Policies

View the Evergreen Elementary School Handbook

As a parent, help your child develop a sense of responsibility and good habits by arriving at school on time. Adult supervision does not begin until 8:15 a.m. so students should arrive to school no earlier than 8:15 a.m. Upon arriving at school, students should walk to their classroom line and wait for their teacher to lead them to their classroom. Students need to be either in their classroom line or in their classroom by 8:30 a.m. to be considered on time. Students who arrive beyond 8:30 a.m. are considered tardy and should report to the office to receive a tardy slip. For every five tardies a student receives, the student will lose one morning recess.

A student’s absence from school or tardiness must be verified by the parent/guardian with a written note or a telephone call. It is preferred that you call the day of the absence. Education Code section 48260 states that any pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or to compulsory continuation who is absent from school without a valid excuse more than three days or tardy in excess of 30 minutes on each of more than three days in one school year is truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor.

Valid excuses for absence from school are:

• illness (a doctor’s note is required after three days)
• quarantine as directed by a health officer
• appointments for medical services
• attendance of funeral services of immediate family member so long as the absence is not more than one day if the service is conducted in California and not more than three days if the service is conducted outside California.

A pupil absent from school under this section shall be allowed to complete all assignments and tests missed during the absence that can be reasonably provided and, upon satisfactory completion within a reasonable period of time, shall be given full credit. The teacher of the class from which a pupil is absent with excuse shall determine which tests and assignments shall be reasonably equivalent to, but not necessarily identical to, the tests and assignments that the pupil missed during the absence.

All other absences are considered unexcused and therefore truant. Family travel that exceeds 10 days will result in the student being dropped from the attendance rolls. Reinstatement into the class and school is contingent upon available space. Three proofs of residence will be required when you return in order to re-enroll your child. Homework and tests are to be made up at the discretion of the individual teacher.

Throughout the school year, your child will have the opportunity to attend field trips. Teachers will be sending specific information regarding the field trip their class will attend. Siblings are not permitted to accompany chaperones. In order for a child to attend a field trip, they will need to turn in a signed field trip permission slip. If a signed permission slip is not turned into their teacher, they will not be able to attend the field trip. Verbal permission or e-mail permission will not be accepted.

When it is necessary for a student to leave prior to the end of the school day, the student must be checked out at the office front counter. The person checking out the student must be listed in the student’s Parent Portal Account. Please be sure all daycare persons are listed. It is critical that the information in Parent Portal is kept current. If a student is picked up late the person picking up the child must be an adult and listed on their online account.

If it is necessary for a student to have a cell phone (including phone watches), it must remain off and in their backpack during school hours. The school is not responsible for lost or stolen cell phones. A telephone is available for student use in the office. For the safety and protection of our students, we encourage ALL students to know at least one telephone number of an adult listed on their emergency contacts.

During school hours, NO student is permitted to leave the school grounds without written permission and checking out with the office. Please come to the office to sign out your child for any appointments during the day. All campus visitors are required to sign in and out at the office, and wear a badge while on campus. When volunteering on campus, please be respectful of the teachers’ time in the staff room by not using it as a short cut or being in the staff room during recess and lunch times. Children are not allowed in the staff room at any time. This includes before, during and after school hours. Remember not to use your cell phone when volunteering in the classroom and leave the phone on vibrate so it does not disturb the class.

For the safety of our students, adults are not allowed in the lunchroom or in any student bathroom. A restroom available for adult use is located in the office.

To protect the privacy rights of our students, at no time should pictures or video of children, except your own, be taken or posted to any web site or social media without the permission from the child's parent or legal guardian.

At the beginning of the school year, you are invited to our annual Back to School Night. Back to School Night is an opportunity for the parents and guardians to meet their child’s teacher and learn what is expected of their child during the upcoming school year. Back to School Night is an adult only event. We request you make the necessary arrangements to keep your child at home. The playground should not be used as a babysitter.

During the spring, you are invited to our annual Open House Night. Students are STRONGLY encouraged to attend. During Open House, we open our doors for you to be amazed by the incredible work your child has done over the school year.

Food items or balloons WILL NOT be allowed for celebrations in the classroom. No celebrations involving food or drink will be permitted. If parents wish to recognize their child’s birthday at school they may provide decorative pencils, bookmarks, erasers, or stickers. You also have the choice of donating a book directly to the classroom. Talk to your child’s teacher about what book might help the classroom collection. Teachers may elect to honor students as they see fit by giving special recognition, singing of songs, special classroom duties, etc. In addition, birthday party invitations need to be handed out outside of school hours.

Rolling backpacks are no longer allowed at Evergreen School. 

At the end of each October, Evergreen Elementary School may host a Halloween Parade for all students. Students are encouraged, but not required to dress up for the parade. The following guidelines should be followed when choosing a Halloween costume:

• Halloween costumes must be appropriate for an elementary school student.In other words, no gory costumes.
• NO weapons
• NO fake blood
• NO face make-up
• NO hair color
• NO props
• NO masks either regular masks or gory masks

Parents and families are welcome to view the parade behind the boundaries. Costumes should be large enough to be worn over their regular clothes. If taking pictures of your child, please remember the photo policy of Evergreen School. Other important grade level information is given to families in the weeks leading up to the parade.

Lunch Drop Off Policy

Student lunches from home should either be brought with them to school or dropped off outside the office no later than fifteen minutes prior to their lunchtime.

Lunchtime Expectations

1. Enter and exit the Eagle's Nest in an orderly fashion.
2. All students must remain seated during lunch and must request permission to leave their table.
3. Food should be eaten in a polite and courteous way.
4. Students should speak in a quiet voice.
5. When the whistle is blown, students are expected to be quiet immediately.
6. When finished with your lunch, put trash in the garbage can, recycle fruit and vegetable scraps in the appropriate container, pour milk in receptacle, and stack trays.
7. Tables and surrounding area are to be left free of food and trash.

Student will be dismissed by the noon supervisors and should walk to the playground.

Evergreen Elementary School students agree to:

Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful.

Possible consequences for students who choose to disregard school expectations:

• Classroom consequence
• Think Sheet
• Exclusion from special events or activities
• Principal, student, parent, teacher conference
• In-school suspension
• Out of school suspension

At Evergreen Elementary School we assume that the business at hand is education, and as such students should be modestly dressed. We ask parents to monitor student attire. Students are expected to wear clothing that is appropriate for school. Students are encouraged to express themselves individually and artistically though their clothing as long as it remains appropriate for an academic environment.

Clothing inappropriate to an academic environment is defined as clothing which disrupts the educational process, poses a health or safety threat, contains prohibited imagery or language (see below), or is intended as a means of sexual expression. To facilitate an academic environment, the following clothing standards will apply to students of all genders:

• Tops should completely cover the abdomen and upper body without revealing the upper chest.
• Bottoms should be no shorter than mid-thigh
• Undergarments should never be showing.
• All clothing should be free of references to alcohol, drugs, sex, violence, and graphic/derogatory pictures or language.
• Closed toe shoes for safety.

Provisions will be made to find the student appropriate clothing for the remainder of the day on a case by case basis. This may include asking the student to change into an appropriate article of clothing they own, asking the student to cover the offending item with another article of clothing, or (in the case of offensive language or graphics) asking the student to turn the article of clothing inside out. If no alternate provisions can be found, the student’s parent(s) or guardian may be contacted to provide them with an appropriate article of clothing.

1. Walk on the blacktop. Run on the grass only.
2. Freeze and stand-up at the bell.
3. Count to 100 for the swings. Count backs are fine.
4. Sitting down at the picnic tables with snack.
5. Finish work at the picnic tables.
6. Only cross the yellow line for drinks and bathrooms.
7. Get drinks and use restrooms before the bell rings.
8. Go down the slide only.
9. Tag on the grass only. No tag on the equipment.
10. Use monkey bars correctly. Don't walk or sit on top of the monkey bars.
11. Use the worm correctly. Don't sit on the top.
12. Go across monkey bars away from the school.
13. Share the basketball courts.
14. No headstands. No back-flips. Only basic gymnastics.
15. No playing in the bathrooms.
16. No screaming while playing.
17. Hold the ball after the bell.
18. Keep your hands and feet to yourself.
19. Share your friends, not your food.
20. Be kind and have fun.

If you have a question about your child’s class, please contact your child’s teacher first. He/she is most likely to be acquainted with the situation and possible ways of handling it.

If an acceptable solution cannot be reached, the teacher or parent may contact the principal to arrange a time when the situation can be presented and other solutions offered.

Please do not hesitate to go to your child’s teacher. The teacher may be having the same concerns and a discussion may help to clear up any questions.

We conduct a fire drill once a month. Periodically, students practice evacuating the school building in the event of an earthquake and practice run, hide, defend drill procedures. Students cannot be released or checked in during the time of a drill.

Evergreen School students learn to take pride in their environment by helping to maintain the grounds and keeping it free of debris. Students, staff and visitors are asked to help maintain our clean campus by utilizing the trashcans placed throughout the campus. In order to maintain our school property and cleanliness on campus, gum chewing is not allowed.

Parents and community members are welcomed and encouraged to actively participate in their child’s educational process at Evergreen School. Opportunities for involvement include helping the classroom teacher within the classroom, as a field trip chaperone, a Project Cornerstone reader and many other possibilities.

The following Evergreen School District policies are provided to you to increase your awareness of what is and is not tolerated at any Evergreen School District campus. Policies in their entirety will be distributed at the beginning of the school year and can be requested from the school office.

Student Use of Technology - B.P. 6163.4

The Governing Board recognizes that technology provides ways to access the most current and extensive sources of information. Technology enables students to practice skills and to develop reasoning and problem-solving abilities. Every effort shall be made to provide equal access to technology throughout the district’s schools and classes. Students are responsible for adhering to Evergreen School District’s Acceptable Use Agreement.

Non-Discrimination - B.P. 5145.3

District programs and activities shall be free from discrimination, including harassment, with respect to the actual or perceived ethnic group, religion, gender, color, race, ancestry, national origin, and physical or mental disability, age or sexual orientation. The Governing Board shall ensure equal opportunities for all students in admission and access to the educational program, guidance, and counseling programs, athletic programs, testing procedures, and other activities.

Sexual Harassment - B.P. 5145.7

The Governing Board is committed to maintaining a school environment that is free from harassment. The Board prohibits sexual harassment of any student by another student, an employee or other person, at school or at a school-sponsored or school-related activity. The Board also prohibits retaliatory behavior or action against any person who complains, testifies, assists or otherwise participates in the complaint process established in accordance with this policy. Any student who engages in sexual harassment of anyone at school or at a school-sponsored or school-related activity is in violation of this policy and shall be subject to disciplinary action.

Uniform Complaint Procedure - B.P. 1312.4

The Board recognizes that the district has primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with state and federal laws and regulations governing education. The district shall investigate and seek to resolve complaints at the local level. The district shall follow uniform procedures when addressing civil rights guarantees, complaints alleging unlawful discrimination or gender equity issues, or failure to comply with state or federal law in programs for consolidated categorical aid, Indian education, migrant education, child nutrition, special education, adult education, career/vocation education, and child development. The Board prohibits retaliation in any form for the filing of a complaint, the reporting of instances of discrimination, or for participation in complaint procedures. Such participation shall not in any way affect the status, grades, or work assignments of the complainant. The Board acknowledges and respects employee rights to privacy. Discrimination complaints shall be investigated in a manner that protects the confidentiality of the parties and the facts. This includes keeping the identity of the complainant confidential except to the extent necessary to carry out the investigation or proceedings, as determined by the Superintendent or designee on a case-by-case basis. The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that employees designated to investigate complaints are knowledgeable about the laws and programs for which they are responsible.

Tobacco-Free Environment - B.P. 4016.1 and 5131.62

Documentation and research has demonstrated the health hazards associated with the use of tobacco products and the breathing of second-hand smoke. Further, a legislative mandate requires the district to alleviate the presence and use of tobacco products in the educational environment. The Governing Board intends to maintain tobacco and smoke-free school facilities, grounds, offices, work areas, and district vehicles for all of its students, employees, parents, volunteers, and visitors.

Williams Uniform Complaint Procedures - B.P. 3212.4 W

The Board recognizes that the district has primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with state and federal laws and regulations governing education. The district shall investigate and seek to resolve complaints at the local level. The district shall follow uniform procedures when addressing complaints regarding Instructional Materials, Teacher Vacancy/Mis-assignment and Facilities conditions which pose an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of students and/or staff.

Protection of Pupil Rights

The district has adopted policies, in consultation with parents, regarding student and parent rights as well as arrangements to protect the privacy in the administration of protected information surveys and the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information for marketing, sales or other distribution purposes. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act gives parents certain rights with respect to their child’s educational records. More information is available in the school office.