children have the basic foundations and experiences to be able to choose an arts or athletic course that suits their personalities and skills. In middle school, children then specialize in this particular craft.
After School Activities/Teams/Clubs Include, but not limited to:
- Football
- Basketball
- Soccer
- Volleyball
- Baseball
- Track
- Dance Team
- Cheerleading
- Brass Band
- Youth Run NOLA
- Majorettes
- Flag Twirlers
POLICY ON BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS AND FOOD
Food
Breakfast and lunch will be provided daily to scholars. If scholars choose to eat breakfast at home, it must be completed at home. They will not be allowed to bring their personal breakfast into the school building, and food is not allowed on the bus.
Your child will be given this breakfast or lunch unless s/he brings lunch from home or we receive specific dietary restrictions from a parent or doctor.
In addition to breakfast and lunch, scholars will receive an afternoon snack on all full length school days with a 3:45 p.m.dismissal.
Eating healthy is important to maximizing learning time and maintaining energy throughout the day. Chips/cold drinks/sports drinks/noodles/candy are not permitted on campus. If scholars bring these items on campus, they will be confiscated and not returned. If this affects their meal for breakfast or lunch, scholars will be given a school meal.
Unless a note from a doctor indicates specific dietary restrictions, scholars are unable to microwave or heat up food at school. If food that needs to be heated up is brought to school, scholars will be given a school meal.
Please inform the school if your child has any food allergies.
Birthday Celebrations
Ernest “Dutch” Morial recognizes that birthday celebrations are often a valued opportunity for families to be involved at school. Birthday celebrations are allowed at Morial as long as date/time are approved in advance by teachers. Learning is our first priority, so we ask that families honor approved times for celebrations. A healthy diet is important in children’s development, so we ask families to keep this in mind in choosing any food items.