Chrysalis
– a community of kindness, respect, and love of learning, encouraging the
light within each student to shine brighter.
Chrysalis Parent-Student Handbook
2009-2010
Chrysalis’s intent is to
create a school that inspires students to soar higher in more ways than we, as a
culture, expect from our schools. We express this metaphorically as “taking
the ceiling off our school so students can soar higher”. However, we have also
learned that we need to maintain a floor beneath which students do not drop.
This means there are certain expectations that students and families need to
meet if they wish to remain part of Chrysalis.
The four basic expectations
are:
Students will maintain a 95%
attendance.
Students will complete at
least 90% of their assignments.
Students will behave in a
way that does not disrupt the school’s environment of learning and respect.
Parents will provide at
least 40 hours of community service per year.
Student
expectations
95% Attendance
A condition of enrollment at
Chrysalis is that a student maintains a 95% or higher attendance record (which
is 9 days of absence each year) – unless there are extenuating circumstances
as determined by either the teacher of record or the Chrysalis Council. Examples
of extenuating circumstances would be a prolonged illness as documented by a
letter from a doctor or a disruptive emergency within the family. This
attendance expectation includes punctuality; excessive tardies are also cause
for non-renewal of a family's contract.
Non-classroom
Attendance
Chrysalis believes family
involvement is very important to a child’s education. We will try to
accommodate any parental need as long as we believe there is educational
validity to it. An example is creating independent study contracts for family
vacations. The following procedures spell out the conditions within which we
will support short-term independent study.
Chrysalis will initiate the
referral process to the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) whenever we feel
one of our students is missing school for reasons we can’t support.
90% Assignment
Completion Policy
It is not Chrysalis’s
intent to fill all of a child’s free time with school assignments. We believe
children need time independent of school, exploring other aspects of their
existence. However, it is also Chrysalis’s intent to maximize the quality of
our teachers’ time with our students. Certain activities such as writing
drafts of essays, reading literature prior to a class, practicing mathematical
procedures are important parts of a student’s learning that should be done
independent of the teacher. Students who haven’t completed this work prior to
the next class retard the momentum of that class. Therefore, a condition of
enrollment is that students will complete at least 90% of all homework
assignments each month. Before a student is dropped from our program, there will
be opportunities to make sure the assignments are appropriate to the student’s
ability and to adjust schedules so the student has opportunities to work on
assignments while at school. Though we will help, it is the family’s
responsibility to make sure a child completes their homework and brings it to
school on the day it is due.
Appropriate Behavior
Chrysalis encourages
responsible behavior by giving more freedom and responsibility to students who
demonstrate responsibility. Occasionally a student or parent will complain that
because of this, not all the students are being treated the same. That’s true,
we reply. This is the way the real world works. Demonstrated responsibility
earns trust privileges.
We strive to give students
immediate feedback on behavior that is either wonderfully helpful or that we
consider inappropriate. These practices help create a culture of responsible
students. Unfortunately, this is sometimes not adequate. Chrysalis has adopted
the following procedures for dealing with continued inappropriate behavior.
Some of the behaviors that
might lead to a letter and conference are:
Physical
violence or the threat of violence –
This includes punching or threatening to punch, kicking, headlocks throwing
things at others, tripping. Some kids call this “playing around” or “just
messing” with someone. We don’t. The three letter procedure described above
can be shortened to just the Second or even the First Contact Letter if a
child’s behavior threatens the safety of other children.
Put-downs,
teasing, and foul language/gestures
– Included in this category is disrespectful language, action, and attitude
towards the school and the teachers. These behaviors create a barrier to letting
one’s light shine, to trying new things and being oneself. Therefore, we give
abundant feedback to students to help them grow beyond this form of interacting
with others. But at a certain point, we will let a student go rather than
continue with everyone else’s lights dimmed.
An
anti-school coolness – Chrysalis is
proudly intellectual. Kids at Chrysalis delight in using their minds to make
their lives more interesting. Thinking is cool. Unfortunately, some kids try out
an attitude that it’s cool to not participate and not get excited about
learning. This can poison a class.
Damaging
or Destroying School Property – We
want kids to have ready access to the equipment needed for learning. We try to
give kids easy access to good equipment. If somebody shoots all the staples in a
stapler or breaks pencils for the fun of it, this impacts all the kids using
that equipment and undermines our confidence in giving our students access
privileges. Such behavior also creates a slouchy atmosphere of taking that keeps
that student from achieving their best.
Any student bringing a weapon,
alcohol, or illegal drugs to school will, depending on the circumstances, be
reported to the police and expelled from Chrysalis.
Some Other School
Rules
The following are some
school rules we’ve developed over the year to keep our energy centered on the
noble work at hand.
Physical
Displays of Affection: We do not allow
hand-holding, kissing, or other physical displays of affection between boys and
girls. Such behavior pulls class energy into “drama”. Because of the close
nature of our community, we do allow friendly greeting and farewell hugs.
Games
and toys from home: Please do not
bring games or toys from home unless you have received permission in advance
from the teacher. Such toys often create distracting energy. If the toy is in
any way damaged by another student, that creates a huge swirl of energy that can
consume attention for the rest of the day.
This rule includes gameboys
and other handheld electronic games. We want students to interact with each
other and the opportunities at school, not play the games they can play at home.
Cell
phones are to be turned off and out of
sight during the school day. If you need to talk to your child, please call on
the school phone.
Chrysalis reserves the
prerogative to take possession of personal games, toys, and cell phones being
used at school until a parent or guardian claims them.
For the sake of our carpets,
eating and drinking will be restricted to certain areas of the school.
Acceptable
Use of Computers
We support student use of
computers to research appropriate topics, edit video, create art, write papers,
using school tools such as Accelerated Reader, analyze data, layout yearbook
pages. We do not want students using the computers in a way that will (a) harm
the computers (such as unwittingly downloading viruses) or (b) distract from
Chrysalis’s learning environment. Examples of unacceptable uses are:
Downloading
files (including songs).
Sending
emails or instant messaging.
Going
to game sites and playing games.
Going
to offensive sites.
Going
to sites that have an audio component that will distract other students.
If a student wants to check
out a site that might be questionable, it is the responsibility of the student
to first ask permission.
Any student using school
computers for an unacceptable use can, on the first time, lose their access
privileges for the rest of the school year.
Students should not eat or
drink near the computers nor switch the cables or move the computers.
Dress
Code
Our dress code is focused on
appropriate appearance and appropriate function for a school that goes out in
the field regularly and unpredictably. Flip-flops, high heels and bedroom
slippers should not be worn. Sandals should have a strap across the heel.
Closed toe shoes like athletic shoes should be worn for field studies and
is the recommended shoe for everyday wear. Wheelies
are not to be worn.
Cotton sweatshirts with
hoods are not appropriate rain gear. There needs to be a waterproof layer on the
outside.
In terms of appropriate
appearance, there will be no clothing worn that is gang affiliated; is
“see-through”; has “spaghetti” straps; exposes the midriff; is shorter
than where fingertips touch the thigh; is sleepware; has profanity, vulgarity,
nudity, put-downs, insulting messages, or offensive pictures or language;
promotes violence; advertises drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes. We acknowledge that
not all inappropriate clothing can be addressed here and therefore give
discretion to individual teachers to determine the appropriateness of a
particular outfit for our school setting.
Parent
Expectations
40 Hour Parent
Service Requirement
Families are required to
provide 40 hours of adult service throughout the year. Families with more than
one child in Chrysalis only need to do 40 hours. This can take many forms from
being a classroom aide to helping on field trips to doing maintenance work to
helping with fundraising to serving on governing boards. Chrysalis will make an
effort to create service opportunities during non-school hours for working
families.
The
following are some possible contributions.
Classroom
assistance
Classroom
and reading aides
Playground
supervision
Teaching
something you are good at. Examples: cooking, gardening, knitting, drawing,
geo-caching, sharing great literature
Lunch-time
supervision
Non-classroom
assistance
Publishing
the school’s newsletter
Mail
person – pick up mail at post office and county office and take to Virginia,
sort out junk mail, pick up school mail and deliver
Projects
manager – help organize special events such as our camping trips, graduation,
float trip, snacks for STAR tests, etc.
Book
Club – organize orders of Scholastic Book Club.
Community
Coordinator – Create opportunities to strengthen our community: potlucks,
dances, welcoming committee for new families, rosters so people learn each other
Volunteer
committee – keep track of volunteer hours, support other volunteers, sign up
and train people,
Receptionist
– route incoming calls, take messages,
Special
Events Scout – Scout out upcoming and outlying possibilities
Web
site link coordinator – Take incoming suggestions and organize a school’s
neat list of links.
Alumni-coordinator
– semi annual newsletter, list of current addresses,
Gopher
– do daily errands for teachers
Building
maintenance – plumbing, etc.
Pre-cleaning
– help with end of school clean-up
Fundraising
Team – Be on the lookout for and develop opportunities for raising funds.
Parents are an essential
part of our governance. Two parents serve on our nonprofit’s Board of
Directors and four parent representative serve on the Chrysalis Council. Talk to
a teacher for more information if you are interested in being part of the
school’s governance.
Parents at School
Chrysalis strives to be a
helpful ally as you raise your children. We welcome parental involvement and
participation. In fact, many of the special things we do such as camping trips,
small group instruction, and many field trips are possible only because of
parents. Many parents become good friends with one another. That is great –
but please don’t engage in these wonderful conversations within the classroom.
Either go outside or focus on the students and save the conversations for a more
appropriate time – such as during snack and lunch.
We also welcome preschoolers
for three reasons. (1) Many parents of young families can not serve in the
school unless their younger children can be with them. (2) It’s good for our
students to be around and care for younger students. (3) Many of these
preschoolers will become Chrysalis students and these years of “informal
attendance” are wonderful preparation.
However, preschoolers can
damage, disorganize and lose school materials and supplies. Therefore, a
parent’s first responsibility is to monitor their preschooler and pick up and
re-organize after them. If your child’s behavior is a distraction to the
class, please take him/her outside of the learning area.
Parent Code of
Ethics
Members of the Chrysalis
family must maintain high standards of behavior during school activities. These
standards apply to interactions between adults and children and between
participating adults. We are all responsible as role models to our children. Our
goal is to maintain a safe and productive learning environment for all Chrysalis
students.
Prohibited
Behavior
The use of physical or
verbal aggression toward any child or adult, including profanity or abusive
language. This includes physically disciplining your child in front of others.
Driving under the influence
of drugs or alcohol with children in or near your vehicle.
Talking negatively about the
school or a teacher while at school in a way that others have to hear.
Violations of these
standards may result in a discipline hearing before the Chrysalis Council.
Confidentiality
You may be privileged to
information involving a child, teacher, parent of family. Please use discretion
and avoid gossip. We often forget that there may be children in the room. (This
is especially true when we’re on the phone.) Issues with learning or
discipline should be relayed to the parent by a Chrysalis teacher, not by
another parent.
If a problem with a teacher
arises, please discuss it with the teacher or administrator. Avoid discussing
the matter with others or in front of children
Problems between parents
need to be solved privately. In the event of an impasse, a teacher may assist in
dialog.
Let
common sense prevail!
No alcohol or illegal drugs
on Chrysalis trips or camp-outs.
No smoking.
Respect the many and varied
religious ideals represented in our community.
Discipline should be
positive and constructive.
Please remember to remove
firearms from your vehicle before driving on a Chrysalis trip.
If an incident occurs
involving any Chrysalis community members and you are contacted by the press,
please refer them to the school administration.
Conflict Resolution
Chrysalis has developed
specified procedures for resolving significant conflict. If a parent has a
conflict with a teacher, the first step is to talk with the teacher as soon as
possible before the conflict becomes significant. We teachers try to model
openness to feedback; that is how we get better so please don’t feel that you
are out of line to share concerns with a teacher.
If that does not resolve
your concerns, then meet with an administrator.
If that still does not
resolve the conflict, then the third step is to take the matter to the Chrysalis
Council which meets monthly. The council’s resolution of the issue is final.
Be aware that you have a parent representative on the council whose job is to
help the school stay in touch with parents’ concerns. Therefore, feel free to
talk with your representative at any point. But the first step is definitely
talk to the teacher. 90% of concerns are due to misinterpretations; checking the
source before things fester can be very healing.
If you have a conflict with
an administrator, the first step is to talk with the administrator or, if you
are not comfortable with that, talk with your child’s teacher about the
conflict.
If that does not resolve the
conflict, the second step would be to have a meeting with that administrator
with your child’s teacher present.
If that does not resolve the
conflict, the third step is to bring the issue up at a weekly teachers’
meeting. They will determine a final resolution through majority vote.
The state also has a
complaint procedure if you believe there are not sufficient textbooks or
instructional materials, if school facilities are not clean, safe, or in good
repair; or if there are teacher vacancies or poor assignments. The state’s
complaint form can be obtained from the office or at www.cde.ca.gov/eo/ce/wc/index.asp