SOLENG TOM FAMILY HANDBOOK

Dear Soleng Tom Families,

I am pleased to welcome students, families, and staff to the 2020-2021 school year! We find ourselves having to deal with an unfamiliar event no one ever expected. Please know that the faculty and staff at Soleng Tom are committed to providing the best learning opportunities for great success for our students under these circumstances. We are looking forward to the day we can all meet face to face and be able engage with our new students and their families and certainly welcome back our returning students and their families.

At Soleng Tom student success is the goal of every staff member from our wonderful teachers to our support staff. Our efforts and dedication to high quality teaching, whether in person or remotely, ensures every student will learn to their fullest potential. Under the current challenges we are facing I ask for your patience, flexibility and understanding as we make every effort to provide your child with a great learning experience while maintaining everyone’s safety in mind. Your support from home will certainly be a huge part of our success.

It is our goal to continue the excellence in academics and services Soleng Tom is known for and committed to providing even under our current situation. Our success has always been due in large to the dedication and commitment of our wonderful staff, students and families who work together for the success of all.

I am looking forward to working with you and your child as we work toward providing a wonderful 2023-2024 school year.

Sincerely,

Oscar J. Dotson
Oscar J. Dotson M.Ed. Ldr.
Principal

Office Hours:
Mon./Tues./Thurs./Fri. 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Wed. 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Instructional Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.
Wednesday Dismissal Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 1:40 p.m.

Conference Days’ School Hours:

School Hours: 8:30a.m. to 11:40a.m.
September 20 - 21 - 22, 2023
February 8 - 9, 2024.

Attendance: Please call our attendance line at 731-5402 to report your child’s absence or late arrival. Include your child's name, teacher, specific symptoms, and reason for the absence. If your child has a doctor's appointment which will result in a late arrival, please call the attendance line. A parent must write a note or bring a doctor’s note so that the medical appointment is excused.

To ensure the safety of all students, our Attendance/Registration Clerk, will contact parents who do not call in an absence.

Late Check-in: All students arriving late MUST be signed in at the front office by their parent or a responsible adult. Please do not send your child directly to the classroom when late. Sign in at the front desk and receive a color coded admit slip which your child will take to the teacher, indicating that your child’s arrival has been noted by the Attendance Clerk.

Early Check-out: If your child needs to leave school before the end of the day, please sign him/her out in the front office and indicate the reason for departure. Do not go directly to the classroom without a pass from the office staff that indicates you have already signed out your child. If you send a note to the teacher that your child will leave early that day or if you call the office five minutes prior to arrival, your child can be ready for you in the office. This may avoid delays. If not we will call your child to the office when you arrive.

Messages for Students: Messages regarding transportation changes will be given to students at the end of the day to minimize classroom interruptions. Messages should be received at 731-5400, not the classroom phone, before 11:30 a.m. to ensure delivery before dismissal. Please review transportation arrangements with your child each day.

Messages for Teachers: Each teacher will provide you with the classroom phone number and an e-mail address. However, during instructional hours, teachers will not answer their phones. If the message is extremely important, please contact the office, 731-5400, and it will be delivered to the teacher.

Phone for Student Use: Teachers will permit students to use the phone only in an emergency. Any message for a student needs to be called into the front office - 731-5400.

Cell Phones: Students are not permitted cell phone use on campus during the school day. Reasonable efforts will be taken to secure property if the need arises to have to confiscate a phone (take the item to the office to be secured in a locked area). See Governing Board Policy JICJ.

Privacy Rights: TUSD and the state of Arizona have very strict guidelines for the release of information. A complete statement detailing the privacy rights of parents and students is available in the school office upon request.

S.T.E.P. : The Soleng Tom Enrichment Program, provides before and after school child care each day from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and from dismissal until 6:00 p.m. Homework help and planned activities provide students with an enriched learning environment. S.T.E.P. also provides a pre-school for four year olds and a summer program.
For information, call 731-5440.

Student Records: Each student will have a cumulative file established and kept in the school office that contains registration forms, copy of birth certificate, immunization records, copies of progress reports, Special Education records (if applicable), and test scores. When transferring out of Soleng Tom School and after a parent signs the necessary paperwork, the contents of the student’s records will be sent to the receiving school . Parents may view the cumulative record in the presence of the school principal or principal designee. No one outside the school may review this record unless it is subpoenaed by the courts.

Visitors: Parents are always welcome to visit. For the safety of children and staff, all visitors are required by state law to check in through the front office A visitor log is located on the table by the front door. The date, visitor’s name, student’s name, and destination must be recorded. Visitors must wear a name tag that is located adjacent to the visitor log. If parents are volunteering in the classroom you are required to complete a volunteer form prior to any volunteering and are also asked to wear a name tag. No custodial volunteers much have finger print clearance.

Security Door: For added security Soleng Tom main door has now been implemented with a security pass system. The system will be in operation during instructional time from 8:45am—2:15pm. Parents are asked to please only allow persons with their party into the building with them and not allow others to enter unless they have been buzzed in by the front office individually.

STUDENT INFORMATION
Bus Conduct : Students are required to follow bus rules contained in the Students' Rights and Responsibilities Booklet. Bus transportation is a privilege that requires all students to act responsibly and respectfully at all times. Bus drivers and monitors report any difficulties to the principal and Code of Conduct is followed.

Class Placements: Decisions regarding the placement of students are based on a variety of factors, including: student achievement, learning styles, behavior, ethnic diversity, gender balance, special learning needs, family
relations with particular teachers, and other social and emotional needs. We know that every child's placement is extremely important to his/her education. Parents may indicate the learning style most suitable for their child on a form that is distributed in the spring. Teacher assignments are subject to change based on enrollment numbers in August. If the need for change arises, decisions concerning where to place your child will be based on the best educational setting for him/her.

Dress Code: All students' apparel at Soleng Tom School should constitute "dressing for success", both academically and personally. Parents have formally indicated that appropriate clothing is considered a key ingredient to school success. What is worn by students must contribute to a respectful learning atmosphere and adhere to TUSD guidelines. The following are not permitted: 1) clothing that endorses or sends inappropriate messages regarding drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, guns, violence, or any illegal issues; 2) baggy or sagging pants or greatly oversized clothing; 3) blouses or tops that are see-through, do not cover the midriff, open under the arms, are backless, or have spaghetti size or less than one inch straps; 4) short shorts and very short skirts; *4 inch inseam is a good rule of thumb..5) hats and scarves within the building (they may be worn outside); 6) temporary tattoos; 7) pants that do not cover a student’s bottom when seated, 8) “skate shoes / Heelys” 9) “flip flops”; and extreme hairstyles or temporary tattoos that disrupt the learning environment. If a child comes to school wearing clothing that is inappropriate, a member of the staff may call the parents or may send the child to the office where parents will be asked to bring suitable clothing. When able the school will loan clothing/shoes for the students. Please mark your child’s lunch box, sweaters, and jackets with his/her name. It is recommended that students do not wear expensive jewelry to school.

Honors: Quarterly Striving for Excellence Assemblies celebrate the accomplishments of our students. Perfect Attendance Awards recognize students who have attended every school day of the quarter without a tardy. Striving for Excellence Awards are presented to students from each class who model quarterly Lifeskills. Classes who act responsibly daily in the “Sonoran Café” are recognized with Dragon Diner Awards.

Life Skills: Students are continually guided in the
learning of personal qualities needed for a 21st century graduate. Students in 1st through 5th grades are recognized for their life skill accomplishments during "Striving for Excellence" Assemblies. Our counselor, Mrs. Damek, provides weekly lessons related to life skills and students receive daily support within the classroom setting for their use of these life skills. Two of the life skills from the list below will be highlighted and reinforced throughout each quarter.

Integrity: to do the right thing
Initiative: to do something because it needs to be done
Flexibility: to be able to change plans when necessary
Organization: to plan ahead - to keep things in order
Sense of Humor: to laugh and play without hurting others
Effort: to try your hardest
Common Sense: to use good judgment
Problem Solving: to solve problems even when it's hard
Perseverance: to never give up
Respect: to show consideration, courtesy, and care to someone or something, treat others as you’d have them treat you
Responsibility: to do what you are supposed to do, when you are supposed to do it
Patience: to wait calmly for someone or something
Friendship: to make and keep friends - to care and trust
Curiosity: to desire to learn or know about one's world
Cooperation: to work together for a common goal or purpose
Caring: to feel concern for others
Appreciation to recognize the quality, value and significance of people
Attentive Listening to give your undivided attention
Pride satisfaction from doing one’s personal best
Resourcefulness to respond to challenges and opportunities in innovative and creative ways
Optimism a hopeful and positive outlook
Unity being a team player
Empathy understand and share feelings of others

Lunch Program : Breakfast and lunch are available at Soleng Tom. Breakfast is served from 7:45 a.m. until 8:15 a.m. Please call 731-5423 for prices. Parents may pay for breakfast and/or lunch in advance for a week, month, or the entire year. Payment and account balances can now be done online at LINQ Connect Portal. Search for Tucson Unified School District.

Checks should be made out to Soleng Tom and include child’s name and teacher on the check. As required by federal guidelines, an alternative meal must be available for students who do not bring lunch money. We provide students who have forgotten their lunch or have depleted their funds with a courtesy meal. Our wonderful PTSA helps support this courtesy meal by donating funds to our Food Service staff to purchase courtesy item meals. We encourage all parents to keep track of their child’s account. The Food Service cashier will send information with your child about accounts that are nearly depleted.

Student Council: Student Council is intended to encourage and support student leadership and service to our community. Elections are held at the beginning of each school year. All fourth, and fifth graders currently serving or wanting to serve as Student Council officers must achieve 3’s and 4’s in all Skills and Behaviors for a Successful Learner throughout the entire school year to maintain eligibility as officers.

HEALTH AND SAFETY
Bicycles: Students should walk their bikes and scooters onto school property and park them in the racks located outside the cafeteria or by the playground entrance. Individual locks are recommended. Students are required, by law, to wear helmets.

Medication: If a student has a temperature of 100° or above, parents will be required to pick him/her up immediately. A child must be fever and symptom free, without the aid of a fever reducer, such as Tylenol, for 24 hours before returning to school. If your child has a chronic health condition, such as asthma, diabetes, ADHD, or peanut allergy, please notify the health office. Parents will be asked to complete a chronic health document which provides greater support to your child should he/she miss school due to chronic illness.

When it is essential to a student’s health, as determined by a treating physician, that medication be taken during school hours, the following procedures must be followed as
defined by ARS 35-502:
* Medication must be prescribed by the student's
physician.
* All prescription drugs must be in a pharmacy container
labeled with the student's name, date, medication, dosage,
time to be taken, and date to be discontinued.
* The parent, or a responsible adult designated by the parent, should bring the medication to the school nurse.
* Medicine will be administered by the school nurse or other
designated personnel.
* Emergency injectable medication which may have to be administered
by non-nurse personnel appointed by the parent as their agent(s)
will also require a physician's signature on the medication permit
(TUSD Form 929).
* No student may administer a medication to another student and
should not keep medication in the classroom.
* No student is permitted to take medication independently in the
school health office or elsewhere on campus, or to have access to the
medication cabinet without school nurse and nursing staff
permission.

Cough drops should be given under the supervision of the teacher or health assistant to minimize the chance of choking.

Parking: Only the west parking lot is designated for parent parking and student pick-up/drop-off. It provides easy access to the monitored school grounds. We ask that parents demonstrate patience and courtesy at all times and follow procedures. For safety’s sake, do not drop off or pick up your child in the bus bay or in the school crossing zone. Parking in the bus bay or dropping your child off in the crossing zone is a violation and a state law which may lead to a fine of over $200. Please be aware of no parking zones outside our school grounds which may also lead to fines. There are two alternative access routes to our school playgrounds located south of our school ground on Calle de Este and east of our playground on South Ave. Del Monte. Please make sure gates are open when dropping off students and please be courteous and respectful to neighbors properties and access drives.

Personal Property: Please place your child’s name in his/her coats, sweaters, hats, and lunch boxes. We do not accept responsibility for lost items. Each month, unclaimed clothing will be sent to the Clothing Bank. Please remind your child not to bring cell phones, toys, radios, electronic games, tape players, trading cards, skateboards, as well as dangerous items to school. These items will be taken away from students and parents will be asked to pick them up in the front office.

Pets: For the protection of our students, no animals are
allowed on the school grounds or Pick-Up/Drop-off area with the exception of service animals.

Student Supervision: Each day students are supervised on the playground from 8:00 a.m. when gates are opened until 8:30 a.m. and during lunch recess. Please do not drop off your child before 8:00 a.m. as there is no adult supervision. The Soleng Tom Enrichment Program has been established to assist parents with before and after school care. Family members who arrive more than 15minutes beyond dismissal are asked to make arrangements with S.T.E.P. for a later pick-up.

Vandalism: Our school building and equipment
represent a sizable taxpayer investment. If your child should happen to damage something by accident or witness
the damage of school property, he/she should report it
immediately to a teacher, to the principal, or to the office staff. Students who destroy or vandalize school property will be required to pay for losses and damages.

HOME CONNECTIONS

Home and School Communication:
Communication between family and school personnel is critical for school success. Parents will be notified any time his/her child's performance changes significantly. Parents are encouraged to also take an active role in the communication process. Initiating communication with your child's teacher will reinforce your commitment to your child's learning. Teachers are unable to stop instruction when you arrive, so calling for an appointment is the best idea. If you have concerns regarding school policies and procedures, have questions, or want to share ideas, please feel comfortable to contact Mr. Dotson at 731-5400.

Child Custody: In most divorce cases, both parents continue to have equal rights where their child’s education is concerned. If you have a court order that limits the right of one parent in matters of custody or visitation, please bring a copy of the court order for your child’s file. Unless the court order is on file with the school, we will provide equal access to both parents.

Conferences: Individual teacher/parent are intended to provide parents and teachers with information on students’ progress. Parents are encouraged to confer with their child's teacher when performance changes are noted or family situations change.

Parent Concerns: Positive and appropriate two-way communication between parents and school personnel is vital. Questions and concerns are best resolved through communication with the appropriate staff member. Most concerns and complaints can be resolved through informal discussions with the involved parties. If a resolution is not achieved in this manner, then you can follow these steps: 1) Discuss your concern with the specific school staff member; 2) If unresolved, then proceed by discussing your concern with school principal; 3) If the issue continues to remain unresolved, please discuss the concern with the appropriate Principal Supervisor.

School Council: In accordance with state law ARS-351-354 and TUSD Governing Board Policy CFC, Soleng Tom has an active School Council which includes representation from parents, teachers, support staff, community member, students, and administration. This representative council enables the voices of “stakeholders” to recommend and support an effective and inclusive school. Parents will have an opportunity to submit their name for the School Council elections. Information about elections will be sent home in the Dragon Folders in August. School Council meetings are held once per quarter with the first one held in September.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Discipline: Our community believes self-discipline is necessary for effective learning. We have adopted policies and procedures for our school as outlined in this handbook and request that parents read and discuss them with their children on a continuing basis. Please also read TUSD’s Rights and Responsibilities Guidelines which are provided to each family and detail the district’s discipline policy. A behavior contract will be distributed during the first week of school for you and your child to sign. It is important that each child understands that positive and negative consequences result from his/her behavior. At our school, every effort is made to help students learn from their experiences. When discipline problems occur, logical and natural consequences are taught to reinforce the concept that students’ choices affect themselves, as well as others in our school. We use a restorative practice process in which each child's overall responsibility will be considered as it relates to current and past incidents. Students have been taught that threats, intimidation, harassment, or retaliation against another is a serious action and the law may require a report to Tucson Police and to TUSD School Safety.
When matters are of a serious nature, such as injury to another, parents are notified. Parents are essential in supporting change in students’ behaviors and are encouraged to be part of the conference process. This team approach has had positive outcomes for our students and behaviors have changed in very appropriate ways.

Extra Curricular Activities (Student Council/Band/Orchestra/Track and Field etc.)
While we highly encourage students to participate in extra-curricular activities, we want to remind everyone, students who forgo instruction to participate in extra curricular activities are responsible for any and all make-up work missed during that time. Along with the academic responsibility comes the responsibility of the instrument, equipment and materials. Students who forget their instrument, equipment and/or materials will not be allowed to have them brought to school. Thank you for your continued support of your child’s life-skills education.

Soleng Tom PBIS:
PBIS is our school wide expectations for behavior in regards to Being Safe / Being Responsible / Being Respectful in and around our school. PBIS works in collaboration with our Be Kind and Love & Logic programs. It is a proactive approach to establishing the behavioral supports and social culture and needed for all students in a school to achieve social, emotional and academic success. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining a school-wide system of expectations and supports for all students.

Homework: The purpose of homework at Soleng Tom School is as follows:
* to aid the student in the review, mastery, and
application of concepts, skills, and information being
taught by the teacher.
* to expand and enrich the subject matter taught by the
teacher.
* to help the student develop the ability to work
independently.
* to support parent/child interactions related to learning
consequences and responsibility.
* to provide knowledge of progress for the teacher,
parents, and student.
* to prepare the student for the next day's class.

Prior to volunteering:
Legal Guardians of Soleng Tom Students: Complete a School Volunteer Application Form and submit to office.
Non-legal Guardians: (Grand parents, Aunts/Uncles, Step-Parents, siblings) Complete a School Volunteer Application Form and have finger print clearance. Must have completed this process before volunteering anywhere on school campus, field trips or events. *See office for more info.
Within the classroom, parents and volunteers: Will respect the instructional time of all teachers’ classrooms as established by state guidelines – 8:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. Will respect the confidentiality rights of each student as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and TUSD Board Policy 5130. Will refrain from discussing with other parents the events of the classroom that involve their child’s classmates. Will work with children in a positive manner. Will refrain from questioning students about matters pertaining to their personal lives. Will not have access to students’ grades. Will recognize that it is only the teacher’s responsibility to discipline students. Will disengage cell phone when entering the building, neither receiving or taking calls during volunteer or conference times. Within the school: Will seek the approval of the principal, office manager, or child’s teacher to work in the faculty workroom. Will not remove items from any teacher’s mailbox. Will not enter the faculty lounge without the permission of the principal or the office manager. Children are never permitted to enter the faculty lounge.
On field trips: (All field trips are temporarily canceled) Will be responsible for supporting the safety and needs of the teacher and the entire group of students. Will follow school policies and TUSD regulations, i.e. not bring siblings on the field trip and provide needed insurance if driving. Will go with the whole class to the field trip destination and be a part of the entire instructional field activity. (*Begin at school and end at school)

Grading for Standards-Based Progress Report

A student must meet the Arizona Department of Education’s standards which are taught during a specific quarter. Students’ progress is measured by four rubric scores:

4 - Exceeds the Standard - Student’s work denotes superior academic performance and exhibits a deep understanding and an ability to apply these concepts in real world application.

3 - Meets the Standard - Student’s work denotes solid academic performance on content standards. Students at this level are well prepared to begin work on even more challenging material. This level is the expected goal for all students.

2 - Approaches the Standard - Student’s work denotes partial understanding of the knowledge and application of the skills that are fundamental for proficient work. At this level, students do not demonstrate full understanding of the challenging content.

1- Falls Far Below the Standard - Student’s work denotes insufficient evidence of the prerequisite skills to approach meeting the standards. Students who perform at this level have gaps in knowledge and skills. They, in all likelihood, require a considerable amount of additional work and remediation in basic skills that are a prerequisite to the challenging work expected at the current grade level.